As Nigeria draws closer to 2023, there are fears that the general elections may not hold due to the nation’s current state.
A one-time Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Father George Ehusani, expressed fear of the 2023 elections holding due to the spate of insecurity and other leadership issues.
Ehusani lamented that security had failed, and Nigeria was experiencing a deficiency in leadership, stressing that the country has not had its “best 11” in leadership since the civil war.
The former Catholic church Secretary-General spoke during the “Maiden National Dialogue” roundtable discussion organized by Development Specs Academy in Abuja.
Ehusani also lamented the low involvement of youths in the country’s leadership positions.
According to Ehusani: “Many of us can testify that our brightest and smartest youths are going out of the country. We all know the problems of Nigerians; when you see two or three Nigerians, they are discussing this country’s problems.
“If everybody knows the problem, what is the missing link? How do we come by the solution? And how do the young people take their future into their hands and forge a new nation that their children can be very proud of?
“First of all, we of the older generation must admit that ours is likely a wasted generation; our generation must admit that we have stolen foods off the hands of our children. If this must not repeat itself, then we must begin today to lay the blocks of a better Nigeria, of a country that works. People invest in the future rather than the present in any country that works.
“Every society that works today, they were blessed with leadership, forward-looking, visionary leadership, servant, and self-sacrificing leadership.
“How do we fix this country so that in the next 20-30 years, people will be coming in as they go to Dubai? First of all, we need to get our leadership right; we can’t make progress unless we get out politics right. A number of people trained in the Lagos Business School have thought that you can fix the economy without getting the politics right. But, we can’t make economic progress unless we get the politics right. You have a bunch of people who do not know their left from their right running the local governments, and these people select delegates for national conventions. Eventually, they are the ones who now select those presented to us to vote. This happened because we neglected the local governments, which are the fundamental cell of the political system.
“From the time of the 1966 to 1967 civil war till today, this country has suffered a major haemorrhage. We have not had our best election running our affairs; we have not had our second and third best eleven running our affairs. We have had some of the worst human beings running the affairs of Nigeria, and that is why we are where we are.
“So, as I look at you and see smart young people sitting down here, I’m asking how you are involved in forging Nigeria’s future because where we are heading for is definitely ruined. I fear that there may be no 2023 elections, and I believe that many people are with me because what we see on the horizon is not encouraging.
“Right now, everything is down, security is down, and people live in fear. Students of 18-25 are sitting at home doing nothing, which is the most dangerous thing to happen to any society.”
First published in Daily Post