You Must Have A Job Before Joining Politics, Abia Governor Urges Youths

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has urged youths to redefine Nigerian politics through ethical and value-driven leadership. The governor stated this at the 5th graduation ceremony of the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance in Abuja on Saturday.

Speaking to the graduating class of 2025, Otti stated that politics is not a profession but a calling for those with a proven track record of service and accomplishment.

“Politics has been reduced to a vocation. Politics is not a job; if you don’t have a job, go and find one. You need to have done something before you come into leadership.

“If you’re not doing anything, then you are jobless. You need to go and find a job, do that job well, build a track record, and then come and say, ‘This is what you can do’,” Otti said.

He criticised what he referred to as the recurring “mistake of entrusting leadership to individuals without substantive experience”, stating, “You can never give what you don’t have.”

Otti spoke on the importance of education as a tool for critical thinking and challenging the status quo, describing an educated person as someone who asks profound questions and seeks evidence-based solutions.

The governor praised the SPPG, particularly the founder, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, for addressing Nigeria’s leadership challenges by preparing a new generation of political leaders.

He expressed optimism that the institution’s graduates would transform the character of regional and national politics over the coming decades.

“The most urgent challenge facing our nation’s evolving democracy is poor preparedness on the part of political actors,” he noted.

The governor recounted his decade-long struggle to secure the governorship of Abia State, marked by electoral setbacks in 2015 and 2019.

He described the 2015 election as “one of the darkest days in our history”, adding that despite a landslide victory, another candidate was declared the winner.

The former general manager of the defunct Diamond Bank also revealed surviving an assassination attempt in 2015, crediting divine intervention for his safety.

Otti highlighted his administration’s achievements, including transforming Abia into one of Nigeria’s safest and most business-friendly states.

He cited improvements in road infrastructure, public confidence in institutions, and reforms in the education and health sectors.

Addressing the graduates, Otti challenged them to bring ordinary citizens to the centre of the political process.

“Tell them they can no longer remain at the periphery, remind them that they are the ones who mostly bear the brunt of bad policy decisions, and invite them to step in and become co-owners of the process of electing those who decide our social and economic destinies here in Abuja, across the 36 states of Nigeria and across the 54 countries in Africa,” he urged.

The Abia State Governor encouraged the class of 2025 to shine as “models of excellence” and represent SPPG’s values in their public service endeavours.