A former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Christopher Kolade, says contemporary Nigerian politicians only work for their personal interests.
Kolade made the assertion in an interview with Channels Television monitored by Newspot.
The elder statesman said things have changed compared to the politicians of the First Republic, who “actually were serving the country”, and were imprisoned because of their beliefs.
“My view of politics is that the practice of politics can be very sensitive and one can begin to do things, begin to participate in decisions that conflict with the values, the standards, the principles that one believes. That has been my experience.
“I’ve never gone into politics because the way it was being practised, I thought I would not be able to be myself if I became a politician now.
“That may be simply my own weakness but this is the situation and so when I see politicians today and the way they behave, if I compare today’s politicians with politicians of the First Republic, for example.
“I can tell that my experience of the politicians of the First Republic was that they actually worked for Nigeria; they actually were serving the country.”
Newspot recalls that Kolade was appointed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012 to chair the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
He, however, said his friends advised him against accepting the role to safeguard his reputation.
According to him, despite the advice to decline the offer, he went on to accept the job because “somebody must do it”.
“In fact, there was a group of young people that I was mentoring at the time and they said to me in a meeting: ‘We respect you too much, don’t go for this,” he added.
Kolade resigned from the position in 2013 as a result of age, corruption and transparency-related issues.
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