Dr David Oyedepo (Chancellor Covenant University) Calls for Redefinition of Democracy

Dr. David Oyedepo - Chancellor Covenant University

 

 

The Covenant University International Conference on African Development Issues (CU-ICADI) 2016 officially came to a close on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, with the Chancellor of the University, Dr. David Oyedepo, calling for a redefinition of democracy.

Dr. David Oyedepo noted that the Western developed system of governance has not solved African challenges and called for a redefinition and a redesigned democracy to fit into African and Nigerian system of governance.

“We sold ourselves too cheaply and lost value in our own system. It doesn’t have to be white to be right. This Western developed democracy won’t deliver. We have to redefine and redesign democracy to make it fit into our own system. We should take the bull by the horn and be bold to develop the model that will work for us.

“Covenant University was consciously determined to be indigenous in its conceptualization, its operational strategies and we are where we are today because we decided to see our self as original and can develop a model that addresses our problems. So we develop character because at the root of corruption is character. If character is properly formed, it becomes so easy to look at what is not your own and despise it,” he explained.

He decried lack of basic knowledge and continuity in leadership by successive governments, noting that there should be a prescribed minimum qualification for leadership position in the country. “If native intelligence can get result, why not intellectual intelligence,” he queried.

Dr. David Oyedepo, who is also the Chairman, Board of Regents of the University, expressed excitement about various intellectual contributions to the Conference, adding that, “We must solve these problems by ourselves because there is no United Nations’ solution to these. What is United Nations doing in the case of Syria? Nigeria will not become extinct,” he prayed.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Charles Ayo, earlier in his remarks called on the participants to begin to work the talk. “We have talked the whole talk and now we have to begin to work the talk,” he stated.

The Vice-Chancellor also requested everyone to network, talk, work and brainstorm towards solving the issues in Africa, particularly Nigeria, noting that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had come and gone, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is what occupies the front burner now.

The 2016 CU-ICADI which had the theme, “Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Africa: Model, Methods and Policies” was attended by over 400 participants from five countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Nigeria. The event which was the third in the series also hosted nine universities and organizations from across the nation.