Politics
Nigeria @64: We are growing in leaps and bounds in the wrong direction – Chief Uwazurike
Chief Goddy Uwazurike, a senior lawyer and president of Cultural Credibility Development Initiative, an advocacy group, says that Nigeria at 64, is laboring under self imposed stunted growth.
Uwazurike, former president of Aka Ikenga, an Igbo think tank, regretted that the country has had all the available opportunities to grow, but its leadership deliberately moved it on in the wrong direction.
He said the country is growing in leaps and bounds in the wrong direction, noting that nothing inspires hope about the future.
The senior lawyer who spoke to Business Hallmark on the occasion of Nigeria’s 64th independent anniversary, noted that the major sickness of the country remains poverty of leadership.
“The description I can give is that Nigeria’s growth is stunted growth. The country is labouring under self-imposed stunted growth. In all other words, it has had all the opportunities to grow, but willingly, without looking back, the leadership of the country moved us in the wrong direction,” he said.
“The major sickness of the country remains poverty of leadership. The second problem remains poverty of thought, and the third is what I would call parochialism as national policy. It has been said that the current president is more interested in those who are loyal to him than those who are efficient.
“In other words, sycophancy is the order of the day. Our leaders are surrounded by praise singers, who call them all sorts of names, that they are lions, tigers, etc. But if they call them animals they would kill them. In the ancient times the kings always had praise singers, but they did not have any position. In other words, they were just entertainers.”
Uwazurike argued that the car has stunted because those who found themselves in leadership positions opted to do the wrong things.
“This country is stunted because those who have been ruling it deliberately put it in the reverse. In simple language, we are moving backwards and now we are dancing on the precipice,” he noted.
“We are more interested in stealing and acquiring excessive wealth, but nobody thinks of the country. There is no efficiency. You know, when you go for an interview, the first thing the interviewer will ask you is where do you see yourself in the next 10 years or in the next five years.
“In Nigeria, believe me, each time that question comes up, the person will not understand what you are talking about. And when you have a situation where young people are leaving the country in droves – these are professionals – you realize that we are in big trouble. If your professionals are leaving , then you are left with artisans, and artisans depend on professionals. So, we are growing by leaps and bounds in the wrong direction.”