Chairman, West African Network of National Academies of Science, Prof Oyewale Tomori, has stressed the need to address numerous social maladies in the country to engender accelerated and optimal output that would turn her fortune around for the benefit of all.
He made the call at the weekend while delivering the convocation lecture of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State entitled “Defining Nigeria, Refining Our Nation: A Cultural Contemporary Continuum.”
The former president, Nigerian Academy of Science, who lamented the decadence at every sphere of human endeavours in Nigeria noted that unless we first undress Nigeria and identify areas that call for concerted efforts to re-dress, it will be difficult to address our problem to achieve success.
Tomori, who reminisced on the past glory of Nigeria, wondered how we found ourselves in the precarious situation we found ourselves in today. “ We are where we are today because we have condoned evil, embraced vice, celebrated malevolence, sadism and brutality.”
“We are where we are today because the few who held on virtue also held on to their voices, remaining silent in the face of blatant and public display of perverted immorality. Or could it be our silence was that of the one who lacked the audacity of the brigand but placed an icing of decency on the cake or cowardice.
“Were the few among us who appeared nice only because of lack of opportunity to be worse than those we now condemn?” adding that each of the following has contributed to the ruin of Nigeria.”
While advocating prayers for Nigeria, the scholar noted that as long as the nation continues to go back and forth in sin, “our prayers will not be answered. No matter how hard we push” saying, “we must get back to the individual citizens and our individual families.
“We must pull ourselves out of the darkness of the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, which is the definition of corruption by Transparency International, we must go back to the basics and reinstate discipline in our individual homes”
