Less than 48 hours after his Rivers State counterpart, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi challenged Nigerians to take drastic measures against their leaders for failing to fight corruption, Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole weekend warned that Nigerians may rise up against their leaders sooner than later, if government continues to pay lip service to the issue of corruption.
The governor, who expressed shock that nobody has been jailed as a result of corrupt practices despite the persistent alarm by the Federal Government on incessant oil theft and several other corrupt practices, warned that Nigerians are getting tired of excuses and may decide to take their destinies in their own hands.
Governor Oshiomhole, who was the Guest lecturer at the 2013 convocation ceremony of Benson Idahosa University Benin City, spoke at a lecture entitled: “Education and National Development”.
Represented by the Secretary to Edo State Government, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, Oshiomhole noted that Nigerians spend over N80 billion annually on medical tourism and treatment overseas “just as we put our kids in foreign and African universities and this is with over N2 trillion lost to the fuel subsidy cartel, not to mention how much is lost annually to oil thieves”.
According to him, “the list of imperfections, failures, problems and contradictions can go on and on. The important issue today is how we can relate these issues to the importance of education and therefore national development. Fleetingly, about people, it is, in the first instance, about cars, skyscrapers, money in the bank, huge bureaucracies and those things that may be symptoms of growth rather than development.
“Our idea of development revolves round interest and exchange rates, import-export ratios, GNP per capita, even GDP and foreign reserves. These may show that growth and maybe accumulation are occurring; they do not show that development that is people-focused, people-based and people-driven is occurring”.
To drive home his point, the comrade-governor as he is fondly called stressed that “major companies like Unilever and Dunlop are closing down, setting up shop in Ghana and throwing thousands of families into unemployment, hunger and social pressures. I believe we should just leave the issue of power for another day after we fully understand what the GENCOS, DISCOS and TRANCOS are doing.
“Until leadership in Nigeria changes from the arrogance of power, perpetual infighting, accommodating corruption and impunity and finding excuses for failure to meet popular expectations, I am afraid, most of our educational institutions, private and public, would never meet world standards.
“With an unstable, non-hegemonic and unreliable state, frequent policy changes, an economy in crisis, and leaders that use power and public funds for personal aggrandizement; the university must prepare to engage the negative forces in a changing global order and a reforming Nigeria.
“When education takes citizens in the opposite direction of these values then it becomes dangerous to societal development. Infact, an educational system that produces election riggers, intimidators, looters of the treasury, bad drivers, disregard for communal values, lazy public servants, kidnappers, inefficient and ineffective workers, political opportunists, thugs, and bad politicians that visit pain on the people and contaminate and undermine institutions of society cannot be regarded as positive education”, he stated.
Recently some Governors including the Speaker of the House of Rep Tambuwal raised self-damning alarm of corruption in the Country.. Who are those that are now corrupt in the country ? Is it the members of the public or the Governors and the members of the National Assembly themselves . Those who stay in glass houses should not throw stones
Good inspirational and unimaginable speech. Oshomole, u re the man. I remembered u i NLC.
Former President Obasanjo’s 18 page letter is mischievous and I dare say that it was intended to cause serious harm or damage to the person of President Jonathan and incitive. On the issue of recurity , to send Security Agents to kill the Boko Haram members as he did in Odi in South-South . He has the mouth to talk because he was lucky not to have been charged for genocide in ICC .Now the time is ripe for Security Agents to arrest and investigate him for his incitive statements. He is drowning man who is just clutching at straw..Obasanjo knows that he is no longer relevant and President Jonathan is not doing his bidding hence he resorted to this cheap blackmail. Nigerians should beware of this old man who wants to cause disintergration in our dear country.Any man , woman or group of persons wanting to disrupt the coming Confab. and to bring disrepute to the present Goverment , Holy Ghost Fire !!! Say Amen if you like this.
All rubbish and thrash…Nigerians are weaklings, they only have mouth with big grammar, but no brains…dey are sufferers and smilers…Fela as spoken about them…suffering and smilling while the men in govt cart away billions…Obasanjo may be corrupt but his 8yrs brought alot of transformation and free movement of nigerians around d world…alot of debt was pardoned and d economy grew…Goodluck is a thief with all his governors and states men…how many years do u wana spend on the seat of power??? he never do you??? is it till u spend 11yrs in power dt u will be okay and destroy dis country and turn it to ruins…Satan punish all of u