Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Forum of 36 states governors in the country, the Nigeria Governors Forum, (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, has accused leaders across ethnic divides in the country of slant narratives, inflammatory remarks in their interventions on the ongoing debates about the country’s political architecture and attendant problems.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday, on the occasion of the public presentation of his book, titled: “Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria”, the Ekiti State governor lamented that rather than moderate their comments in the public space to engender national unity, such leaders only indulged in promoting what he called base sentiments of their followers.
He said, ”Over the last few years, as our beloved country has been buffeted on all sides by a myriad of problems, I have, like many of you here present and online, experienced discomfort at the ease with which cheap and populist options which, yesterday, may have been laughed off as fringe ideas, have gained in influence as to become mainstream. In the meantime, those who have held on to the goal of Nigerian oneness and unity have found themselves pushed to the margins and placed on the defensive.
“Matters have not been helped by the inflammatory partisanship, which many in leadership positions have adopted in part to scoring points against opponents but also in order to be recognised by their communities as truly representing their concerns.
“Too many seem to have forgotten that leaders should lead and not simply reproduce the base sentiments and narrow perspectives they encounter on the hustings. Leading means understanding the local concerns that are exercising the minds of our constituents; placing these in a wider context, which as leaders we are uniquely positioned to see, and formulate approaches that provide a meaningful and responsible way forward”.
The Chairman of the NGF and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) further maintained that the unity of Nigeria must remain paramount in public discourses, rather than pushing a narrative that would promote mutual ethnic suspicion amongst the components federating units in the country.
The book Reviewer, Dr. Joe Abah, commended the author, Dr. Fayemi, as he described the book as ”a useful contribution to the debate about the future of Nigeria at a time when many Nigerians and lovers of Nigeria are wondering whether and when Nigeria would ever fulfill its undoubted potential.
“Unlike many publications that focus only on setting out the problems, Fayemi’s book goes further to outline practical suggestions for tackling some of the thorniest issues in our polity today. I have enjoyed reading the book ‘Unfinished Greatness’ and would recommend it to all”, he stated.
