A Professor of Political Economy and management expert, Pat Okedinachi Utomi, has urged Nigerians to use the 2023 general elections to correct the mistakes of the past to ‘drive’ the nation forward.
He made the call on Thursday in Abuja at a media conference organized by the Caritas Nigeria and Catholic Action, for Catholics in politics and commerce, with the theme, ‘Towards reviving a selfless leadership rooted in community for the Common Good’.
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The Chief Executive Officer Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN), Dr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina, was also at the briefing.
According to Utomi, the practical electioneering is set to commence as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would soon release the guidelines and procedures for the 2023 elections.
“When our pears at independence have long passed the middle-income country status and some of them that were particularly diligent have become places of highest standard of living in the world.
“Whether they are Malaysia, Singapore and so on. The fault in our style but in our politics, this is why citizen’s action should dominate our conscience at this time,” he said.
He also said that it is not news that Nigeria of today is as far from the dreams of our founding fathers and the expectations of the world as Eko Bridge is from Third Mainland bridge and the Niger bridge from the second Niger bridge.
“How do you arrive at being the poverty capital of the world without feeling miserable? How do you have the kinds of killings in Kaduna that we witness without cease and keep from becoming depressed, or be the victim of unemployment until you become unemployable without becoming angry with those who manage the economy.
“The fault surely is not in our stars but in our politics. This is why citizen action should dominate our conscience at this time.
“Fortunately for us much of the work on how to get it right is done already. The corpus of thought steeped in wisdom that has come to be known as the social teachings of the Catholic Church is a veritable compass we can rely on. But the urgency of saving the state with the grave existential threats before us require we make this wake-up call,” he said.
He said that the first duty of the citizen in a democracy, besides active engagement in the public sphere is ensuring that they get right the agency function of those that we ask to stand in for them as representatives, whether it be in the executive or legislative arms of government.
He said, “The evidence is that we have done a poorer job of not only how we elect and select them but also in how we hold them accountable and focused on the advance of the common good of all.
“Democracy as protector of the rights of individuals, the promotion of Social Justice, Development and Peace. These conditions of peace and progress depend on personal freedom guarded in the regard for the dignity of the human person.
“But liberty comes from eternal vigilance and in politics that comes from organizing rather than complaining murmuring and feeling powerless.”
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