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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Nigeria Agenda, an advocacy group devoid of ethnic and religious biases, comprising a coalition of over 50 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) across the country, has drummed support for young brilliant young Nigerians to take over leadership after the 2023 general elections.
The coalition equally inducted over 300 volunteers in the South-eastern geopolitical zone as part of its determination to play a prominent role in shaping the political choices of Nigerians for the 2023 polls.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by the Chief Advocate of the TNA, Niyi Akinsiju, said the newly inducted TNA Volunteers are expected to engage people at the grassroots in constructive dialogue by propagating the values of a Nigeria pivoted on the ideals of unity, equity, inclusiveness and good neighborliness.
The statement further disclosed that former Commissioner for Information in Adamawa state, Malam Ahmad Sajoh, who spoke during the induction held in Awka, said that the country was at a critical point where the choice of leaders can no longer be left in the hands of politicians alone.
“Because that singular democratic choice can be the decider of our dear country, Nigeria, it could be the difference between life and death, progress and retrogression.
“The singular choice of who leads is the difference we are seeing in Dubai, Singapore, China and Malaysia today. So, we must get it right or burst. We must pick a leader who is young enough to inspire us, brilliant enough to chart the way and totally Nigerian in order to give everyone a sense of belonging and fairness, not a leader who sees the country from his small ethnic prism,” Malam Sajoh said.
In his own, the TNA Chief Advocate Niyi Akinsiju , called on Nigerians to eschew sentimental divisions that erode the basis of the country’s unity.
“We should rise above the base sentiments that continue to hold us down and in doing this, we have to be suspicious of the intents of politicians that exploit these sentiments by planting seeds of discords and divisions amongst the people just for them to corner and secure political power. We must establish a system that enthrone competence rather than primordial religious or ethnic sentiments.
Similarly, TNA Consultant and Strategist, Julius Ogunro, had enumerated the values and attributes that can make Nigerian the leading light of the African continent and potentially a super power in the committee of nation.
“We have every material assets inclusive a culture and capacity to realise our individual and collective goals if we are determined to apply ourselves and properly guided by the right kind of leadership,” Ogunro noted.
National Leader and Chief Mobiliser of the National Prosperity Movement (NPM), Chief Jerry Nwohu, claimed that; “ensuring national prosperity is the responsibility of all citizens working objectively together to achieve the goals of peace, unity and prosperity for all through a properly inspired and qualified leadership.”
For the Guest Speaker, Prof. Chukwuemeka Jaja Nwanebo; “Nigeria have to get the kind of leader we can tolerate. The way out is for members of the society to decide that enough is enough, not by killings or carrying placards but by good knowledge and voting. We must decide that by 2023, our vote must count. We must decide the quality of leaders that would take us to our destination.”
“We must steer clear from divisive tendencies used by the politicians to cause division among the people and other civil society organizations. Fighting one another will only escalate our problems hence the need to correlate and cooperate for better prosperity,” he further emphasised the need to avoid hate and divisive speech.
According to the political scientist, prosperity is possible when we deal with our mindset and set the compass for a change of good governance.
Another speaker, Dr. Cliff Ogbede, stressed the need for all stakeholders in the nation’s politics to work in unison to foster prosperity of the nation.
“we must understand that everyone is affected by the ills of a wrong leader. Time and chance permits us to go for a leader who is passionate for future and advanced development,” he stated.
