2023: We need patriotic leaders with human feelings – Ex-TETFund boss

Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, the immediate past Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has urged Nigerians to pray for the emergence of patriotic leaders in the 2023 general election.

Bogoro made the call in Abuja while giving an acceptance speech following his investiture as the winner of the 2021 Nigerian Prize for Leadership (NPL).

“With patriotic statesmen and women, youths, politicians, professional, community and religious leaders, we can collectively change the narrative and redirect our country and Africa,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was also an opportunity for the second conferment of the NPL Fellowship on 17 deserving young Nigerians who distinguished themselves in various sectors of the economy.

NAN also reports that the investiture was deferred as Bogoro was not available to receive the price on Dec. 12 last year as required by the NPL status, hence the 2022 event used to present the price to the winner.

According to Bogoro, leadership requires that one must be patriotic and can be trusted, while the citizens complement the role of leaders by being law abiding.

“If this happens in Nigeria and because of our numerical and economic advantages, it will be Nigeria against the rest of Africa; it will have a ripple effect on other countries in Africa.

“We do not have to plunge ourselves into an unfortunate situation or other countries of Africa before we provide the desired leadership required of Nigeria in Africa and for the rest of the world.

“If leaders treat each other with respect and a sense of fairness in our day to day life in both public and public sector, we will achieve a lot, and the major tribes in the country will turn around the fortunes of the country if they can work together,” Bogoro said.

He expressed gratitude to the NPL for finding him worthy for the award which he believed was made possible by some of the actions performed while he was in office as TETFund boss.

Bogoro noted that the level of transparency at which TETFund was administered under his watch, made Nigeria one of the six African countries holding research grant for the International Science Granting Council.

“I never knew I was one of those been evaluated, assessed and screened for this prestigious award. Nobody from the committee hinted me to the extent that one of my directors sent about 100 video clips of my activities in Tetfund and other places.

“Those are some of the information submitted that led to my selection. None of them was associated with wrongdoing.

“It reminds me of the general TETFund National Research Fund (NRF) which after my leadership as the Executive Secretary was last year evaluated along with other research grant platforms in Nigeria by the International Science Granting Council.

“Based on the transparency, grant selection, merit-base screening process and non- interference from my office, TETFund was selected as the institution in Nigeria that will hold and manage its research grant henceforth.

“This made Nigeria the sixth country in Africa to earn such a status and it was all about transparency, merit and integrity of the process of grant management in TETFund.

“I can swear to any holy book that in my academic career, I never compromised my standard for anybody,” Bogoro said.

He further said that during his tenure he was able to upscale the NRF from the annual N500 million to N8 billion with the assistance of the board and the approval of Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, and President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the award had established a high standard, worthy of being copied by other merit award platforms in the country and beyond.

Earlier, the Chairman, Governing Board of NPL, Prof. Anya O. Anya, said that the NPL as a product of vision and commitment of some eminent Nigerians was determined to chart a new course aimed at identifying, and reinventing new culture of leadership in the country.

(NAN)