Leaders in Nigeria need to support the efforts of the government to end insecurity rather than undermining such efforts by speaking publicly against it.
The Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Mr Salihu Lukman who said this in a press statement explained that positive statements about the government’s efforts would promote national development.
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He added that Nigerians are too focused on negatively criticising the government rather than finding ways to positively influence the government’s decisions.
“A nation cannot be built with a negative attitude. Sadly, the preponderance of negative attitudes further polarised the country. Even when problems of insecurity in the country reached the frightening reality whereby every part of the country is threatened with grave danger to lives and property, public debate is reduced to passing negative judgements about actions or inactions of political leaders especially President Muhammadu Buhari and governing All Progressives Congress (APC), both real and imagined.
“Anytime leaders dismiss actions of the government against bandits and insurgents, they embolden these criminals to continue with their nefarious activities.
“Any leader or elder – politician, religious, traditional, irrespective of gender, age, and social class, who is promoting politics of ethnicity or campaigning against initiatives of the government to fight criminality, especially in cases where activities of criminals are destroying lives and properties of innocent citizens, such a leader or elder is also a security risk.
“The act of judging leaders, however well-intentioned, must not serve as a cover to protect criminality. On the other hand, leaders who inspire national hope should be celebrated in the country and political parties must take steps to recruit those leaders into politics” Mr Lukman said.
On how the judiciary is affecting Nation Building, the PGF DG said that the integrity of judges must be revered such that the country’s justice system is insulated from partisan meddling which undermines fairness in granting orders by courts with respect to political causes.
“The need to sanitise Nigerian judiciary should be broadened to cover issues of ensuring that judges with underlying political interests don’t preside over political cases in which their interest’s conflict with their judicial responsibility.
“Once Nigerian judiciary is compromised, rule of law will be undermined, which can only further widen the gap between political leaders and government on the one hand and citizens on the other. If political leaders and government are disconnected from citizens, potentials for a common purpose and strong national bond will be weak,” he said.
Zainab Sa’id
