By Adeniyi Adedoyin
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Mr Segun Sowunmi, on Monday called on Nigerians to engage the nation's leaders constructively and responsibly to engender development.
Sowunmi, who made the call, while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, cautioned the citizens against any action that
could plunge the nation into chaos.
While emphasizing the need for Nigerians to stop promoting tribal issues that could lead the nation into crisis, the 2023 governorship aspirant in Ogun State stated that the country must be salvaged from things that could mortally injure it.
Sowunmi, who is the promoter of 'The Alternative', an opposition platform formed to engage the government for good governance, admonished Nigerians to embrace the spirit of unity in diversity across all divides for national development.
According to him, “it has become imperative for Nigerians to avail themselves with alternative ways of doing things in the country, alternative ways of doing democracy, alternative ways of engagement and conversation, so that we don’t destroy what we have created over the years”.
He said that political leaders and the elite in the geo-political sub regions of Nigeria must learn how to engage the government in a responsible and constructive manner capable of enhancing democratic values, rather than engaging in actions or tirades that will further divide the nation.
Speaking on the State of the nation,
the former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidate in 2019, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said Nigeria as a nation has never been in the present fragile situation since amalgamation of the country in 1914.
He condemned what he termed the “excessive tribalisation” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, calling for the dismantling of the economic team said to be pro-Yorubas.
Sowunmi pointed out that Tinubu’s government started on a bad note with the devaluation of the nation’s currency and the removal of the subsidy.
He said, “This nation has never been in a more delicate or fragile situation since 1914. The issues that have bedevilled the country under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are tending towards threatening the concept called Nigeria. The excessive tribalisation narrative of government policies, the politics of the geo-political zones of our sub-region within our country, the global economic challenges, the difficulties of managing the complex administrative, governance, and economic issues, and our irresponsible political conversational struggle within the country have never been on tenterhooks.
“Any leader in Nigeria, whether at the national, state, or LGs, he or she will inherit the administration as it is handed over to him or her.
“Before the person gets there, he has no magic wand or clairvoyance by which he is going to see clearly the state of things. I am convinced that all the past leaders had governed according to their capabilities and capacity. They all meant to do well up to the limit of their competence.
“It, therefore, follows that when we want to analyse or engage the government, we must do so from the position where they stand. I am also convinced that since the amalgamation, we have been struggling to be a nation called Nigeria, and if we don’t manage our tribal rhetoric very well, we will injure the country mortally.”
On his aspiration for the position of the National Chairman of the PDP, Sowunmi, said he remained the only person who can reposition and reinvigorate the party and reclaim its number one position in Nigeria.
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