I regret participating in bringing about this failed leadership – Jega

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By Salim Yunusa

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has expressed regret that he was part of a system that failed to produce good leadership in the country.

Jega who was in charge as INEC boss when Buhari emerged as winner of a controversial 2015 presidential election in the country, said that Nigeria cannot continue to allow bad people to govern or misgovern them any more.

Speaking during the inauguration of a 35-man People’s Redemption Party (PRP) Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC), in Abuja, he said the country needs serious political cleansing which would also require every Nigerian to not repeat past mistakes.

“I believe that all Nigerians can no longer sit on the fence as everybody needs to contribute to the cleansing of politics in Nigeria. There should be no fence-sitters; our future is at stake.

We cannot allow bad people to continue to govern us or misgovern us and continue to wreck our country and its future,” he said.

The former INEC boss previously said every Nigerian deserves a better life and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that.

He advised that if it becomes clear that leaders in the country are unable to improve the lives of the people, they have no reason to be in power.

Jega who made the statement during a lecture organized by the Hudaibiyya Centre held at the Aminu Kano College of Legal and Islamic Studies in Kano, said it was unfortunate that leaders’ nonchalant attitude to the masses woes thrive in Nigeria, ‘‘whereas these are what other nations have been fighting to erase from their system.

If a leader fails, it is up to the public to ensure that they vote them out”.

Jega added that there is an urgent need for the Buhari-led administration to come up with measures that would address insecurity and instability in various sectors of the nation.

Another person to similarly express regrets over the current leadership failure in the country, is former Sports minister, Solomon Dalung. Dalung who served under the Buhari administration, expressed regrets that the government under which he once served, has failed the Nigerian people.

Dalung who made the statement in an interview with BBC Hausa, said despite having worked with the Buhari government during his first term in office, and is still a card carrying member of the APC, he is not afraid to speak truth to power.

He said the current state of the nation is frightening as Nigerians are forced to seek alternative means of survival in their own country as government doesn’t exist.

He said, “In the north, if you are a Muslim and you want to travel, you must pray, fast for days before embarking on the journey. If you are Christian and you want to travel, you must fast and pray for days before you travel.

“Even if the journey is successful, you will still go to the hospital because of high blood pressure arising from fear during the journey. We have never experienced this kind of situation.

Imagine in the north, before you go to your farm, you will have to pay gunmen to allow you farm. If you want to harvest your farm produced, you will still have to pay gunmen before they allow you to harvest.

“So how can there be farming in the North? We have never experienced this kind of situation. It is our APC government, but this government has not address the needs of Nigerians.

It is our government, but if we are not doing the correct thing, it is our responsibility to speak out because we spoke against some people in the past and we need to speak to ourselves too.

“You know me and everybody in Nigeria knows me. Whether I am still a minister, even if I am the president, whatever I see that is not right, I must speak out, not because of myself, but in the interest of the generality of the people,” he said.

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