NIGERIA @ 63: NEPOTISM, CORRUPTION, INSECURITY, POVERTY, DISREGARD FOR RULE OF LAW MUST BE ADDRESSED— ANALYSTS

REPORTER: UZOR EGWU

With the lowering of the Union Jack and hoisting of the green and white flag which signalled Nigeria’s freedom from her British Colonial masters on October 1, 1960, many people heaved a sigh of relief and hoped for a better and greater Nigeria.

Also, the expectations of the then Nationalists like late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello as well as other patriots was that the country would in a matter of years be counted among individuals to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, 63 years after independence, the dream of the country’s founding fathers is yet to be actualized as the pace of its social, economic, infrastructural and political development appears to be grinding slowly and sometimes retrogressively.

Social and political affairs experts in Ebonyi State have attributed this to years of military rule, maladministration, endemic corruption, lack of respect for the rule of law and principles of democracy, double standards as well as religious and ethnic bigotry.

To this end, Nigeria is in a dire situation with the people more polarised than ever, dependence on importation, resulting in dollarisation of the economy with its attendant consequences of inflation and overwhelming poverty, agitations, insecurity and loss of confidence in the ruling class.

Consequently, at 63, Nigeria is in a precipice and needs urgent deliberate interventions.

A social affairs commentator, Pastor Gabriel Odom, noted that though Nigeria had long been freed from the clutches of its colonial masters, the country remained undeveloped due its crude way of addressing issues of governance, politics, religion and security.

Pastor Odom urged the government to restrategise on how to tackle challenges bedevelling the nation.

Speaking on ways to salvage Nigeria, a lecturer with the Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Evangelist Joseph Agbo, insisted that restructuring Nigeria to reflect a true federal state remained the best option in solving its problems.

According to Evangelist Agbo, government has not demonstrated sincerity and strong political will in the fight against insecurity, a situation he said had exacerbated the problem.

In his submission, a business operator, Mr. Patrick Ekuma, expressed sadness with the current situation, stressing that Nigerians were yet to see the positive changes promised by successive and present governments.

Also a journalist, Mr. Wilson Ogbonnaya, described the prevailing harsh economic situation as unacceptable and appealed to those in leadership positions to prioritize the well being of the people.

Other respondents extolled the resilient nature of the Nigerian people and expressed the hope that Nigeria would rise again.
       
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU