The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, has said years of electing leaders based on religion is over since it is now clear that leaders in the country no longer fear God.
Speaking during a Ramadan lecture organised by Nasrul-Lahi-Fatih Society (NASFAT), Kaduna State branch, Bugaje also warned against voting leaders based on the sizes of their pockets.
"Leaders should remember that leadership is a divine trust, and must be fair and just in the discharge of their responsibilities," he urged.
"All leaders must strive to deliver by ensuring that good strive over evil because everyone will render account on the Day of Resurrection," he added.
According to him, the first important thing in leadership selection is to identify someone with unquestionable character and who possess good leadership qualities.
“We need to get people with moral courage to do the right thing and forbid wrongdoings in leadership positions. People who would do something not for his own benefit but for the benefit of all,” he said.
He said Nigeria has been faced with bad governance over the years because people choose leaders based on the size of their pockets and not whether they possess the qualities of a good leader.
Similarly, Catholic bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has said leaders in the country have turned the nation into a wasteland where people commit sins, then use i'll-acquired wealth to fly out of the country to seek forgiveness in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem.
He said, "Nigeria has become a 'huge waste land, huge debris of the deceit, lies, treachery, double dealing and duplicity.'"
“Today, our dear nation is like the proverbial farmer searching for his black goat. He has to do it with a sense of urgency because darkness is setting in as the sun quickly recedes.
“Our nation has become one huge waste land, huge debris of the deceit, lies, treachery, double dealing and duplicity. Nigerian politicians have turned our politics into a huge trojan horse, a hoax, a hall of guile and dissimulation.
“The levels of frustration are rising by the day and we can see all this in the rise in domestic violence and inter-communal conflicts. A combination of all these has turned us unto a nation at war with itself.
“Nigerians complain that the country is full of churches and mosques and they cannot find the values of these religions in everyday life. We sin at home by stealing the nation’s resources but we seek repentance and forgiveness in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem in the guise of lesser or higher pilgrimages."