Nigeria@60: Leaders have failed citizens -CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has said that Nigerian leaders have failed the nation since the military incursion into the nation’s governance architecture.

The CAN President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, said this in his Nigeria at 60 independence anniversary address.

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According to him, but for God, the country would have become history or at best balkanised due to the military misadventure to power, three years of the needless civil war, the political upheavals, the travails of mismanagement of the economy, insecurity, unemployment, decaying infrastructure, and of recent, the COVID-19 pandemic, that constitute the biggest threat to the country.

He said that though the nation is far from being at where it ought and want to be now, the leadership of CAN is persuaded that the nation can still get to where it ought to be if all resolve to fix all these problems, once and for all.

“We have paid enough lip service to godliness and patriotism, hence why our country is still crawling at 60.

“This is a shame on our political leaders and the rest of us who have not done our best in various places of leadership, including those who governed us during the military misadventure to power. They have failed to invest in the future of our Fatherland hence why we have collapsed infrastructures everywhere.

“They failed to build an enduring institution but instead enriching themselves at the expense of the dreams of the founding fathers of the country.

“Our electoral system has remained far from being free, fair, and credible because of thuggery, godfather syndrome and the use sometimes of law enforcement agents to intimidate voters in order to win election,” Ayokunle said.

He said that failure to have credible elections was why some developed countries threatened and are still threatening Nigeria’s political leaders to rig elections and risk visa denial and that the nation’s politicians have often over promised but under-deliver at the expense of the electorate and this has led to voters’ apathy.

He therefore urged everyone and especially the government at all levels to act truly and not pay lip service to the peace, unity and progress of the country.