Nigeria can’t continue to have bad leaders — Jega

A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said that Nigeria cannot continue to allow bad people to govern or misgovern them and must therefore act proactively.

He said this on Friday in Abuja during the inauguration of a 35-man People’s Redemption Party (PRP) Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC).

• The Edo Governorship Election and the Consolidation of Electoral Democracy
• Edo polls: What I told security agencies — Buhari

According to Jega, who is a member of the committee, Nigeria’s political space needed cleansing, thus, every Nigerian must contribute own quota to ensure that.

“All hands must be on deck to sanitise Nigerians on the electoral process. I believe that all Nigerians can no longer sit on the fence as everybody needs to contribute to the cleansing of politics in Nigeria. There should be no fence-sitters; our future is at stake. We cannot allow bad people to continue to govern us or misgovern us and continue to wreck our country and its future,” he said.

He assured that he would help members of the committee to prepare position papers, policy criticisms and policy frameworks that would make PRP a strong political party that could win elections.

Speaking earlier, the National Chairman, PRP, Alhaji Falalu Bello, said the slogan of the committee being, “Harvesting Nigeria’s Intellectual Vineyard” was a demonstration of the committee being thoroughbred intellectuals drawn from a wide field of specialization and experience in Nigeria’s intellectual vineyard.

“The PRP has always believed that intellectual workers have a pivotal role to play in society’s political, social and economic evolution. They help in defining and shaping hegemonistic world views which critically influence political behaviour. But intellectual workers fall into two broad categories.

“There are those who work fervently to rationalize the status quo, no matter how oppressive and unconscionable this may be. These are the intellectual workers of the Established Order. On the other hand, there is the other category of intellectuals who see it as their duty to help in demystifying the hegemonic worldview promoted by the apologists of the status quo either because the established order is retrograde or oppressive,” Bello said.

He therefore urged all progressive-minded intellectuals committed to the material and social advancement of the working masses of the country to team up with the party to achieve this.