We Need New ‘Liberation Movement’ In Nigeria — Soludo

Governor–elect, Anambra State and former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo, on Saturday, advocated emergence of a new Nigeria where the social order work for the good of all and not only for a tiny fraction of the population as the country is currently experiencing.

He said now was the appropriate time for Nigeria and its people to take the required step towards getting to that state of becoming a strong force to reckon with in the comity of prosperous countries.

Soludo made this assertion as a keynote speaker at a graduation ceremony of the pioneer class of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) held in Abuja and connected virtually by many other participants.

Speaking on “The purpose and prize of disruptive change,” Soludo said a new liberation movement that is talking about for Nigeria and Africa by extension is the one that would help to disrupt the current social order that gives a few elite the opportunity to create institutions and political structures to maximize their personal gains at the expense of the generality of the people.

He said it was disturbing that partisan politics has become a big business where many who make money through drug trafficking and internet scamming and all sorts of evil deeds are coming into politics as another easier way to amass wealth even as many appointment or election into public offices is also seen largely as an opportunity to “eat” rather than a call to selfless service.

According to him, there is an army of rich (big men) in the country who have never worked or done any productive work in their life and believe that it is their right to expect something for nothing.

He said the tiny less than one percent elite of Nigerian population have a stranglehold on the public purse while sprinkling occasional crumbs to the citizens as ‘dividends of democracy’.

He said unfortunately, the citizens themselves on the other hand, either out of helplessness or acquiescence, join the party, expecting politicians to dole out pittance out of public treasury as charity and also clapping for them as they do so while politicians who refuse to do the same are tagged to be “stingy” or “wicked”, making the system to continue in a circle.

Soludo stressed that a classic feature of the current political environment particularly in Nigeria is the one where corruption has become part of the “culture”, with little incentive for honesty.

Honesty, he said, is scorned as wickedness, foolishness or mere pretense, and those who dare to be different have a steep price to pay.

“So, there is need for a disruption of the system and this will come at great costs which may also be dangerous for disruptors,” he re-emphasised.

Citing how the late head of State, Murtala Muhammed, and some other Nigerians lost their lives in their bid to make positive change in the past and that himself and family received 19 written threats including physical attacks when he was undertaking banking revolution as CBN governor, he stressed that disruption of the existing social order is certainly a dangerous terrain.

He said this was because the beneficiaries of the current order, who prefer the status quo to remain are powerful enough to organise and fight back to protect their privileges.

“But we must not be deterred by that as we need a society that will guarantee long term safety and prosperity for all,” he said.

Soludo, however, commended the founder of SPPG and former Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili for continuing to be a key change maker in Africa while congratulating the pioneer graduands of the school, urging them to go all out and make the difference Nigerians and indeed Africans are waiting for.

In her remark at the event, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, explained the essence of establishing SPPG, saying it is to radically transform the quality of political and public leadership in Nigeria and Africa, with a view to building a pipeline of value-based and disruptive thinking political class equipped with requisite knowledge and skills to solve complex problems of development.

She said she was passionate to see that things work well in Nigeria as they are in the developed countries of the world.

She said things are that bad in Nigeria that nowadays almost everybody is termed to be the same particularly when referring to people who are coming out genuinely to make a positive change in government for the betterment of the society, noting that whereas everyone can never be the same.

She said unfortunately it is the political class that continued to determine the direction of life for the generality of the people and that when there is no right politics, there would not be right policies and good governance.

She said what Nigerians and Africa as a whole deserve now is to have leaders who take positions of responsibilities to serve and not to rule irrespective of attendant pains and sacrifice for the entire citizens to enjoy.

She revealed that SPPG would also be established in six other African countries so as to work at the same pace to produce right leaders who would contribute meaningfully to the development of Africa continent.

Also speaking, the vice-chancellor of the school, Alero Ayida-Otobo, gave insight into the graduating set, saying only 158 out of over 200 of students, who enrolled and started the eight months duration programme were able to graduate.

She said the graduands had been equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills and mindset to join others to change the bad narrative about Nigeria and Africa to a good one, where every African would be proud of the continent.