Nigeria has failed, must be reformed – Northern Elders Forum chair
“Looking at present reality in the country, everyone, both the leaders and the led have failed the country.”
The Convener of the Northern Elders Forum, Abdullahi Ango, says Nigerians must go back to the drawing board as the country’s systems have failed to work.
Mr Abdullahi, a professor and former vice-chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said this at a book launch titled “ Court and Politics”, authored by Umar Ardo in Abuja on Saturday.
“Looking at present reality in the country, everyone, both the leaders and the led have failed the country.
“This event, to me is an opportunity for us to talk to ourselves about our collective failure as a country.
“Today, we’ve just had power failure now, for 64 years we are having 4,000 megawatts, what a shame. 4000 megawatts of electricity is not enough for one big house in another country.
“For those of us who from time to time go to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage and so on. I should remind you that the Masjid al-Haram, the Makkah mosque uses 18,000 megawatts of electricity daily.
“Here in Nigeria, that is a country with over 220 million people, we are generating 4,000 megawatts of electricity after 64 years of independence. Something is wrong with everybody, everyone. Everyone is guilty,” Mr Abdullahi said.
He said that Nigeria practised the parliamentary system of government from 1960 to 1966 and later jettisoned it for the presidential system of government.
Mr Abdullahi said that the presidential system was too expensive for the country, as it required lots of resources to run.
“The time has come for us to really go back to the drawing board so that all of us can be safe,” he said.
Speaking about the book, he described court and politics as Siamese twins that cannot be separated.
Mr Abdullahi said that the book covers the subject of politics, democracy and law, adding that it gave an opportunity to not just legal practitioners and politicians but to everyone to discover what had failed Nigeria and the way forward.
Also speaking, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, described the occasion as one of the forums to discuss the way forward for Nigeria.
Mr Gabam said that many Nigerians had been victims of politics, through court decisions, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or vote-buying.
He said that Nigerians could not continue to pay nonchalant attitude toward the system, but be bold and take corrective measures to save the country for both the present and future generations.
“At one period or the other, our judiciary was one of the best in Africa. We used to send some of our judges to African countries to train their judicial system,” he said.
The book reviewer, Dakas Dakas, commended the author for his courage and dedication in shedding light on the contentions and contestation in the intersection of the judiciary and politics in Nigeria.
Mr Dakas, a former Commissioner for Justice for Plateau, said that the book with 563 pages provided insights into Nigeria’s politics, democracy and jurisprudence.
“Ardo skillfully navigates through the twists and turns of his experiences, offering enormous exploration of the challenges, triumphs and tribulations that bedevil the Nigerian political theatre,” he said.
He said that court and politics not only contribute to our understanding of the complexities within Nigeria’s legal and political spheres but also serve as a cautionary tale and a clarion call to action to save Nigeria.
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Mr Dakas recommended the book to students and practitioners of constitutional law, politicians, judges, and all stakeholders who were investing in the vitality of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
The author, a former Special Adviser on Research and Strategy to former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, commended the guests for honouring his invitation.
(NAN)
