Former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said Nigeria is a country without consequences, as citizens and voters have failed to hold politicians and leaders accountable for their actions and policies.
Amaechi, who is also the former governor of River State, stated this during a panel session at the fifth edition of The Nigeria Symposium For Young and Emerging Leaders held in Lagos Friday.
Speaking on ineffective policies and extreme poverty, Amaechi explained the country’s wealth has been in the pocket of an influential few. He called for politicians to invest in infrastructure in order to create jobs and reduce crime.
“I know politicians who have suddenly become billionaires, and this is the money that should have been used to build roads and provide amenities that could have been used to improve the lives of citizens. Our politicians have to be clear on how they intend to lift people out of poverty,” he said.
Commenting on citizen participation, the former presidential candidate, KOWA, Professor Remi Shonaiya said, “We have to educate ourselves in order to become more active, and we have to begin to consider the greater good in our decisions”.
“Most of us don’t care about what is happening in the House of Assembly, we are much more concerned about ourselves. The focus has to be on the people, not the government. But we as the people also have to make sure that we hold our leaders accountable to us. There’s too much personal style in the way we practice politics in the country,” said Professor Shonaiya.
Themed ‘Turning the Curve, Aligning Government Policy to our Realities’ and hosted by media personalities, Sandra Ezekwesili and Hero Daniels, the fifth edition of The Nigeria Symposium for Young and Emerging Leaders emphasizes youth inclusiveness in all spheres of the political economy, and encourages realistic and effective policies for global competitiveness.