By Jide Orintunsin – Abuja

Unlike the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) were never in denial of the challenges confronting the country, Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman has declared.

He however said the ruling party will have to urgently develop a strong mobilisation campaign that can connect citizens with all the initiatives of the government as against the negative narratives of the opposition in the public domain.

Lukman, in a statement titled “Nigeria’s challenge and need for reorientation” on Tuesday in Abuja, said it will require a robust programme of reorientation to sustain the envisioned change APC and its leadership is working to achieve.

“No need for the familiar debates of PDP vs APC here. The fundamental issue is the question of the extent to which APC leaders and members are responding to challenges.

“Are we taking responsibility? The good thing is that, in APC, leaders are not in denial of the challenges. This was not the case with PDP before 2015 and up to this moment.

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“However, being members of the APC, we should be able to acknowledge too that although, the slogan of the APC is CHANGE, which underlines the commitment of the party and its leadership to bring about change in the country, the programmatic details as articulated in the party’s manifesto require a mobilization programme to win the support of Nigerians.

“One of the big gaps confronting the APC, which unfortunately makes it easy for opposition politicians to dent the party and its governments’ is the absence of mobilization program to engage Nigerians to take responsibility in their different fields of endeavors in responding to challenges facing the country.”

The PGF boss argued furher: “Getting Nigerians to take responsibility in their different fields of endeavors in responding to challenges facing the country is a critical success factor in terms of producing the change envisioned by the APC and its leadership as articulated in the manifesto of the party.

“Inability of Nigerians to take responsibility through initiating appropriate actions raises questions about the sustainability of initiatives of the government.

“Beyond questions of sustainability, there is the issue of public awareness and the associated challenges of public support and endorsements. It is not enough for government to initiate programs and projects as responses to challenges facing the country. Public support and endorsements will be required to make them sustainable, which is not automatic.

“Once the focus and scope of initiatives are limited to operations of government institutions, and non-governmental institutions continue with business-as-usual practices, most of the challenges facing the country will linger.

“For instance, take the case of insecurity, which is the most important threat to the survival of the country. As much as combative military operations against insurgency in all its manifestations – banditry, kidnappings, abductions, etc. – is fundamental to restoring order and protection of lives and property in the country, equally important is also how Nigerians across all strata of social life are being mobilized to take responsibility in restoring order and guaranteeing the security of life and property in every part of the country.

“How is the government working to raise awareness of Nigerians in terms of what to look out for as danger signals in our different communities? What kind of conduct by citizens, including community leaders constitute risk factors and therefore indicative of security challenges? What should be done, where, and who to report to? What other initiatives should citizens take?

“One of the major challenges facing Nigeria today is that ‘self-styled saviors’ projecting themselves as leaders campaigning to win a sense of belonging’ based on aggressive ‘nationalism, uncompromising religious sects, or violent urban tribes’ are springing up in every part of the country. This is partly the issue around the Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho phenomena in the South-East and South-West.

“Unfortunately, because such phenomena are allowed without any counter mobilization strategy, they are increasingly becoming threats to political leaders. To some extent, they are also becoming models of responses to Nigeria’s challenges by ethnic and religious groups, which is dangerous.”