Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Muhammadu Sanusi, has cautioned against sacrificing merit and competence on the alter of federal character.
Sanusi advised Nigerians to respect merit and performance rather than the doctrine of federal character, which according to him, has not made the country better.
The former emir of Kano, who spoke at The Platform, an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, to commemorate Nigeria’s 60th independence, yesterday, said Nigeria would grow if she shunned the politics of regionalism and ethnicity. “We should have federal character but why do we have a minister that can deliver but another that cannot deliver. Why is federal character always pursued at the expense of merit and competence?” he questioned.
“What are our national values? Are we a country that respects merit? Are we a country that rewards performance? Are we a country that places the people at the heart?”
Sanusi said the country has to focus on building human capital given that more than half of Nigeria’s 200 million population are under the age of 20.
He warned that Nigeria would have bigger problems in the next 20 years if its working population lacks the skills needed to build an economy. He said the federal character doctrine has not solved the problem of marginalisation which has been a subject of intense debate in the country.
“If you ask people why they are being marginalised, they would look at the composition of political offices. When you go down to the masses and find out who the poorest people are.
“Where do you have the highest number of out of school children? Where do you have the highest level of malnutrition? Where do you have the highest level of underemployment? Those are what affect the vast majority of Nigerians.
“Then you begin to know who the truly marginalised people are.