Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has charged Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the lawmaker representing Ideato North/South federal constituency of Imo State and five others of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, to remain committed in the quest for reformed Nigeria that is transparently and efficiently run while consistently channelling their energies into enacting legislations that are geared towards improving the livelihood of the Nigerian masses.
The former President gave the charge on Friday while playing host to the six federal lawmakers led by Hon. Ugochinyere, who is also the chairman of the House Committee Downstream Petroleum, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Other lawmakers in attendance were: Hon Abdulmalik Danga representing Adavi/Okehi; Dr. Usman Midala (Askira-Uba/Hawul); Hon. Peter Aniekwe (Anambra East/West) and Kama Nkemkanma (Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo federal constituency).
Before the meeting went into a closed-door session Obasanjo lamented the country’s current economic hardship, noting that Nigeria would need a “moral rearmament” to overcome the socio-economic challenges confronting it. He insisted that the nation cannot move forward if there are no changes in the ways and manners in which governance was being administered.
He pointed out that the calls for a single term of office for the President, one-day nationwide elections, and a power rotation between the North and the South by the lawmakers can only work if upright leaders emerge.
He insisted that Nigeria will only progress when upright individuals and good role models are in positions of power, emphasising that the number of terms spent in office will only make a difference if the right people are in leadership roles.
“What I know about Nigeria is that we need to get it right in terms of leadership and the team. The point is that we can overcome these challenges within two and a half years.
“In another 10 years, we need to consolidate what we have achieved, and in 25 years, we will be there. Our problem is that we take two steps forward and probably two steps backwards, and that won’t get us anywhere.
“For me, it’s not just about the system change alone; we need to rethink democracy. We need to reconsider the Western Liberal Democracy model and what can work for Africa that will be home-grown.
“In the African system, we typically work through consensus. We need to join hands to make things work. If we get it right, whether we have a single six-year term presidency or two four-year terms, we need to work on our mentality.
“We have to decarbonise our brains. Our main problem is ourselves. We must address our issues before the length of office will matter.
“If the same people with the same mentality are in power, nothing will change. Our starting point is ourselves,” the former President added.
Earlier, Ugochinyere, in his remarks, said they were in Abeokuta to confer with the former President on a wide range of national issues and to also express their solidarity with the former President and equally learn from his fountain of extensive knowledge on development and good governance especially at this challenging times.
The lawmaker said Obasanjo saw the future of the country and worked towards it, having been at the helm of affairs as the President between 1999 and 2007 during which he laid foundations for strong reforms that brought progress.
He commended the former President for the various reforms implemented under his administration and blamed past governments for not consolidating them in the interest of Nigerians while hoping that the present administration of President Bola Tinubu will find a way to make things work differently.
“If successive governments had consolidated electricity reforms, foreign policies, civil service reforms, and digital reforms, among other things, today, we would not be facing the economic challenge that is fighting us.
“If not for the foundation you laid in 1999, things would have been worse, and at that time you were doing it, most people did not see the future of Nigeria. We can see your effort in transforming telecommunication reform in the country. What you did in the civil service reforms, the establishment of anti-corruption agencies,” he added.
Ugochinyere informed Obasanjo that the lawmakers were co-sponsors of Bills seeking a single term of six years for Presidents and governors, power rotation between the northern and southern parts of the country, and one-day elections for presidential, governorship, national assembly, and houses of assembly seats, to eradicate the bandwagon effects.
Also speaking, Hon. Abdulmalik Danga (Kogi/Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency of Kogi State) appealed to the ex-president to support the call for rotating power between the North and South across the three senatorial districts of each state. According to him, this would reduce marginalisation and douse ethnic group agitations.
“I’m suggesting that the rotation of power between North and South can be inculcated into the constitution amendment so that power can be rotated within the three senatorial districts of each state. In my state, for example, Kogi Central (the Ebira people), if not by divine intervention, we’ve only had just one axis; as I speak, the western axis, the Yoruba-speaking part, has never had it, and we don’t know whether it would get to their turn. The same thing is happening in Benue state. We are just pleading with you, the founding fathers, that if this can be looked into, it would douse the agitations of several ethnic groups. Let it be made compulsory that power should rotate within the three senatorial districts of each state,” the lawmaker pleaded.
