Public Office Not For Financial Apprenticeship, Chima Anyaso Warns At EBSU Lecture

…Urges Students To Earn Leadership Through Value Creation

Abia-born politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr. Chima Desmond Anyaso, has described the election of individuals without business experience to public office as a costly apprenticeship that Nigeria cannot afford.

Speaking as the keynote speaker at the maiden edition of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Alumni Lecture Series on Wednesday, Anyaso said governance is fundamentally about managing collective wealth for collective progress.

Anyaso spoke on the theme, ‘From Classroom to Boardroom: The Power of Education in Shaping Destiny’.

He told students and other attendees that public office should not be a reward for loyalty, but rather earned through problem solving and value creation.

“You have to learn to build and prepare for leadership. If a person who has never engaged in enterprise or managed a business is elected to public office, public funds inevitably become their first business experience. And Nigeria cannot afford such a costly apprenticeship,” he stated.

The Chief Executive Officer of Caades Group, a multi-sector conglomerate with interests in real estate, oil and gas, healthcare, and hospitality, argued that while some may claim governance goes beyond managing public resources, such skill is certainly not to be considered less important.

“To secure the nation, you need funding. To close a budget deficit, you need fiscal discipline, and to build infrastructure, you need capital allocation. The trade that ties all these together is one word: Money. How it is raised, how it is spent and how it is accounted for. Governance is ultimately the management of collective wealth for collective progress,” he explained.

“Now ask yourself, will you hand over the operating theatre to a man who has never held a scalpel simply because he claims to care about health? Of course not. Yet many are quick to hand over public coffers to individuals who have never even balanced a small ledger or navigated the discipline of payroll in business.”

He charged the EBSU students to “build something, manage risk, solve problems, and create value,” adding, “When you have mastered that in the marketplace, then you can competently scale those principles to national challenges.”

The entrepreneur, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Literature from EBSU and a Master of Science in Management from the University of Lagos, stressed that the consequences of financial mismanagement in public office are usually huge.

“You don’t learn financial management with public money because when you fail, the people will bleed,” he warned.

Speaking further on Africa’s leadership challenge, the philanthropist said, “In this emerging Africa, where the median age is 19 but the leadership age hovers near retirement, we must redefine leadership not as a reward for loyalty but as a continuation of service. And in this redefinition, private enterprise becomes the ideal training ground and the proving ground where ideas are tested, discipline is built, and failure teaches faster than theory.”

The lecture series was designed to recognise and celebrate EBSU alumni who have made exceptional contributions in their fields, communities, and society.

Anyaso’s businesses under the Caades Group include Chimbaland Properties and Investment Ltd, Ceecon Oil and Gas Ltd, Oil Rigs Global Resources Ltd, Le Paris Continental Hotel, St. Edwards Specialist Hospital and Cardiac Centre, and Mactom and Reid Consortium.

Beyond business, Anyaso has made philanthropic efforts through the Ahuoma Anyaso Education Foundation and the Chima Anyaso Foundation, which have supported hundreds of Nigerians in education and entrepreneurship.

He established the Ahuoma Anyaso Education Foundation in honour of his mother and for the pursuit of quality and affordable education in the deprived rural areas.

The businessman has received recognition and awards for his humanitarian works, including the award for his contribution to Bende Clan Local Government Area in Abia State by Igbere Welfare Union.

Anyaso has equally been recognised nationally and internationally with several honours, including African Achievers Award for Community Development, Youth Icon of the Year, Vanguard Personality of the Year (2024), and was listed among the top 20 Business Professionals in Nigeria by both Vanguard and Champion Newspaper.

Public Office Not For Financial Apprenticeship, Chima Anyaso Warns At EBSU Lecture is first published on The Whistler Newspaper