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 understand that political power is entrusted to them by the people and should therefore be exercised in the public interest.

“Leadership is about service, not about being served,” he emphasised.

The Pan-Africanist also called on individuals who have accumulated wealth through corrupt means to take responsibility and surrender what he described as their ill-gotten wealth.

“And those who are thieves who have stolen, I hope that one day they'll have the courage to surrender their ill-gotten wealth,” he said.

He argued that such an action would help restore public confidence and give practical meaning to the principle of selflessness associated with Nkrumah’s leadership.

“In doing so, they will be giving meaning to the selflessness of the Osagiefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,” Prof. Lumumba added.

Prof. Lumumba said the fight against corruption should not be viewed simply as a legal or institutional matter but also as a question of leadership values.

He argued that public officials must see themselves as custodians of national resources rather than beneficiaries of political power.

Prof. Lumumba said Nkrumah’s vision was rooted in selflessness, African unity and the determination to build societies capable of meeting the needs of their people.

He urged the current generation of African leaders to draw lessons from that philosophy and ensure that public office once again becomes synonymous with service, sacrifice and accountability rather than personal enrichment.