P.L.O Lumumba calls for end to ‘primitive accumulation’ in public office

Renowned Pan-Africanist and Author Professor P. L. O. Lumumba has called for a renewed commitment to integrity and selfless leadership in Africa, warning against the use of public office as a means of accumulating personal wealth. Speaking in an interview with JoyPrime’s Israel Laryea on September 23, Prof. Lumumba said political leadership during Africa’s independence struggle was founded on sacrifice and a commitment to holding power in trust for the people. “When we went into positions of service, it was about sacrifice. It was about holding power in trust for the people. It was not about primitive accumulation,” he said. He said the values that inspired the independence generation have been undermined in some parts of Africa by corruption and the diversion of public resources for private benefit. “It was not about theft on an industrial scale,” Prof. Lumumba stressed.

According to him, public office should never be turned into an avenue for individuals to enrich themselves at the expense of the people they are expected to serve. “You would have been disappointed that men and women now go into office in most parts of Africa for the single purpose of primitively privatising public wealth,” he said. Leadership must be about service Prof. Lumumba urged political leaders across the continent to remember that leadership comes with a responsibility to serve citizens and protect public resources. He appealed to those in positions of authority to reflect on the leadership philosophy of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whom he described as a symbol of selflessness. “I hope and pray that those who are in positions of leadership can still hear the voice of the Osagiefo Kwame Nkrumah through the vicissitudes of time,” he said. Prof. Lumumba said leaders must…