Randle tasks leaders on Nigeria’s rescue, selfless service

To create a Nigeria that every citizen will be proud of, the present crop of leaders must reinvent the legacies of the nation’s founding fathers, former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Bashorun Joseph Koshoniola (JK) Randle has stressed.

During the 60th annual thanksgiving and memorial service for his father at the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, Lagos, Randle noted that successive leadership in the country had abandoned the virtues the nation’s founders exhibited which made her tick in the past.

Commenting further at the event, attended by former Vice President Alex Ekueme, The Guardian Publisher, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Vice President, Prof. Joseph Otubu among others, Randle stated: “The only way forward to rediscovering a Nigeria every citizen will be proud of is for leaders at all levels to embrace the legacies of the nation’s founding fathers.

We must go back and learn how the country was built before we can talk about rebuilding. Nigeria was built by people who sacrificed, dedicated and committed their lives to the project of developing their fatherland.

“Leadership is about inclusiveness. Our leaders need to be inclusive. It becomes a mighty whole if everybody contributes a little but if only a few people are controlling everything then, I am sorry, the result will continue to be what we are seeing.

“Everybody has to be on the same page, with the same sense of direction and commitment. Every Nigerian must have the right to the national cake.”

He went on: “Chief J.K belongs to a generation of Nigerians whose influence cut across ethnicity, religion, race or whatever. Patriotism and selfless service were the hallmark of their commitment to building a great nation that would command the respect of the international community. He touched so many lives and the beneficiaries have remained firmly loyal, far beyond the call of duty or any other obligation. Regardless, we must sort out a number of housekeeping matters. Even before that, we should pause and acknowledge the sagacity and robust vision of that generation that produced Chief J.K Randle and many of his ilk. They were totally committed to building a virile nation that future generations would be proud of.”