Nigeria is been said to be “dangerously divided along ethnic and religious lines” in the aftermath of the 2023 general election.
OsunDaily News reports that this is the position of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammed Sanusi.
The former CBN boss submitted that Nigeria has never been this divided since the Civil War of 1967 to 1970.
Sanusi, who made this pronouncement on Tuesday when he spoke virtually at the third Nigerian Leadership Colloquium in honour of the senior pastor of Trinity House, Lagos, Ituah Ighodalo, who turned 62 said the integrity of public institutions is in question.
According to him, because of the elections, was now “dangerously divided along ethnic and religious lines,” adding that “The people now have suspicions about policies, policing, judiciary and the election umpire.”
Speaking to the theme of the colloquium tagged “A new Nigeria: Leadership imperatives for radical growth and transformation”.Sanusi observed that beyond defining the kind of leaders Nigeria needs, it was critical that the process through which the leaders emerge should be examined as well.
He pointed out that the process through which Nigerians choose their leaders must be more transparent.
He advanced that “In October 2022, speaking at the Kaduna Investment Forum, I told Nigerians that if anyone told them that dealing with Nigeria post-2023 would be easy, they should not vote for that person. I meant it.
“I don’t think Nigeria has been in a place as difficult as this since the civil war. We have a challenge of nation-building.
“We have a country that has been divided dangerously along ethnic and religious lines.
“We have an economy that is in the doldrums, and unfortunately, we seem to be having a dearth of leadership.
“No process is perfect. We have seen so in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the very least, the people should know who they are voting for. I think we need to begin to look at the Electoral Act, of 2022 much earlier than the elections. We need to have a system where one cannot just go to participate in party primaries without being exposed to public scrutiny. This is what happens everywhere. People need to know what they are voting for. In other climes, they are compelled by law to participate in public debates to discuss issues of policy.
“This is the only country I know where we elect a President first before knowing if he knows what he is doing or whether he understands what the job is.”
