Shehu Sani, Other Eminent Nigerians Point at Effective Leadership as the Way Forward
Sunday Okobi
Eminent Nigerians from all walks of life have affirmed that the only solution to Nigeria’s present political, social and economic crises is vote for visionary Nigerians who would provide the needed quality leadership.
They suggested that to drive the vanguard for change which the country badly needs now, and which would usher in good leadership, Nigeria needs the right people on board, including women and young and vibrant Nigerians, and that “these set of people need to be empowered in order to drive that desired change.”
These suggestions were made at the recent symposium on ‘Nigeria: which way forward’ organised by the Magodo Associates (former professors of UNILAG) at the University of Lagos recently.
In his remark, one of the guest speakers, Senator Shehu Sani, said Nigerian democracy wasn’t given to the country on a platter of gold or as a luxury; rather, it was fought for by the people, adding that unfortunately, the leaders misused the opportunity to develop and take the country to a greater height.
He said the time has come for Nigerians to take over again and provide effective leadership that would give hope and succour to the downtrodden, as neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can give Nigeria the right leadership it direly needs now.
The senator, who stated that only the integrity of the president cannot move the country forward nor fighting corruption be the only focus of the government, added that there are other areas begging for attention.
The Chairman of Magodo Associates, Professor Funso Akere, in his submission, said the crux of the symposium was to sensitise the public on the need to have ideas that will move Nigeria forward. “We are looking forward to another regime in 2019. People want change in terms of governance, but there are no concrete steps to put in place to understand what the country wants in 2016. At the moment our progress is limited. We are not making any progress; therefore, we need some kind of re-engineering in the minds of the people.
Another prominent speaker, Dr. Amos Akingba, who lamented that colonialism was responsible for bad governance that persists in the country today, blamed the British colonial masters for handling over Nigeria “to those who never had the country at heart,” adding that Nigeria must be revolutionised in order to have a voice among the comity of nations.