BENIN — Mr. Peter Esele, a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in Edo, has said that 61 years after Nigeria’s Independence, politicians in the country were still confusing and manipulating the people with regional sentiments, and ethnicity/geopolitical balancing.
Esele said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday on the occasion of Nigeria’s 61 years independence anniversary.
He said that this was a ploy been used by politicians to divert the people’s attention from complaining about the obvious challenges bedeviling the country.
He noted that it was not enough to say that the Country leadership must come from a particular region of the country, because doing that at the end of the day reduces quality leadership.
According to him, leadership has been one of the banes of the country, and so also is the issue of followership.
“Because first for you to say a leader is a problem, you also need to ask yourself, what is the value of the people, because a leader is as good as the people.
“If the people are good, they will also produce very good leaders, and even if the people make mistakes, they will correct them.
“But what we have had is a succession of leaders that have not been able to direct this country in a proper way for it to fulfill its potentials.
“Our leaders keep diverting our attention by confusing and manipulating us with regional sentiments, ethnicity/geopolitical balancing.
“Because when they are doing this, nobody will be talking about the quality of education, health care, and insecurity in the country”, he said.
Esele, who was a former President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) noted that it was high time Nigerians ask themselves what kind of a country they desire.
“If we now say we want a country of security, freedom, peace and that will give people wings to fly and excel, are we ready to put in the work?
“Putting in the work means ensuring that religious bigotry and ethnicity is ruled out.
“It means the people will now have to choose their leaders based on competence, and capacity to lead.
He said that it was said that rather than Nigerians to accuse their political leaders, particularly the political office holders of dereliction of duty and oath of allegiance, they were busy looking for who to vote for based on ethnic or religious sentiments.
“So all of these distractions are what has bedeviled the Nation in the lady 61 years.
“Whether as military Head of State, or Civilian Government, if you ask me, what we have ad political leaders are people who have been manipulating the people based on religion or ethnic bias.
“Over time, we have been made to believe that this is how the country must go, meanwhile there are fundamental issues that when resolved, nobody would be interested in where a leader comes from.
“If we want a better country, our emphasis must be on who has the capacity, emotional stability, empathy, compassion to lead.
“When I look at Nigeria was in the past, where it is now and where it can be, I believe should have done better than this”, Esele said.
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