A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudum Nwuche, has blamed unbridled tribalism religious and other forms of bigotry for Nigeria’s stunted growth since independence on October 1st, 1960.
Nwuche said this in a series of tweets on his X (formally twitter) handle on Sunday.
He expressed sadness that sixty years after independence from colonial rule, some Nigerians were still holding on to such considerations thus further prolonging the misery of the generality of Nigerians who have become victims of persons and groups who harvest personal benefits from our nation’s stagnation.
The former Deputy Speaker who trained and practiced as a lawyer and businessman before joining politics noted that nations desirous of meaningful progress must eschew such sentiments in order to build a modern society.
Nwuche spoke against the backdrop of a baseless campaign of calumny targeted at the Minister of the FCT, Barr. Nyesom Wike by persons and groups he described as those who don’t wish Nigeria well.
He said, “Tribalism and bigotry has led as a nation us no where and hasn’t even developed the areas and the people favoured by such bigots.
“Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria it was developed to what it is today in terms of infrastructure with resources from the Niger Delta, it belongs to all Nigerians no matter where they come from, what religion they profess or which political party they support.
“As such, the ministerial portfolio is not and should not be the exclusive preserve of anyone. Competence, capacity, courage and patriotism should be things we must look out for in making a choice.”
He further said, “We are ceding too much space to so called clerics of different faiths,the ill informed etc to dominate public discourse and often mislead the masses. In their bigotry they dont realise that just and equitable societies make more rapid socio economic progress.Peace and its really sad to see comments from people who are supposedly enlightened.
“Where has tribalism and religious bigotry led our country so far,and how have those being favoured by these bigots faired. Lets treat Nigerians equally and equitably irrespective of tribe and religion.”
Source | Vanguard
