We can’t afford to break – Eminent Nigerians

By Our Reporters
LAGOS — EMINENT Nigerians, yesterday, took a dispassionate peep into the topsy-turvy journey of Nigeria into nationhood 52 years after independence and returned a grim verdict: There is nothing to celebrate because the country is hanging  on the precipice of disintegration amid worsening poverty among the citizenry. They dissected the causes of the country’s stunted development and proffered solutions.

In clear terms, they said there was urgent need to deepen the country’s fragile unity, address lingering insecurity, decaying health and educational facilities and epileptic power supply among others.  They also agreed that in spite of mounting challenges, the country would not implode.

Among those, who spoke on the issue were former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Prof. Anya O Anya; Second Republic Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Richard Akinjide; Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, Dr Junaid Mohammed; Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.

Others include Anglican Archbishop of Lagos Province, Most Rev. Adebola Ademowo; Mrs Doyin Abiola; former Lagos State Attorney General and Justice Commissioner, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Rep. Charles Odedo; Bishop of Egba Diocese, Anglican Communion,  Rev. Bishop Emmanuel Adekunle and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) among others.

While Akinjide attributed the country’s stunted growth to human factor and bad leadership, Junaid identified the first military coup of 1966 as the genesis of the crises and accused successive governments of ruining the country.

We’ ve put the cart before the horse — Ademowo

Most Rev Ademowo said: “I see Nigeria’s 52 years as a very challenging stage of creation; but in truism, we have put the cart before the horse, making attempts at living before creation. And because of this, the country has passed and is passing through very burly rings… Our country is becoming one of the most dangerous places on earth.

“In this country, we experience militia killings, brutal attacks and bombings. Amidst all, Nigeria is still one through the special grace of God. The country is too great to shred into pieces all in the name of greed, ethnicism, nepotism, religion, etc.

“In view of the above, our country is daily moving towards total political, economic and social collapse, and disintegration and the situation must be arrested before it is too late.”

Nigerians must keep hope alive —Ashafa

To Senator Ashafa, Nigerians must keep hope alive even though there is nothing to celebrate as of now.

Urging leaders to take stock of events in the country and carry out an honest and candid appraisal of the situation, he said: “We must admit that we are in a mess and not by making nostalgic and inspirational speeches on October 1 every year about the “labours of our heroes past,” pat each other on the back and congratulating one another on our independence.

Parochial sectional interests must be dislodged—Tinubu

National leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in his statement on the nation’s 52nd independence anniversary urged Nigerians to refocus on their country and rededicate themselves to its development, saying :“Nigeria, our dear country, could be passing through a very difficult time now, but these are not problems we cannot collectively solve, if we all put our minds to them.”

Tinubu said one of the burning challenges was that of a constitution to make Nigeria a true federation and correct all the structural imbalances that have resulted in mutual distrust and slowed down economic growth and prosperity. He called for the strengthening of our various institutions to serve the interests of the citizenry and not personal political interests.

According to him, ”the sustenance of our democracy is important. The can do spirit of Nigerians must be harnessed. Parochial sectional interests must be dislodged.  And we must work collectively for peace and stability of the nation.”

Amosun wants synergy between leaders, followers

In Abeokuta, Governor Amosun called for a synergy between Nigerian leaders and followers to move the country forward. Speaking to reporters after a church service to mark the 52nd Independence Day celebration, he absolved leaders of full responsibility for the country’s woes at 52, noting that followers too should be part of the blame.

He said: ”That is why there is this need for a result-oriented and positive synergy between the leaders and the followers for us to get over the woes. Yes, it is true that leadership has a role to play in the challenges we are facing now. The country ought to grow beyond this level we found ourselves.  The type of leaders will ultimately determine the road  to progress, but that notwithstanding, the followers’  angle is also very important.”

We must reclaim our pre-eminent status in Africa —Fashola

On his part, Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said it was time for Nigerians to halt the slide, reclaim their pre-eminent status in Africa and re-new their commitment to the Nigerian project to actualise the dreams of their founding fathers.

Fashola, speaking on the state of the nation, said in the context of the African continent being the next investment destination of the world, Nigeria should rise and take the lead in reaping the economic benefits of that reality.

He also called on Nigerians to be sober, humble and listen more to those they have entrusted with authority, adding that if those in authority fail to perform, Nigerians have the chance to throw them out during the next election.

Fashola expressed delight that in the last 48 hours, Nigerians had been asking very honest questions as to whether we, as a people, are the problem or the nation itself.

He said: “This is not the worst place to live on earth and I can tell you that. Let us take the financial issues for instance, the Spanish government raised its taxes by 52 per cent, Italy has raised its tax by 60 per cent. Italians are leaving their country. That is not our position here. People are being struck by earthquakes, Tsunami, but we have arable land for farming here. There are challenges here alright but they should be seen as building blocks for us to aspire to greater things.”

Why Nigeria is still crawling — Anya, Osinbajo, Abiola

Prof. Anya, Osinbajo and Abiola at an Independence Anniversary Lecture, entitled: “Nigeria at 52: Embracing Peace and Unity,” organised by the Cosmopolitan Women’s Club, CWC, in Lagos, weekend, identified corruption, quota system, misplacement of priorities, non-patriotism, over reliance on oil, and inequitable distribution of the country’s wealth among other as factors hindering the country’s growth.

Anya, who was the guest speaker at the occasion, attributed the sectarian crises leading to blood-letting in the country to the inequitable sharing of the nation’s resources by the British colonialists.

He said: “Today, the contemporary Nigeria could best be described as a knife-edge. All these travails could be traced to the act of the British colonialists in milking resources from the then Southern Protectorate to enrich the Northern Protectorate. The shaky political structure and sharing formula have been the cause of all the sectarian crises in Nigeria today.”

On quota system

The former university teacher said the quota system, which establishes that leaders must emerge based on some factors rather than merit, portended doom for the nation, if not revisited.

Anya said: “After 52 years of Independence, Nigeria has produced 13 leaders, where nine are from the northern part of the country. These northern leaders have been in power for 32 years of the country’s 52 years of existence. Amidst this long period in governance more than any other region, the North has remained in abject poverty and underdevelopment.”

Over-reliance on oil

He held that if Nigeria aims to join the comity of developed nations within any stipulated time, she must stop relying on oil, since it’s bound to deplete, adding: “Rather than over-depend on oil, which has become a curse rather than blessing, the government must ensure it educates its citizens on how to be productive and create wealth that must be equitably distributed.”

The task ahead

On their part, Osinbajo and Abiola, who were discussants at the event, opined that the myriads of challenges, such as corruption in public and private offices, the Boko Haram insurgency, rot in the education and health sectors bedevilling the nation after 52 years of independence came as a result of the failure of the elite to chart a positive direction for the development of the country.

Abiola blamed the tottering state of the nation on lack of maintenance and sustenance culture. According to her, it’s a common place in Nigeria to see projects of a previous administration abandoned by an incoming administration no matter how positive it may be.

Political, economic space must be opened—TUC

In a statement to mark Nigeria’s 52 independence anniversary, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, yesterday said only genuine talks among ethnic nationalities in the country could halt the nation’s drift into anarchy. It argued that the current insecurity challenge facing the country posed the greatest threat to the nation’s unity since the end of the civil war.

In the statement entitled: “Nigeria at 52: The Journey thus far”, TUC President-General and Secretary General, Comrade Peter Esele and Chief John Kolawole, respectively, declared that the political and economic space must urgently be opened to build an inclusive nation that would allow all to creatively contribute and participate in the hallowed effort of nation building.

“A combination of deep internal political schisms and serial inept but corrupt leadership despite the huge resources both human and material robbed the nation of the various opportunities to transform itself into a great nation that would deliver to her citizens the best possible benefits.

This failure to get it right in these past years has foisted on the people one of the greatest burdens of the contradiction of increasing suffering and deprivation in the midst of increasing revenue to the government; the syndrome of ‘rich dad, poor children.’”

“Access to basic social services – medical care, Education, Housing, Food and Transport have all constricted over the years. Unemployment has burgeoned and continued increasing, manufacturing continues to suffer adversely and worse still, and there is an increasing threat to the political stability of the nation posing serious danger to its corporate existence.”

“The present security challenge posed by the unfortunate events in the northern part of the country has presented the nation with the greatest threat to dismemberment since after the civil war in 1970. It has exacerbated the poverty in that region and has imposed massive sufferings and deprivations on the hapless populace dislocating thousands in the process.

As we mark this national day, TUC believes that our situation is not hopeless and that we can stop this continued slide into anarchy. We believe that we can reverse all these adversities and march back to the path of greatness that has always been the destiny of this nation even at conception.”

“We know that this will not be easy but the Congress is assured that there is hope for this nation but it requires hard work and our collective determination to make the necessary sacrifices and change needed to generate the critical mass for development. It calls for the people at the top to arise and take responsibility for the parlous state of affairs and be determined to redeem the nation through a positive change to leadership styles and objectives.

The nation must seize the opportunity presented by the current centrifugal forces laying siege on the polity to forge a united and progressive country that we can all be proud of.

This is the only way to put a lie to the desires of the various criminal elements both local and international who seek the breakup of Nigeria. We must be determined to prove them wrong. That is why we believe that at no other time in our history than now do we require a genuine and honest conversation between and amongst the diverse cleavages and interests in country.”

“Our people deserve to be told the truth which is capable of throwing increasing light on the affairs of the land and lifting the mood of despondency that has enveloped us as a nation.

We therefore call on all political actors in Nigeria especially those currently in position of authority to eschew all forms of greed as the reverse portends greater danger to all Nigerians and Nigeria. The Political and Economic space must urgently be opened to build an inclusive nation that would allow all to creatively contribute and participate in the hallowed effort of nation building.

The present trend that concentrates Political and Economic power in the hands of a very few minority portends disaster and is therefore not sustainable in the long run.”

“Let us use this period to remind the government that the People remain the greatest asset of the nation. Building the people by investing in them, creating a strong middle class and putting the citizens back to work should be the best way to go. This is what will eventually solve the security challenges, stabilise the polity and drive progress.

The Congress therefore urges those in leadership positions to use this occasion to seek the restoration of the people’s confidence in the nation by also showing an unwavering loyalty and faith in its capacity to become great again. The loyalty of the present leadership to the Nigerian project is questionable.

Their children in different schools abroad questions their faith, their insensitive trips abroad for medical care while the hospitals in Nigeria remain comatose poses serious question about their commitment to this country and their penchant for foreign properties and accounts raises deep concerns in the minds of the citizenry. They must change this perception by domesticating all their affairs during this celebration for it to have a meaning.”