State of the nation: Nigeria not working, needs urgent fixing — Atiku

 

 

. Buhari vows to tackle widespread hunger among citizens

. Nigeria can’t go Afghanistan way – Lai Mohammed

 

OBIORA IFOH, Abuja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigeria is present facing existential challenges and with its current form, the nation is not working for Nigerians and needs to be fixed urgently.

Atiku Abubakar who was the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP also said that under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, there has been no effort at nation-building.

Atiku spoke at the Public Presentation of the book, Remaking Nigeria: Sixty Years, Sixty Voices, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, in Abuja, Thursday said, “That fixing or restructuring will help in our nation-building project because it will help to foster a sense of nationhood out of our disparate groups, cultures, religions, and regions. It is obvious that a country is not necessarily a nation. Nationhood has to be forged through what we do as a country, and leadership is critical in the process of nation-building.  Leaders give direction and the example they set determines the extent to which their followers will trust them. Without trust, there’s no leadership. Without leadership, a country drifts and becomes more difficult to forge into a nation.

“Some contributors to the book have gone as far as to say that development will continue to elude us until we are able to forge that sense of nationhood, that is, until we deepen our nation-building process. This is understandable because of the growing frustrations we all feel at the slow pace of development and reversals in nation-building.”

Atiku also said, when Nigerians start developing with what they have, more of Nigerians will want to identify with the country, love the country and commit their lives to the country.

“When that happens, especially with fairness and justice, nation-building accelerates, however imperfectly. This is why I find it amusing when people declare Nigeria’s unity as fixed and non-negotiable while doing everything in their power to destroy that fragile unity.  Nothing in the relationships among peoples is fixed for eternity.  You cannot declare your marriage as non-negotiable while doing everything to sow seeds of discord in that same marriage. Countries can be created by force. You can whip groups of people into forming a country but you cannot whip them into forming a nation. Nations are built through conscious or even unconscious agreement by peoples who believe that being together is, on balance, more beneficial than being apart.

“Development and nation-building do not happen by themselves. They are guided by people, especially leaders, thoughtful, insightful, and visionary leaders who are willing to make sacrifices and reach compromises. When people see their leaders making those efforts genuinely, and experience improvements in their lives, they are likely to follow.  Over the past six years the leadership of this country at the federal level hardly embarked on nation-building. They may have been making (utterly confusing and unproductive) efforts at economic development.  However, it can be rightly argued that they have been un-building the nation by taking conscious and deliberate actions that not only make nation-building more difficult but also undo the achievements made in that regard by previous administrations.

“As we all know there were deliberate attempts made since the 1960s to forge a nation out of Nigeria: states creation, federal character, the NYSC, power rotation, unity schools, and multiple federal agencies.  However imperfect, these were genuine attempts at giving each segment of the country a sense of belonging and a semblance of justice and equity and promote interactions among our peoples.  All it has taken is one administration in six short years to tear up the fabric of that unity and make more Nigerians lose faith in Nigeria and question the rationale for having one united country.  One lesson there for all of us is the need to always be vigilant and be prepared to defend our democracy, for it is through the democratic process that we can more easily promote the unity of our country.

“I strongly believe that Nigeria can and will remain one strong and united nation with significant strides in economic development to improve the lives of our peoples.  However, we must not take it for granted. We must work hard at it and make necessary compromises to accommodate one another.  Hard work and compromises are necessary for restructuring the country, especially in terms of the relationship between the centre and the constituent states and between the public sector and the private sector.  We do not need to reinvent the wheel; there are numerous examples of success from around the world for us to borrow from while adapting them to our local conditions.”

Nigeria situation not irredeemable –Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday expressed optimism that Nigeria would still attain greater heights and occupy an enviable position in the comity of nations.

Obasanjo said this in Abeokuta while addressing newsmen after a closed-door meeting with Prince Uche Secondus, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The elder statesman who described the meeting as unscheduled, stated that his doors would remain open to all and sundry by virtue of the position he occupied in the nation.

Obasanjo said his heart was gladdened because the discussion between the duo centred on development of Nigeria and not on party politics.

“One thing that Secondus told me that is sweet music in my ears is that although he was here as PDP Chairman, but that he had come to discuss the Nigeria situation,” he said.

Obasanjo who expressed concern about the situation of the country said the country’s development should be of paramount importance to anyone who loves the nation.

“Nigeria is not where it is supposed to be and may even degenerate if the right things are not done.

“Although the situation may be bad, but it is not hopeless and not irredeemable.

“I am an incurable believer as far as Nigeria’s destiny is concerned.

“All we need to do is to join hands together to build a common front and forge ahead

” I am sure Nigeria will still be better and be great,” he said.

The elder statesman also emphasised on the need to enlist international supports and tap from their wealth of experience.

Obasanjo urged Secondus to ensure that his love for Nigeria was not sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics.

“Where it is necessary to wear the party cap, wear it; but where you need to wear the Nigerian leadership cap, please wear it,” he said.

Responding, Secondus described Obasanjo as a global citizen who is vast on issues relating to nation-building.

The PDP National Chairman confirmed that his discussion with Obasanjo was centred on Nigeria adding that, “we need the advice of elders to move the nation forward”.

He added that politicians could only practise politics conveniently in a peaceful environment.

“I am happy about this visit because our elder statesman has rekindled our hope in Nigeria and we are going out with a renewed hope about Nigeria” he said.

Buhari vows to tackle widespread hunger among citizens

President Muhammadu Buhari has again pledged to tackle widespread hunger among citizens across the country, assuring that he will not exit government as a failure.

The National Security Adviser to the President, retired Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, said the president made the pledge during a crucial security meeting attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, security chiefs and some cabinet Ministers in Abuja on Thursday

He said the president was updated on security developments in various parts of the country since the last meeting of the Security Council was held on June 8.

Monguno said: “The last National Security Council meeting we had was on the 8th of June. From that time till now, a lot has happened within the security domain. Mr. President called for this meeting.

“It was actually supposed to be for next week, but he drew it back for today, for obvious reasons.

“We also address the issue of the prevailing situation, which is widespread, you know, issues of hunger.

“The President is not oblivious to the pains of the people and is working with the Vice President and other members of council, is going to employ the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to address this issue.

“As far as it’s concerned, it’s also an emergency situation that people should not be left to wallow in hunger and in despair, this is something that he’s also going to look into.

“And he’s going to use all the necessary all the relevant tools at his disposal to address the issue of widespread hunger.

“And then also the issue of insecurity in the northwest, which is still, even though for those of us who are within the security system, we have seen a significant drop in the number of incidents of kidnapping and banditry, nevertheless, a lot has to be done.

“Because like I’ve always said in the past, as far as the people are concerned, there shouldn’t be any incident of kidnapping, banditry, and other incidents of insecurity.’’

The NSA revealed that the meeting also addressed the recent killing of travelers at Rukuba, near Jos, Plateau.

“We also address the issue in plateau – the recent killings, and the President has given certain directives to address that.

“He (Buhari) also expressed confidence in the efforts of the Gov. Simon Lalong of plateau,’’ he added.

On the reported mass surrender of Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast, Monguno stated that President Buhari would soon take a firm decision on the matter.

“Yes, there are plans. But I don’t want to immediately divulge what has been decided on those plans till the President takes a firm decision on the plans.

“But definitely that is one of the things that he intends to address – the number of people surrendering.

“And it’s not just in Nigeria, even in northern Cameroon, you have equally large numbers of people, you know, surrendering to the bonafide agencies of government,’’ he said.

He attributed the successes being recorded by the security agencies to the regional cooperation between the various countries and the agencies of those countries involved in tackling the menace of the insurgents.

He, therefore, called on Nigerians to forge a sense of oneness, unity, and put aside whatever suspicions, apprehensions or agitations so as to consolidate the gains being witnessed in the fight insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes in the country.

 

“In the context of the 21st century, you can’t deal with these emerging crises in a cut and dried manner.

“We have to use everything at our disposal, all the elements of national power, including the population, the wider community needs to work with the security agencies to deal with these problems. Responses have to be fast.

“We can’t act on stale intelligence. And that is why as things are happening, right from the grassroots level going all the way up, the local government, the state governments, and then of course, the Federal Government has its own parts to play.

“People should not cover for those who they have identified, unscrupulous, undesirable people, it is very, very important that we share because in today’s context, the highest value of intelligence doesn’t necessarily need to come from the agencies of government.

“It could come from any other tangential organisation, institution or group,’’ he said.

 

Nigeria can’t go Afghanistan way – Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Nigeria was not a failed state and could not go the way of Afghanistan where terrorist group har taken the reins of power.

The minister stated this in Washington DC during his engagements with international media organisations including the BBC Radio and Television, Bloomberg and Politico.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the minister is in the U.S. to meet with international media organisations and think tanks on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and efforts made so far in tackling insurgency, banditry and all form of criminality.

Speaking with NAN after his respective meeting with the three media organisations, Mohammed said insinuation in certain quarter that the security situation in Nigeria could degenerate to that of Afghanistan was not correct.

He emphasized that Nigeria is winning the war against terror and the country cannot go the way of Afghanistan where Taliban, a terrorist group took over power.

“Nigeria is not and will not be a failed state. Yes, we have challenges in some corners of the country but that has not made Nigeria a failed state.

“A failed state is one where basic facilities are not available and everything has broken down but, Nigeria is not in that stage,’’ he said.

Mohammed said Nigeria is not at war adding that fake news and disinformation was being used to portray the country in precarious situation.

The minister noted that the development in Afghanistan, had proven right the position of President Buhari that when fighting an unconventional war, the country had to be resourceful.

“If what happened in Afghanistan is something to go by, then the federal government should be given kudos for the way it has handled insurgency in the last couple of years.

“The lessons from Afghanistan today is that for over 20 years of American intervention and over a trillion dollar spent and thousands of American lives lost, it took the Taliban just few weeks to recapture Afghanistan.

“This should be a lesson for everybody that when you are fighting an insurgency or movement driven by ideology, it is always difficult to overcome and you must be resourceful, deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic approach.

“When people were saying we should invite mercenaries, the president was focused and maintained that our military have what it takes.

“The President should be given kudos for believing in our military and deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches,’’ he said.

He said while a lot of efforts had been put on kinetic approach, the Nigerian military also engaged in non-kinetic approach, building hospitals, reviving schools, teaching in some of the schools and delivering medical cares to the people in affected areas.

According to the minister, the non-kinetic approach to fighting insurgency in the North-East, had led to droves of insurgents coming out to surrender arms and pledge their loyalty to the government.

He noted that with the recent development of many Boko Haram coming out voluntarily to surrender their arms, the country is winning the war against insurgency.

Speaking on banditry, the minister said bandits were now suffering more casualties than ever before.

He assured that the delivery of the Super Tucano military platforms by US to the military would will be a game changer in the fight against banditry.