Former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, has said Nigeria’s challenges cannot be resolved without quality leadership rooted in character and integrity.

Gana made the remark on Friday in Kaduna while speaking to journalists after the 2025 reunion of the Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF), themed “Leading from the Front: The Role of Christian Elders.”

He cautioned that the nation would continue to suffer “maladministration” unless leaders of competence and integrity were deliberately nurtured.

“Leaders don’t just emerge; they are deliberately raised,” Gana said. “Those of us who are elders in the churches and other areas of responsibility must take time to look at people who are endowed with the qualities and characteristics of being good leaders. We must train them and prepare them to give good leadership. Nowhere in the world do leaders emerge by accident. They are trained deliberately.”

He appealed to both religious and political institutions to commit to leadership grooming, stressing: “That is why I want to appeal to churches, elders, and political leaders to pay serious attention to raising high-quality leaders. Nothing happens without leadership. If we want Nigeria to move forward, we must be intentional about this.”

Gana, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also faulted Nigeria’s political system for prioritising vested interests over merit. He urged political parties to ensure that competence and integrity guide the selection of candidates.

“In the party I belong to, the Peoples Democratic Party, I do my very best to ensure that only excellent candidates are given the opportunity to emerge as leaders,” he said. “We are going to insist that all our candidates for governorship, senate, house of representatives, and the presidency must be men and women of character, integrity, honour, and wisdom. Nigerians deserve the best.”