After taking a critical look at the state of the nation, a presidential aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah, yesterday concluded that Nigeria has collapsed as a result of corruption and bad governance.
The presidential hopeful, who spoke as a guest of a Kaduna-based radio station, Liberty FM, however, added that the country’s fortune is not beyond redemption.
Nda-Isaiah said: “Our country needs to be rescued quickly, as a matter of fact, and that is the reason I decided to run for president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). What is happening in Nigeria now is the consequence of corruption. This country has collapsed as a result of corruption and bad governance. We are at a point in this country where our dear country needs to be rescued.
“This is not a time that we will lie to ourselves; we are about to lose a country that we all love. And this is not a time to play with the sorry state of our country.”
Speaking on the eligibility of President Jonathan, the presidential hopeful added that “my own personal view is that the president should contest for the presidency based on his personal record”.
On the state of the nation, Nda-Isaiah who is the founder of LEADERSHIP newspapers concluded: “I don’t think there will be enough adjectives to qualify what is happening to us now. All of us should be scared of what is happening to us as a nation.
“We are tired. It’s like Nigeria has become very hopeless. This is a classical definition of a failed state. The government is incapable of protecting its citizens.
“Criminals decide what to do anytime and they do it. This is very sad. Criminals should be treated as terrorists. Children are being kidnapped every day in this country. We are now in serious danger and we need to rescue our country.
“The first duty of every president is the security and protection of the citizens of the country, before we start talking about building roads, state creation and the likes.
“It is not true that security is the responsibility of everybody; it is the responsibility of the president. It is the whole duty of the president. Our job as citizens is to report strange happenings around us.
“One of the indicators of a failed state is the failure of the government to provide education for its citizens. Our children are not getting proper education, so why won’t we have insecurity if the youths are not properly educated?”
But he believed that a failed state like Nigeria is reversible with quality leadership.
Baring his mind on the just concluded Ekiti election, the presidential aspirant argued that there was no need for the federal government to stop APC chieftains from visiting Ekiti State.
“That act was enough to remove the president from office,” he stated. “He should not be using his office to infringe on the people’s right. What happened in Ekiti was unnecessary.”
On having all elections on the same day, he said: “It is possible, easier and cheaper to conduct elections in one day.”
On the issue of state police, which the National Conference has just endorsed, he said he believes that Nigeria is not ripe for it, arguing that “state governors are going to use the police the same way the federal government is using the federal police today”.
“And if the governors use the state police the same way the president uses the federal police, then, there would be a civil war between the state and federal police in the states. We are just not ready for state police,” he said.
On the recent clampdown on the media, he said, “What is happening is a threat to the survival of our democracy. It still boils down to the incompetence of our leaders.”
Source: Leadership
