… challenges Nigerians to build country of choice like US, Britain
By Gift Chapi Odekina
Former Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary to the United Nations, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi has said that the country was at crossroads politically, economically and socially.
He also stated that Nigeria’s continued existence despite it many challenges on all fronts of development was still a shock to many people.
Uhomoibhi shared the thoughts while delivering a keynote address at the 1st Annual Convention 2022 of the Old Seminarians Association of Nigeria (OSAN) in Abuja on Friday.
The ambassador therefore challenge Nigerians to build their country in the manner that the citizens of the United States and Britain mustered courage to fix theirs and made it the envy of the world.
He said: “I have a final word here. I have expressed that Nigeria is at the crossroads economically, politically and socially. Indeed, some will even say that we are facing an existential threat. In my encounters everywhere, I have never shied away from saying that the problem that faces Nigeria – the contest that goes on in Nigeria – is not canal, it is spiritual. The challenge of Nigeria is not canal, it is spiritual. From my field experience, I know that the battle that we fight is not canal, it is spiritual. The confrontation is between light and darkness. Talking from an empirical experience – one who has held offices and still, perhaps, holding one or two, I know that if you are not strong spiritually and if you do not value the privilege that God has blessed you with, of being who you are, there are consequences.
“That Nigeria, my country, still exists today is a shock to many people. Shocking! Plan A failed. Plan B is failing. Plan C will fail. Nigeria is an enigma. Nigeria has remained strong. Nigeria is not in the hands of anybody. The destiny of Nigeria is not in the hands of whoever, it is in the hands of Him and us. All we need is to work with Him to preserve the entity and unity of Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria is not God, the problem of Nigeria is Nigerians. The day that Nigerians decide and agree that these potential that are locked and bound in this country must be actualized and become reality, the work is done. Americans built America. Britons built Britain. Who will build Nigeria? Nigerians must build Nigeria.
“Would there be a South Africa today without a Mandela? Mandela was in jail for 27 years. That was how South Africa became free. Would there be a Rwanda today without Paul Kigame? No. Where are our Mandelas? Where are our Kigames in the Nigerian space? They are there but they are hiding. They are in their bedrooms lamenting and wailing; some are actually also praying. If you choose not to allow yourself to be used by God, or you made wrong choices, how can you blame God for that? You can pray from now till next year, but God will say ‘I have done my bit, where is your part?’ There is a problem of leadership, there is also a problem of followership. There are inconsistencies and contradictions in our constitutional framework. The judicial space is in a deplorable condition at this time, and the democratic process is challenged.”
Uhomoibhi charged Nigerians to get their permanent voters card (PVC) and get try to vote the leaders of their choice in the 2023 general elections to bring their God’s given potentials to fruition.
He said that the political system was not against the youths, recalling that some former leaders of the country mounted the mantle of leadership at their young age.
The former ambassador said that traveling out of the country was no option for the youth but to stay back and build their country.
“Nigerians should vote their conscience. Get your PVC. Don’t be sleeping in the bedroom when elections are taking place. By that I mean you would take responsibility for whatever decision you take. This journey is about you. When God sees you on the last day, He is going to call by your name but He will not say Prof, Bishop or Pope. He will call you by your name. The name they called you while you were in your mother’s womb. What did you do with the talents that I gave you? You will account for it and He will accept no excuses from you. So, please, get your PVC and vote your conscience and make sure your votes count.
“Our system is not against youths. I am a historian so I would talk from the experience of history and I have lived sixty plus years in this country as a Nigerian except for the years when I went to represent our country outside.
At the age of 32, Gen. Gowon became the Head of State of this country. Dietee Spiff became governor of what is now Rivers, Bayelsa etc. At what age was he? 25 or thereabout. Obasajno was Head of State and President of this country at what age? So, much as I appreciate the benevolence of the not too young spirit, we must stop the habit of passing the bulk. Power in history, and I speak authoritatively on this, it is not given. It is taken. I gave an example when I was talking.
“If Mandela did not come out to do what he did not come out to do what he did, where would South Africa be today? But he was in jail for 27 years. So lamentation and wailing is not a solution to our problem. What is required is for people to get out from their hiding places and be part of the democratic process that is ongoing and ensure that their voices are heard and they are taken into account.
“Escaping from the country is your choice. But it is wrong to say that the grass is greener outside. You are accusing God because I know from experience that there is no country more blessed than Nigeria. But when you are not taking responsibility for your own failure, you are passing the bulk and that is what you do when you do japa syndrome. You are blaming others. What have you done in your own little corner and that is ultimately what determines the trajectory of the nation’s growth”, he said.
Also Speaking, the President of the OSAN and Clerk to the Senate, Chinedu Akubueze said that the association was unique in its operations because members conducted themselves with some decency and morality.
He said that OSAN has impacted the society in many areas of human endeavour, calling their members to join in the quest to politically salvage the country.
“What stands us out is the common Catholic heritage we have as Nigerians who attended Catholic seminaries. The intrinsic training you obtain from attending a seminary is unique. It stays with you althrough your life because there is this saying that a day in the seminary is not a joke. The seminary is not just any other secondary school. It contains both secondary education and missionary training going with it. So, you can see that is not just attending a school to acquire knowledge. You set out initially both to acquire knowledge and to train for the priesthood.
“It impacts the society in the sense we have our members spread across all professions, all fields of life, of fields human endeavor where they contribute their quota towards the societal development because as an old Seminarian, you know where you are coming from. You have that your background to speak for you and you know people are monitoring. Anything you come to realize that somebody attended a seminary, the usual refrain is “no wonder”. Why that thing “no wonder”? It’s because that person has been behaving in a way that makes you realize that this person must be coming from somewhere.
“We are contributing to the economy and the political space. OSAN is coming with a view to ensuring that Nigeria attends its manifest destinies. We will contribute both on the economic and political spheres. We are encouraging our members to get involved in the political quest to ensure that Nigeria attends good governance and it doesn’t come by our being docile. Our members are getting involved. We are preaching across the political space. Nigerians are encouraged to vote credible leaders”, he said.
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