Akarigbo urges Nigerians to prioritise competence over nativism
Akarigbo urges Nigerians to prioritise competence over nativism
The Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, has advised Nigerians against trading competence for nativism in the selection of candidates for appointments.
He spoke on Saturday in Sapade at the send-forth ceremony of Dr Isaiah Oyeyinka, immediate past Rector of Gateway ICT Polytechnic.
Ajayi, Chairman of Ogun State Traditional Council, said that appointments should not be based on where people came from, but on their competence and integrity.
The Akarigbo noted that in as much as people were free to push for the appointment of an indigene to head any establishment, such a candidate must be competent to do the job.
He said that shortly after he ascended the throne in December 2017, he was inundated with complaints and demands for Oyeyinka’s removal “because he is not from Remoland.
“For me, I listen but I take my time to react. So, I decided to talk to him (Oyeyinka). He then told me to come and see the institution myself.
“The day I visited the school, I was surprised. I could see the orderliness, sanity and the arrangement,” the Akarigbo said.
The traditional ruler said after he visited the institution he was convinced that Oyeyinka, an Egbaman, had turned the polytechnic around for good.
In his words, “Honestly, a lesson to be learnt in this country is that it is not every time that a person who would turn around an establishment must be an indigene of that particular area.
“Therefore, I want to urge our people, instead of us to be insisting that certain appointments should be given to an indigene, we must, first of all, look out for competent sons and daughters of the land.
“But if you can’t find such, anyone from anywhere that is capable should be made to do the job.”
Also speaking, Biyi Adeleye, the former Political Adviser to Gov. Dapo Abiodun, saluted the immediate past rector for his tremendous achievements in the polytechnic.
Responding, Oyeyinka said that his administration, over the past eight years, had demonstrated the capacity to inculcate a culture of neatness, hard work, and academic excellence.
The former rector added that his administration did a lot to promote the infrastructural development of the school.
He described the institution as the neatest and fastest growing in Nigeria.
