The convener of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has stated that something is wrong with Nigeria and its citizens.
Speaking during the unveiling of Dr. Umar Ardo’s book “Court and Politics” in Abuja over the weekend, Abdullahi emphasized the need for Nigeria to reassess its strategies, as the current systems are proving to be ineffective.
He stressed the importance of focusing on past successes rather than assigning blame.
Additionally, he reiterated his advocacy for a parliamentary system of government, labelling the Presidential system as a failure after more than two decades of implementation.
Pointing to some of the major issues in the country, the NEF chief noted that a mosque in Saudi Arabia uses at least 18,00 megawatts of electricity daily, but Nigeria still generates 4,000 megawatts of electricity.
Abdullahi said: “The time has come for us to go back to the drawing board so that this country can be saved. We have failed this country enough and this must stop. We have failed ourselves and we have no reason to complain.
“Particularly politically, we have no reason to complain. 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 a power failure. 64 years after our independence, Nigeria still generates 4,000 megawatts of electricity, what a shame. 4,000 megawatts 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, I should remind you that the Haram (mosque in Saudi Arabia) uses 18,000 megawatts of electricity daily.
“But there is a country with more than 200 million people generating 4,000 megawatts of electricity after 64 years; something is wrong, and it is wrong with everybody. Everyone is guilty. If we begin to point fingers, we won’t be able to solve the problem.
“For five years, we tried parliamentary from 1960 to 1965 and to some extent in 1966. Now we have been trying the presidential system for 24 years, and the failure is so glaring.”
In his remark at the same event, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, emphasized the importance of judicial reform in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for the country to learn from its past in order to prevent the repetition of mistakes.
“As a political class, we are not lawyers, but I think our judicial system must be reformed. This is the opinion of the political class. Our system here in the country, be it civilian or military, is based on sentiments and emotions in our law and politics.
“I believe that we have all failed and come short of the glory of God, and we need to repent so that this country can be good for the next generation.
“Therefore, I recommend this book to be available to all Nigerians in academia, legal and political, so that we can begin to learn from what happened in the past. No country ever succeeds without a past history,” he said.
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