* Says Nigeria hasn’t been this divided
Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili saturday
lamented that despite being ascribed as the Commander-in-Chief of
the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari had not
proved to be in charge of the armed forces.
Ezekwesili, who co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls Movement, also
lamented that Nigeria had been this divided since it became
independent in 1960.
She lamented Buhari’s failure to exercise his power at the 11th
Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series held at MUSON Centre,
Lagos Island saturday.
Other discussants at the lecture are the Executive Director,
Paradigm Initiative, Mr. Gbenga Sesan; Senior Programme Officer,
MacArthur Foundation, Mrs. Amina Salihu and the Editorial Board
Chair, Nigeria Info Radio Group, Mr. Rotimi Sankore.
Ezekwesili, who made the lead presentation at the lecture, said
the president was not commanding the Nigerian Armed Forces the way
it should be controlled.
Ezekwesili the president “is Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian
Armed Forces. If security is failing in the country, that is the
fastest way to assess the incompetence that the president has shown
so far to an issue that affects the majority of his citizens.
“I do not think we should mince words and that is why I am not
mincing words. We cannot have a president who is comfortable to be
in the office and spend the night at the Villa unconcerned by the
type of challenges that we the citizens are facing.
“A government that cannot guarantee the security and safety of
the citizens and the government that would not immediately ensure
that there is a consequence for the kind of killings that we have
seen around the country, but will rather inflame the passions of
the people negatively by introducing a matter that is divisive,
that government needs to be called to scrutiny and
interrogation.”
“So, for me, the security issue in our society today says to
President Buhari: You are not commanding the Nigerian Armed forces
in the way that you should. The safety of the citizens of this
country should above every other issue because after all when the
dignity of the human life is held in contempt, what else it is in
governance.”
Ezekwesili said the country was presently divided across various
ethnic and religious lines, lamented that the issue of RUGA took
Nigeria by storm
He noted: “You could see the tardiness by this government in
addressing it. Buhari should know he is the president of a highly
divided country. I have never seen a country this divided. He
should invite all parts of the country for deep retrospection and
introspection on how democracy should be constituted.
She also declared that reports from civil society organisations
(CSOs) “have shown that the 2019 general elections were far from
credible. The elements of credible elections include inclusivity,
competitivity, transparency and accountability. But the reports
from CSOs show we were far from credible.”
Ezekwesili said, “Recently, a vexing issue of Ruga took the
country by storm and you could see a level of emptiness with which
a government thought of a matter so polarising.
“If the President did not learn anything from Ruga, then we
should let him know that Ruga pointed to him. That he is president
of a highly divided country. I have never seen this country that
divided,” she added.
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