A map of Nigeria
By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY – AS Nigeria celebrates her 60th independence anniversary today, former Chief Whip of the Senate, Sir Rolland Owie yesterday came hard on the current Nigeria’s political class and the military who he said have showed lack of capacity to lead the country and the military instituted corruption.
He said Nigeria is only existing because God wants it to be so but he was optimistic that a new regime would be voted into government by 2023.
In a statement issued yesterday in Benin City, Owie said; “Forty years ago the naira was 90 kobo to a pound and 60 kobo to a dollar and that same 1980, President Shehu Shagari’s government started building housing estates in all the state capitals, today, those housing estates have been abandoned.
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The naira today and dollar and pounds are not comparable. It is a shame, there is nothing to celebrate apart from that God still allows Nigeria to exist. Where is the metro line that Lateef Jakande started in Lagos during the UPN regime, abandoned. It is unfortunate.
“Where is Aladja Steel, where is Ajaokuta steel, where is Nigerian Airways, where is Nigerian National Shipping Line, where is Bacita sugar company, where is Iwopin paper mill? All gone into oblivion. It is a bad affair that children who inherited property from their fathers will destroy it.”
Talking about corruption in the country, Owie said; “Military regimes destroyed this country.
They brought corruption into this nation. When Murtala Mohammed started dismissing civil servants ‘with immediate effect’, senior civil servants who tried not to be corrupt, waiting for their final retirement and benefits, they were dismissed ‘with immediate effect’ those following them behind where shocked and that is why they were disappointed and now believed that they have to prepare for their future, that was how they brought corruption into the civil service as a result of the dismissal of top civil servants who tried not to be corrupt.”
On security he said “Where are we today that the convoy of a sitting governor will be attacked by armed bandits and security men including police and soldiers died, is that a country? One side of the country trying to dominate over another side of the country, is that what we should celebrate, impunity everywhere?
A nation that there is no security? The president comes from Katsina state, half of the local government in that state is under bandits. All the heads of security agencies are from one side.
Where there is no justice, there cannot be peace, injustice gets to a level that God hears it and punishes the people who are involved. What are we celebrating but I believe God in his infinite mercies with what He did in Edo election, I know he will repair this nation in 2023because as we are now, there is nothing we are only hoping on2023 when a responsible president will emerge like Yar’Adua who for only two and half years, he tried to turn this country around Jonathan built almajiri schools in the north, all those schools have been abandoned, nobody attends them.
All our brothers in the north have all run from home to Abuja because they refuse to develop their own people so we have to change”
