By EricJames Ochigbo/ Diana Omueza
Speaker of the National Assembly of Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Patrick Achi, has underscored the need to equip emerging leaders with the knowledge and skills required to address Africa’s development challenges.
He made the call in Abuja on Saturday at the 2026 graduation ceremony of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), an unconventional school aimed at fixing politics in Africa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ceremony held under the theme: “Breaking the Monopoly: Building Nigeria’s New Political Leadership Pipeline.”
Achi who said that Africa needed quality leaders, highlighted the importance of leadership development in strengthening governance and promoting sustainable development across Africa.
According to him, Africa needed leaders with the character, competence and capacity to translate the continent’s abundant natural and human resources into improved living conditions for its people.
The lawmaker said that Africa was richly endowed with mineral resources and human capital but continued to face development challenges that required effective leadership and active participation of citizens to overcome.
Achi expressed optimism that equipping aspiring leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills would strengthen ability to contribute meaningfully to governance and community development.
The Ivorian lawmaker said that the principles of character, competence and capacity promoted by SPPG were essential to improving leadership and changing the continent’s development trajectory.
The speaker said that SPPG was playing an important role in bridging knowledge gaps and preparing emerging leaders to understand governance issues and develop practical solutions.
He urged emerging leaders to see leadership as a responsibility to serve the people and work towards the common good.
In her remarks, former President of Malawi Joyce Banda emphasised the need for greater participation of women in leadership and governance for an inclusive African society.
She said that Africa could not afford a future determined by half of its population, saying that women must participate in decision-making process and take up leadership positions as well.
The former president, however, urged women not to wait to be invited into political leadership but to persistently engage men to occupy their seats on the table.
“Too often, women have been told, directly or indirect, that politics is no place for them. Even when they enter, they encounter structures and practices that make participation and advancement unnecessarily difficult.
“Too often women are mobilised, relied upon, and used to build political movement, only to be pushed aside when positions of influence and decision-making are allocated.
“Politics cannot be left only to those who desire power, leadership pipelines cannot remain closed to the networks that reproduces the same people, the same habits and the same wrong company,” she said.
According to her, politics must be open to women, the young, to professionals, reformers, and citizens who may not come from traditional political families but possess the competence and character to serve and to lead.
“You belong in the room where decisions are made, you belong in public institutions, you belong in political parties, you belong in parliament. You belong in executive leadership and you belong wherever the future of your communities and the countries, is being decided, is being decided.
“Africa cannot afford to build its future using only half of its talent. It’s like trying to walk with one leg, you cannon get far,” she said.
Banda said that Africa’s abundant natural and human resources could be harnessed for sustainable development if leaders demonstrated the character, competence and capacity required.
She commended SPPG, describing it as an important platform for bridging knowledge gaps and equipping aspiring leaders with the skills needed to understand governance challenges and develop practical solutions.
Earlier, former Minister of Education and Founder of SPPG, Dr Oby Ezekwesili congratulated the graduands and charged them to put what they had learnt into practice.
The founder disclosed that the unconventional school had graduated over 1000 students across Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya since 2021.
She said that SPPG would continue to monitor all the graduands and not hesitate to revoke their certificates if they fell short of the values the school stood for.
“We told you, that the greatest gap in Africa, other than the issue of a lack of character in public leadership, is the absence of competencies that would be able to think through policies in the right way. And so we taught you a multidisciplinary programme for your curriculum.
“With the kind of intentionality that the curriculum was designed, we raise a different kind of leaders that can enter the arena and just completely stand their ground,” she said.
In his speech, the overall best graduating student, Mr Merit Ayigbe expressed the gratitude of the 2026 set to the founder, management and faculty of the SPPG.
He commended the graduands for availing themselves for the study and their families for the support they all enjoyed.
Ayigbe promised that as a class, they would work together to make Nigeria and indeed the entire continent better.
NAN reports that guests at the event were thrilled by one of Nigeria’s youngest saxophonist, Miss Temilayo Abodunrin and spoken-word by Ms Esinet Kolade. (NAN)
Source: News Agency of Nigeria