Irresponsibility of Nigerian politicians dragged us backward – Mohammed


Second Republic lawmaker, Dr Junaid Mohammed, in this interview said the waywardness and irresponsibility of the Nigerian political class dragged Nigeria backward.
He also said for Nigeria to make headway, there must be elite political consensus.
At 55 years, what change do you think Nigeria needs?
I believe there cannot be development without change and the change can be accessed at various levels but there has to be a mental mindset change, there has to be a change in terms of economic outlook, there has to be change in the ways we as a people look at ourselves. I think the most important change Nigeria needs right now is new and I have been saying this since 1985 when I wrote a column after the Babangida coup of 1985. I said the most important thing Nigeria needs is what I call Elite political consensus. I said it will be very difficult for us to achieve it but it is the only way you can push the country forward. Without the elites coming together, nothing will happen in this country because this country belongs to everybody. I also believe Nigeria cannot move forward except we have elites political consensus. We have been suffering from this for over 30 years and we are still in the doldrums because the Nigeria elites are irresponsible. The political elites are absolutely corrupt and they have no sense of duty to the nation. They only pay lip service to everything they do. But in terms of responsibility and a duty to all Nigerians, I have not seen any change and the political elites should be held responsible for that.
I want the change that will happen to Nigeria to be a change in the mind of the elites and the acceptance that this Nigeria project is really important. Without the elites change, there can be no change in every other aspects of our lives and if Nigeria fails in this project, the whole of Africa will fail.
In addition, the way we manage the economy, it is clear that our practice is western driven and our being driven by western subservient interest has not done this country any good. It is time we ensure we have an economic system that addresses the issues of poverty. This country cannot move forward when more than 60 to 70 per cent of its people are living below poverty line and the idea that we must have a capitalist system is unacceptable. I look forward to a change in our attitude and the management of the economy because without this, the rich will continue to be rich while the poor will continue to get poorer and that is unacceptable and might bring disaster upon this country.







For the full story, check the Vanguard newspaper.





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