Fayemi, Sani, Others Agree Nigeria Crawling, Want Consensus on Key Issues

Oluchi Chibuzor

A former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Senator Shehu Sani, and others, yesterday, at the Emeka Obasi Inaugural memorial lecture, agreed that Nigeria was not working as a nation but crawling with no national developmental vision.
According to them, there must be a national leadership consensus on what Nigeria meant to everybody and on how to manage the nation’s resources while ensuring transparency and accountability at local levels.

Delivering his keynote lecture, at the event in Lagos, Fayemi, maintained that the theme, ‘If This Giant Must Walk; Manifesto For A New Nigeria’, is most appropriate for these times.

He maintained that only those with delusions of grandeur would not agree that this “giant is crawling and not walking yet.
“Although the challenges of nation-building have been manifest for several years, it is now evident that they are actually deteriorating as evidenced by the many cases of violent conflicts that are being played out with regard to the governance of the nation-state and discontents with the nation-building experience.
“Indeed, the recurrent predictions about the imminent collapse or failure of the Nigerian state are beginning to look more credible by various developments in the polity.

“The violent activities of separatist agitators in the South East and South western parts of Nigeria, vociferous revisionist contestations of the amalgamation act of 1914, generalised discontent with the prolonged underperformance of the Nigerian economy, heightened recrimination, insecurity, and violence, feelings of marginalisation, exclusion, and injustice, and concerns about various dysfunctions in the federal system are some of the sources of concern about the future prospects of the country.”

He argued that the thirst for excuses and culprits to blame for the nation’s obvious challenges was an insatiable one and so the blame game continues.
The Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Lekwachi Emetu, said Nigerian youths must learn from the last election that brought his boss,  Governor Alex Oti into Office in Abia State.

“The youths need to be positive and always make sure that the lies that have been birthed amongst us through cultural divides and our religious beliefs should not divide us as youths.  
“We should come together as Nigerians and deliver the country into the hands of God and not just that but into progressiveness because hunger is everywhere,” he said.
A former senator representing Kaduna Central, Mr. Shehu Sanni, was of the opinion that if the giant that Nigeria seemed to proclaim was to come out, a credible and fair electoral system must be put in place.
“Firstly, is a credible election, we have an electoral  system that produces people who genuinely rig elections to be in positions of authority across all levels.
“We have illegitimacy of leadership across all levels and I don’t know any magic that can be done when the system and the process to which you got to power or in position of power is faulty. Secondly, insecurity all across the country must be solved,” he said.