Obasanjo urges Nigerians to shun tribal politics, extremism
Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday appealed to Nigerian politicians whom he observed are still playing tribal politics to eschew such unpatriotic attitude, insisting that Nigeria could only progress if every citizen sees himself or herself first as a Nigerian before any other consideration.
Also at the weekend, Obasanjo advised the Federal Governments to use education as a tool to end the Boko Haram insurgency. He carpeted some religious leaders whom he alleged have abandoned preaching tolerance and peace to encouraging violence, extremism and materialism
Obasanjo said it was regrettable that 55 years after Nigeria’s independence, the country’s progress is still being hampered by tribal, sectional, ethnic or regional politics.
The former President who spoke in Abeokuta insisted that until every Nigerian extols the philosophy of united Nigeria, the country would still remain in sorry state.
He spoke when members of family of the late foremost politician, Mr. Adegoke Adelabu, popularly known as “Pekelemesi” visited him in his Abeokuta Hill top residence. They came to solicit Obasanjo’s support to celebrate the post-humorous centenary birthday of the late politician who was described as an active member of the National Councils of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe.
Adelabu was born in September 3, 1915 and died in a road accident in 1958 at the age of 43. He was the first Federal Minister of Social Services and National Resources. Though a Yoruba man, he was a loyal and dedicated member of the NCNC till death.
Obasanjo said of Adelabu: “He was a reality, he was a phenomenon, he was uniquely Yoruba, uniquely Nigerian, uniquely African and uniquely a member of the human race.
“Today, we are still struggling to reach the pinnacle or what you may call pedestal of Adelabu in politics of not being swayed by linguistic, ethnic, tribal, regional or sectional politics. He was years ahead of his contemporary politicians.”
The chairman of the organising committee, Mr. Lekan Alabi, earlier in his remarks, said the ceremony which is scheduled to hold in Ibadan on September 3 would also mark the launching of Adelabu Foundation.
Speaking on “Effective Educational System : A panacea for Societal Development and Transformation at the 11th convocation ceremony of Benson Idahosa University (BIU) in Benin, Edo State, Obasanjo also lamented the negative effects of social media on students, pupils and even parents and teachers whom, he noted, are fast “losing the moral grip of their wards.”
He also called for a review of the law establishing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TERTFUND) to enable private universities benefit from it. “Education is a moral enterprise which we need to re-engage. President Muhammadu Buhari should tackle the menace of Boko Haram from the angle of moral education. If we are able to tackle Boko Haram with education in our schools, and in the social media that they use, we will dilute their messages and positively win their hearts and others who have been swayed by the jihadists’ messages.
To succeed with counter messages, we need to be more appealing, and truthful and as intense as those of Boko Haram, if not more. The capacity of all teachers should be strengthened to deliver such messages; morning and afternoon assemblies of our primary and secondary schools should have a strong dose of such messages, our airwaves and social media should also be saturated with such positive messages.
Even if we defeat Boko Haram in the battle front, we need education to sustain the victory.
Let me give you an insight: in 2010, there was a survey of education in Nigeria and among the six geo-political zones; in the south west, it was 79 per cent that were educated; in the south east, it was about 78 per cent; in the north east, where Boko Haram dominates, it was 19 per cent and that is one of the reasons people believe Boko Haram is a menace waiting to happen and it doesn’t matter what we do.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday appealed to Nigerian politicians whom he observed are still playing tribal politics to eschew such unpatriotic attitude, insisting that Nigeria could only progress if every citizen sees himself or herself first as a Nigerian before any other consideration.
Also at the weekend, Obasanjo advised the Federal Governments to use education as a tool to end the Boko Haram insurgency. He carpeted some religious leaders whom he alleged have abandoned preaching tolerance and peace to encouraging violence, extremism and materialism
Obasanjo said it was regrettable that 55 years after Nigeria’s independence, the country’s progress is still being hampered by tribal, sectional, ethnic or regional politics.
The former President who spoke in Abeokuta insisted that until every Nigerian extols the philosophy of united Nigeria, the country would still remain in sorry state.
He spoke when members of family of the late foremost politician, Mr. Adegoke Adelabu, popularly known as “Pekelemesi” visited him in his Abeokuta Hill top residence. They came to solicit Obasanjo’s support to celebrate the post-humorous centenary birthday of the late politician who was described as an active member of the National Councils of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe.
Adelabu was born in September 3, 1915 and died in a road accident in 1958 at the age of 43. He was the first Federal Minister of Social Services and National Resources. Though a Yoruba man, he was a loyal and dedicated member of the NCNC till death.
Obasanjo said of Adelabu: “He was a reality, he was a phenomenon, he was uniquely Yoruba, uniquely Nigerian, uniquely African and uniquely a member of the human race.
“Today, we are still struggling to reach the pinnacle or what you may call pedestal of Adelabu in politics of not being swayed by linguistic, ethnic, tribal, regional or sectional politics. He was years ahead of his contemporary politicians.”
The chairman of the organising committee, Mr. Lekan Alabi, earlier in his remarks, said the ceremony which is scheduled to hold in Ibadan on September 3 would also mark the launching of Adelabu Foundation.
Speaking on “Effective Educational System : A panacea for Societal Development and Transformation at the 11th convocation ceremony of Benson Idahosa University (BIU) in Benin, Edo State, Obasanjo also lamented the negative effects of social media on students, pupils and even parents and teachers whom, he noted, are fast “losing the moral grip of their wards.”
He also called for a review of the law establishing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TERTFUND) to enable private universities benefit from it. “Education is a moral enterprise which we need to re-engage. President Muhammadu Buhari should tackle the menace of Boko Haram from the angle of moral education. If we are able to tackle Boko Haram with education in our schools, and in the social media that they use, we will dilute their messages and positively win their hearts and others who have been swayed by the jihadists’ messages.
To succeed with counter messages, we need to be more appealing, and truthful and as intense as those of Boko Haram, if not more. The capacity of all teachers should be strengthened to deliver such messages; morning and afternoon assemblies of our primary and secondary schools should have a strong dose of such messages, our airwaves and social media should also be saturated with such positive messages.
Even if we defeat Boko Haram in the battle front, we need education to sustain the victory.
Let me give you an insight: in 2010, there was a survey of education in Nigeria and among the six geo-political zones; in the south west, it was 79 per cent that were educated; in the south east, it was about 78 per cent; in the north east, where Boko Haram dominates, it was 19 per cent and that is one of the reasons people believe Boko Haram is a menace waiting to happen and it doesn’t matter what we do.
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