BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
Former senator representing Kaduna South, Shehu Sani, has lamented the decay of the country which was once tagged giant of Africa even as he said there was no reason to celebrate her 61st independence.
Sani told The Point in an interview that he had no reason to be happy that Nigeria was celebrating 61 years of independence when in actual sense there was nothing like independence experienced in the country and noted that there was no reason to be pleased with the way the country is presently.
“How can we be pleased when the naira is now N580.00 to a dollar when at independence it was higher than a dollar? How can I be happy when mass of our people are killed every day, blood is flowing everywhere, people are being kidnapped every day.
“How can I be happy when our national debt has risen to over $45bn and then in the last two years the National Assembly has approved over $30bn for loot? How can I be happy in a country that is more divided than it was at independence?”
The vocal senator stated that the present administration is a disaster saying, “The achievements we had in terms of infrastructural development, human capacity building, national unity, peace and security of this country is a disaster and we have the worst set of leaders in this country since independence.”
The human right activist-turned politician said the country has moved from the beginning, but has not reached the destination.
“If you look at the quantum amount of money realised in last 61 years, you can’t put them in tandem with the level of development that you see in Nigeria today.”
The former senator challenged Nigerians to join forces to remove those in power today and bring in new people that have the country as their constituency.
“The solution to this mess? Well the solution is for the people to remove those in position and power today and bring in leaders who are more credible, patriotic, nationalistic and who are determined to change the direction of this country. All have been invested on this government, all have been invested on these leaders yet they have failed. So there is the need for a new beginning for Nigeria,” he said.
The Kaduna-born politician, playwright and author, emphasized that the country needs a new beginning if she must remain a country to be reckoned with in the committee of nations.
“We don’t need sectional, tribal, ethnic minded people as leaders in Nigeria. We don’t need masters as leaders, we need servants, we need people who will sacrifice their lives for this country.”
Also speaking on the controversial electronic transmission of elections results, the former senator called on the civil society organisations to take the fight to the National Assembly and pressurize them to do what is right to ensure the nation’s political history is rewritten for good.
“All we need is to see how to apply pressure on the national assembly to do what is right. I think the civil society must take the battle, left for the politicians, they are not interested in credible elections.”
He called for a national mass movement, a national mass action to compel the President and the national assembly to ensure that the Bill is passed to law.
