A University don, Simon Ehiabhi, has declared that Nigeria is suffering from Acute Leadership Deficiency Syndrome (ALDS).
Delivering the 26th Inaugural Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo state, the Professor of African Political and Diplomatic History, said that ” leadership failure has brought Nigerians to the point of agitation for restructuring and not the falsely created construct of ethnic incompatibility.
The lecture was titled “Historical Consciousness, Shared Identity and the Quest for a Restructured Nigeria.
He said that ” Nigerians only believe that they are divided, but there are no facts to support such a belief.
“The call for restructuring is anchored on the false premise that the various ethnic nationalities are incompatible.
“A country with over 250 ethnic nationalities, over 500 languages, and a population of over 200 million, and we are still at relative peace! Then how do we define unity?
“The country’s biggest challenge is the political will to transform these potentials into wealth, welfare, and security of the state.
Ehiabhi said that the call for restructuring was based on the false belief that Nigeria’s various ethnic nationalities were incompatible.
He added that Nigerians were more united than commonly expressed and that there was no possibility of disintegration.
He therefore stressed the need to develop a Nigerian model of shared identity. According to him”It is the leadership failure that has brought Nigerians to the point of agitation for restructuring and not the falsely created construct of ethnic incompatibility.
Nigeria’s problem lies in its political leadership, not its structure. “Nigeria is suffering from Acute Leadership Deficiency Syndrome (ALDS).
“This ailment exists because of the nature of Nigerian politics and leadership recruitment. ” The character of the state is often a reflection of the kind of leaders managing the state.
“There should be a search for visionary and pragmatic political leadership that may appreciate the value of history in order to develop a shared Nigerian identity through historical consciousness.
To address the ongoing call for restructuring, he therefore recommended that the ethnic agitation and discordant expression should not be treated as felony by the Nigerian state but understood as indicators of distress, dissatisfaction and apprehension about government policies.
“There is an urgent need for constitutional empowerment of recognized traditional institutions as they are custodians of historical consciousness and shared identity that define post-colonial relations.
“The teaching of national integrative history should be made compulsory at all educational levels to build a commonly-shared identity from an early stage.
” Introducing national values of common good to children at infancy can help instill the right patriotic values.
“Restructuring without historical consciousness is futile; therefore, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) should focus on sustained advocacy on cultural points of convergence through historical narrative.
“Political commentaries should de-emphasize the narrative of a divided Nigeria, as there are ample accounts to establish a sense of brotherhood among Nigeria’s federating units.
“Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) should revive their role in challenging bad governance as they did during the military era in Nigerian politics.
“Continued criticism of bad policies through public advocacy based on historical facts can help curb bad governance.
Earlier, the Chairman of the event and Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, described Prof. Ehiabhi as a thoroughbred academic and sought-after speaker at seminars and lectures.
