Former chairman, Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, has described Nigeria’s democracy as
one full of tyranny.
He said leadership failure had made the youth lose confidence in the government.
The ex-EFCC boss said the citizenry should know that they are in a sinking ship.
He added that Nigerians should all see themselves as politicians in the storm, who were bound to rescue the ship.
“The reality of modern Nigeria is one
that challenges us to drop any other identity aside from that of citizen
in our effort to rescue the ship of state from this stormy sea of
chaos,” he said.
Ribadu said this in his address
delivered at a public lecture organised by the Students’ Representative
Council of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State on Saturday.
He said the tyrants in Nigeria’s
democracy were certain individuals who served as agents of electoral
malpractices and political dishonesty.
He added that unless Nigerians put their
patriotism away from greed and any undemocratic advocacy, their
collective struggle to install a popular government will remain a
mission impossible.
Ribadu said, “But the place of the youth
in our democratic space is jeopardised when the elite in our state
decide to model our government after a gerontocracy—a government by the
old and for the elderly. Ours is a system in which new and modern ideas
are denied a chance to grow and mature.
“The tragedy of our democracy is that it
is one in which the yearnings of the youth are stamped down in order to
perpetuate a tyranny of interests. Tyranny it is when a certain slim
range of people impose their private interests on the majority; tyranny
it is when the agents of change are left on the cliffs of unemployment,
poverty, insecurity, substandard education and, worse still, policies
destroyed by our heritage of corruptions.
“We are doomed as a nation the moment
the youth get hoodwinked by the bickering of bitter politicians who ride
to relevance on sentiments that only inspire distrust among citizens.
My experience so far in politics has taught me that age does not
guarantee maturity to responsibly play the role of a patriot in an
atmosphere of tensed political antagonisms.”
He noted that the political storm included inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-regional clashes.
Ribadu said, “The challenge ahead is
enormous. The challenge is for us to form networks that will engage and
destroy the evil missions of the exclusionists and agents of anarchy
among us. In a time of anarchy, everybody is a politician. This is a
time of anarchy.
“In a time like this, we should have no
identities other than ordinary Citizen. We are citizens of a world
challenged, a people confused and abused, a nation whose resources is
misused by leaders whose major worry is the amount of dollars in their
bank accounts. The situation is one of psychological abuse, existential
abuse. My antidote for this monstrous reality is also psychological.”
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My good friend Nuhu, I think you are right and perhaps the way forward is to divide this country so that the various ethnic groups will at least have mercy on their brothers. For now, the people that lumped the entity called Nigeria together are just wicked. Very long ago people had blamed the killings and destructions on the British government for lumping us together. I wish that Britain will equally experience this crisis and killings they planted here in their nation. All innocent bloods wasted in this country will cry before God and Britain will be answerable for it.
ReplyDeleteYou dnt knw what you are saying annonymoius is dividing this country the. Solution I dnt think so bcos still yet there is going to be problem. The best thing is for we nigerians to cooperate which each others. Say no all the bad bad things our politician of nowaday. Coruption. Money loundring. Abuse of everything. Let just drive all this selfishness away from this country.
ReplyDeleteNIGERIA MUST BETTER.
AMEN
Are this people this ready for the country to better or they want their own selfish intrest bcs they dont eat frm the hot cake again dats why they want to distroy everytin
ReplyDelete