Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described as “senseless and tragic” the murders of dozens of agriculture students gunned down in their sleep in Gujba, Yobe State by suspected Boko Haram members.
Abubakar said it casts a “horrible image” on the events making the 53rd National Day Anniversary.
“As a father, I am deeply saddened by these senseless murders. These were young Nigerians studying agriculture with a goal of helping to feed our nation,” Abubakar said.
“We must urgently review our strategy for confronting these cowards. The murders at the Gujba College of Agriculture are further proof we need to rethink how we provide security for our nation.”
Abubakar referred to a quote by American civil rights hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as a rallying point for Nigeria: “Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”
He added: “We must organize ourselves better to provide dignity and security for Nigeria. To defeat terror we must use much more potent, unbeatable weapons: democracy, education and opportunity.”
Turning his attention to the National Day, Abubakar said: “Grand intentions without vision meant nothing. Leaders must work with greater zeal and focus if democracy is expected to produce the envisaged impact on the lives of the people. Nigerians have lost faith in their government because of this lack of vision in the management of the nation’s political, economic and social affairs.”
Reviewing the state of affairs in the country in the democratic order, Abubakar stated that leaders should not seek elective offices simply for the sake of power if they lack the vision to push economic growth, which in turn creates employment and greater prosperity for the citizens.
According to him: “The economy is central to everything and demands vision driven leadership to move forward.
“Our economy has weakened in the past few years with crippling unemployment, especially among our youth. Nigeria has become unable to deliver the goods and services to give our people a decent standard of living and dignity.”
The former vice president restated his commitment to work with willing Nigerians to make a difference and expressed concern at the unchanging shambolic state of national infrastructure and the deteriorating state of education in the country.
He said vision was not achieved by mere rhetoric and good intentions.
Instead, he said, leaders at all levels needed to be adequately equipped for the job they were elected to do.
Abubakar repeated his position that as an oil-rich nation, Nigerian leaders have no excuses to fail, adding that inexperience, lack of adequate preparation for office and drift should not be allowed to stand in the way of the country.
He also argued that challenges like attracting and sustaining foreign direct investments, improving education, boosting the manufacturing sector, enhancing power generation, improving security, tackling poverty and unemployment had direct relationship with the quality of leadership a country has.
According to Abubakar, vision doesn’t exist in a vacuum, adding that performance levels could not be separated from the qualities of elected leaders.
The former vice president said one of the challenges facing democratic governance is the lack of emphasis on issues and the promotion of sentiments over substance.
Throughout the world, he said, the citizens base their choices of leaders on their proven abilities to deliver.
According to him, democracy is too important to be left in the hands of those seeking elective offices for its own sake without the vision to deliver the country from its quagmire.
Trending
- Court subpoenas Lagos prison controller over disobedience to order
- Ondo poll: You’ll be successful tomorrow, Ganduje tells Jimoh Ibrahim, others
- Court sets aside arrest warrant against Fubara’s Chief of Staff
- The New Frontier: Nigeria’s emerging role in global sports events, esports
- Ondo 2024: ADP adopts Businessman, Akinnodi as its Governorship candidate
- Lagos approves N1.5b for WAEC fees, reiterates commitment to education
- Musings on parties in turmoil, by Azu Ishiekwene
- Court dismisses suit seeking to reverse appointment of Hannatu Musawa as minister