Ex-US President, Bush Charges Nigerians To Hold Elected Officials Accountable!

A former United States President, George W. Bush, on Thursday charged Nigerians to hold elected leaders accountable if they desire sustainable development.

Bush said this while addressing over 3000 delegates at the maiden Access Bank Leadership Conference on the theme, ‘Embracing sustainable leadership’, held in Lagos.

According to him, corrupt officials must be sanctioned, noting that the ability to fight graft and crime is directly proportional to the development of a country.

“As president of the most powerful country in the world, I had cause to sanction senior office holders on account of corruption and they faced justice”, he said.

Bush declared that although highly placed individuals have the tendency to abuse their offices for selfish gains, identifying and punishing such individuals makes the difference.

“All corrupt public officers must be brought to justice, however powerful. Nigerian leaders have to be bold against corruption, he said.

Bush said the character of a leader is critical to good leadership capability and that a good leader must surround himself with quality advisers.

“As a leader you must surround yourself with people who know better than you do and you must trust their decisions”, he said.

Continuing, “This principle helped me succeed as a president, particularly in taking far reaching decisions during the economic crisis in the United States and the war against terror in Iraq and Afghanistan executed during his tenure.

“You have to respect your advisers because they know what you don’t know”, he added.

The former president advised Nigeria “to have clear rules that are enforceable without prejudice and also hold government accountable to the people so that it can assure that the people’s money would be protected by the law.”

On the policies of President Barrack Obama, Bush said as a matter of principle, he would not criticise a sitting president because the job is a tasking one.

He however stated that the core job of any US president was to protect Americans any where in the world, the homeland and the economy.

Bush also opposed huge taxes on citizens, describing it as anti-development. “Cutting down taxes is necessary for economic growth”, he said, adding that personal incomes should be taxed less.

He further advised Nigerian leaders to tackle unemployment and also raise entrepreneurs, saying “If you build entrepreneurs, you will build prosperity in the country, this worked for the United States”.

The ex-president said his administration supported economic growth in Africa because it would also benefit the United States and its entrepreneurs if wealth is created and sustained in the continent.

Earlier, the outgoing Managing Director of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig- Imoukhuede, said Access Bank remained committed to sustainable governance culture that is aimed at encouraging sustainable leadership culture in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

On his part, Access Bank Chairman, Gbenga Oyebode said the conference was for Nigerians and African countries, and others to embrace sustainable development as a way out of poverty and dwindling economy.