Ololade Adeyanju/
The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, today said Nigerian has reached a stage where successive presidents are hated more than their predecessors.
Kukah who was the keynote speaker made the observation at the third annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos, today.
Kukah who spoke on the theme of the conference, ‘Economy, Security and National Development: The Way Forward’, noted that the phenomenon which started from President Olusegun Obasanjo has subsisted till date.
Kukah also accused successive administrations of “systematic destruction of national policies”, adding that the systematic destruction of policies by Nigerian leaders was responsible for insecurity in the country.
The cleric insisted that “it is bad governance that is causing insecurity, not the other way round”.
“From the presidency to councils, there is a general belief that things are not working in the country. Of course, efforts are being made to address insecurity but things are not working. When things are not working, the economy will not develop.
“We have a situation in which so much opportunity is seen beside so much poverty. That is a tragedy.
“We are pretty clear about our situation. Our situation is not about APC or PDP. It is about the collective interest of Nigeria.
“Since 1982 when I met former President Shehu Shagari, I have met every leader except General Sani Abacha for reasons best known to me. There is no Nigerian leader that Nigerians do not hate. That says something about our system”.
He also accused the military of truncating democracy by not returning to barracks after the civil war ended in 1970.
“If the military had returned to the barracks in 1970 after the civil war, things would have been better. The decision by the military to stay after the civil war decapitated the Nigerian political class.
“The military left in 1979, came back in 1983 and eventually left in 1999. By the time it left in 1999, all the patriotic politicians had grown old. That is why we have some young people who do not have second address in politics today”.
To boost the economy, he advised members of the National Assembly to give up half of their salaries running into millions of naira.
To him, if that is done, thousands of Nigerians would be employed at N92,000 per month.
“A Senator earns N36 million. Half of the salary, N18 million can create 200 jobs, with a salary of 92,000. If you multiply by 109, that means 21,800 Nigerians can be employed.
“Members of the House receive N25m. Again, half of that can employ 135 Nigerians earning N92,000. Multiply by 360 will give 48,600 Nigerians jobs,” Kukah stated.
Also speaking at the conference, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, who was the guest of honour, cautioned those in authority against actions that threaten the independence of the media and freedom of expression.
He posited that it was better for political leader to endure the pains inflicted on them by the perceived excesses of the media than to attempt to suppress media freedom, noting that doing the latter would amount to destroying the very foundation on which democracy is laid.
He observed that the media are the only part of the society to which the Nigerian constitution imposed a fundamental duty of holding leaders accountable, hence, nothing must be done by anyone to hinder them in the discharge of this “sacred duty”.
He also called on Nigerians to unite in demanding a fundamental review of the constitution as against the current cosmetic attempts at doing same, noting that this was the only guarantee for the continued unity of the country.
“We need to create a constitution that guarantees equal rights to all citizens, where there are no first class or second class citizens. Our constitution is the handiwork of men, so there is nothing done by mortals that can be perfect. This is one of the reasons I pity those who believe our current constitution is perfect. Truth is, we must all push for a fundamental review of our constitution to guarantee the continued unity of this country,” Dickson said.
On his own part, a former director of the Department of State Service, Mr. Mike Ejiofor, said the current administration is not the only one controlled by a cabal, except that the existence of a cabal is more visible now than ever.
Ejiofor who was one of the two discussants at the conference added that the existence of a cabal also suggested that the fight against corruption would be selective as government would be confined to hand-picking those it wants to fight.
Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a brief remark, described a situation where citizens hate all their leaders as observed by Bishop Kukah as an abnormal one, which calls for a critical examination of the citizenry.
“The picture painted by Bishop Kukah in which Nigerian leaders are hated progressively than their predecessors from Obasanjo till Buhari, who is hated more than Jonathan, is not experimental. But even if we agree that this is true, then it suggests that something is wrong with the populace if they keep hating all their leaders.
“Leadership comes from the people and needs the people’s support to succeed. If we continue with the trajectory of hating our leaders, the country will be the worse for it,” Adesina stated.
The conference which witnessed a large turn out of media practitioners was chaired by the Managing Director of The News, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
Other dignitaries included the Chief of Army Staff, who was represented by the Ag. Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa; Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission, represented by the Commission’s head of online media, Mr. Omoniyi Ibietan, former Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, who was the second discussant; among others.
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