A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, has said rather than celebrating on the occasion of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary, government officials and the citizens should reflect on the future of the country.
He said politicians are only focused on getting into office without preparing for what to do when elected. This, he said, has led to “lot of wastefulness” of taxpayers’ money.
Jega spoke on on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
He said, “Nigeria has come a long way in the last 60 years but it is so much important not to be in a celebratory mood but to use this period as a period of reflection and contemplation as to what we want Nigeria to be in the next 60 years.
“Obviously, there are lots of challenges and these challenges need to be addressed.”
The former INEC chairman said Nigeria got where it is now because of bad leadership and poor governance.
“We got here regrettably because our country has been bedevilled by bad leadership and poor governance. When we examine the institutional framework and the personality framework of those that have occupied governance, it will seem that a lot of attention has been devoted to getting into power without adequate preparation in terms of what to do when you get into power.
“Therefore, there has been a lot of wastefulness in this country, there has been a lot of misplacement of priorities in this country,” he added.
Jega stressed that democracy cannot be built without democrats, lamenting that most Nigerian politicians are not democrats but desperate people whose mindset is to win elections by “hook or by crook.”
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