Former Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Thursday in Kaduna
said the greatest disservice to the country and its democracy was for
Nigerians to keep silent in the face of injustice.
According to Ribadu, citizens engagement is the fertilizer that aids the growth of true democracy.
He said, “Without the oversight of the
legislature, the inquisitiveness of the media and the doggedness of the
civil society, democracy is no different from oligarchy and
dictatorship.”
The former EFCC boss stated this in a
goodwill message at a one-day seminar on, ‘The Role of a Legislator in a
Democracy’, organised by the Center for Development and Rights Advocacy
in Kaduna.
Ribadu also called on Nigerian youths to
be focused and steadfast in the course of nationhood and resist any
attempt by any individual or group to set them against one another.
He said, “Let me also use this
opportunity to, once again, call on our youths to remain focused and
steadfast in the course of our nationhood. You should resist any attempt
by any selfish person to manipulate or set you against each other.
“Don’t listen to anyone who will tell
you that your Christian or Muslim neighbour is your enemy or obstacle to
your progress. Your real enemy is the one trying to incite you against
your fellow citizens, while he has looted you blind, depriving you of a
decent future. This is what we must resist.”
He added, “It is important that we have
more of this type of assembly as a necessary avenue to dialogue, ask
questions and proffer the way forward for our country, especially at a
critical time like this.
“We must continue to ask questions.
Questions, no matter how politely they are asked, often rattle the one
in whose direction they are thrown, especially if the person has no
ready explanation for such legitimate questions.
“But we should not be deterred. The
greatest disservice we would do to our country and democracy is to keep
silent. Citizen engagement is the fertilizer that abets the growth of
true democracy.”
Executive Director, Human Rights
Monitor, Mr. Festus Okoye, took a swipe at the governors of the 35
states of the federation for rubber-stamping members of the states
Houses of Assembly and preventing them from performing their legislative
functions.
Okoye, who was guest speaker at the
event, said the governors were not allowing the lawmakers to perform
their statutory duties,stressing that in most cases, some governors had
become so powerful that they dictated to the Speakers what to do.
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