Nigerians have been urged to unite and work collectively to move the Nigerian project forward.
According to Dr Godwim Ichimi, a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigerians need to imbibe and exhibit good values if the country is to prosper on all fronts.
He spoke at the launch of a book, Nigeria Beyond Buhari, written by Dr. Peter Azonobi, a political and economic scientist.
Ichimi, who reviewed the book, said it was not meant to praise the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, but to call on individuals to join hands to move Nigeria forward.
According to him, the book has been able to draw attention to the circumstances which led to Buhari’s victory in 2015.
He said: “We all spoke, saying corruption is the bane of our economic and political development and stability. The author has only reminded us to keep the torch burning in the fight against vices in the social system, and agreeing, with one voice, that the economy could do better.
“Due to the leakages in the economy which corruption allows, the economy begins to suffer. We all suffer collectively; the people are impoverished collectively.
“Because of the time Dr. Azonobi has spent researching this book, he was able to draw some conclusions on Nigeria’s political history, beginning from the First Republic. So, what we need to focus on are those selling issues, those values that Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, live by.
“Irrespective of the political coloration, the point remains that as a people, we all collectively agreed that there are certain fundamentals that we cannot do away with, and that there are certain things that we must continue to fight as a nation. And if anybody calls himself a friend of Nigeria, he must join us in this fight. And it is to bring down corruption because corruption has no coloration; it is causing a collective damage to all of us.
“This book calls on every one of us, all Nigerians, friends of Nigeria, to join hands and collectively move the Nigerian project forward.”
Dr. Azonobi, on why he wrote the book, said: “I’ve been working on the Nigerian problem to provide solutions, which is what I have presented to my nation. The inspiration was from my desire to see the kind of benefits we see in counties like Britain, Netherlands, in Nigeria.
“Sometime in 1988, I travelled to Britain and I saw the environment, structures and so many things. What inspired me the most was however the people’s honesty. With honesty, you can achieve anything. But the case is different in my country Nigeria.
“And after going to Britain, I said my country is far better, and we can do better if we do the right things and get it right. These structures around us aren’t the main thing, but you and I who are the social system. How this social system develops overtime depends on the results we get from the social system. It is the social system that will put up the structures, and this is why it is important to get the social system right.
“The greatest thing this administration has done is to institute the foundation for the social system, and the foundation is a corrupt-free system of leadership. With honesty we can achieve what we want in life.”