New Telegraph

Insecurity: Nigeria straying to elastic limit – Bode George

Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said the Nigerian polity is now straying towards its elastic limit and already over-stretched due to the current system of governance being practiced.

 

This is as he warned the Federal Government, the two major political parties, ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other stakeholders from reducing the security challenges before thecountry to partisanpolitics.

 

Speaking yesterday in Lagos during a welcome reception organised for him by the leadership and members of the PDP in the state, George, in his speech, entitled: ‘Ni  geria: Time to chart a new direction’, said it was time for the nation’s managers to change the path of old, look beyond what hobbles the nation’s progress and redefine value system.

 

Whilestatingthatthecryfor the balkanisation of the country is not the solution, the PDP leader said Nigeria can be a better place “when we all eschew ethnic jingoism, sectarian bias and crass nepotistic agenda.”

 

He said: “The turmoil within the Nigerian entity is about the twisted present situation. It is about who we are. It is about what we ought to be. It is about the greater tomorrow.

 

Unfortunately, the sway and the swing of the present political culture do not favour the triumph of merit. “It does not favour the promotion of excellence. It does not encourage the accommodation of hard work.

And it discourages the blind indifference to ethnic or sectarian provenance. “To change cause, to redefine our path, we must cultivate the essential ingredients of meritocracy as the critical building blocks of modern nations.”

 

He also advocated for the restructuring of the system, saying: “The Nigerian federation is skewed, distorted and should be restructured for equity and fairness to prevail. Politics should be seen as a public service and not as an avenue to amass wealth.”

 

George, who also condemned the recent Lagos State government’s legislation on anti-graft, said the legislation, recently signed by Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu, only seeks to shield criminals from being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), which according to him is unconstitutional and retrogressive. “This is politics of deceit and self-serving glorification.

 

They cherry pick what suits them, railroading their enemies into jail and protecting their own.”

Read Previous

UNILAG Alumni backs ICPC in fight against corruption

Read Next

LCCI seeks better interface between regulatory agencies, SMEs

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *