Revolution, Solution To Nigeria’s Problems, Says Maitama Sule

Nigeria’s former representative to the United Nation Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule has suggested revolution as the only solution to the nation’s political and economic problems.

Speaking as a guest speaker in Minna Saturday at the launching of N500million appeal fund for resuscitation of the oldest primary school in Niger state, Minna Central Primary School now named after the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, a product of the school, the octogenarian diplomat however called for a bloodless revolution to enable the country find its footings again.

The eloquent elder statesman lamented that the present state of affairs in the country called for a radical change, but cautioned that such change should come through a bloodless revolution for the country to attain its vision 2020.

Sule, who is the Dan Masani Kano, also said that part of the surgical operation that will revive the country and put it on a right pedestal will be for the political class to fashion out a modality for the old and the new breed political players to embrace each other.

Observing that the country had lacked meaningful development in the last 49 years of its existence, the elder statesman blamed it on the inability of the political class to perfect their acts.

According to him “they need the maturity of the old breed politicians just as the old breed politicians need the agility of the new breed to make things work but unfortunately this is not so and the country is suffering for this missing link”.

“Nigeria as a country, we have the people, we have the resources that will make things happen but the problem is with the present crops of political leaders,” he submitted.

To overcome our present challenges, Sule maintained that, “what the country need now is honest leaders and not thieves. We need leaders that have fire in their bellies but with humanity in their hearts, leaders that have the interest of the common man at heart”.

Lamenting the poor state of the country’s education sector, Sule pointed out the poor funding of the sector by successive administrations in the country, stressing that until we learn to accord education its rightful place in our national planning, the country would not catch up with the developed nations of the world.

Citing Ghana, where education attracts higher budgetary allocation, the elder statesman advised that if the country’s elites and the leadership are serious about the development of this country, more attention should be accorded the sector.

He then commended the old pupils of IBB Central Primary School for initiating the appeal fund and advised other well-to-do in the society to emulate the steps of the old pupils of the school, noting that government alone cannot meet all our needs as a nation.

Speaking in the same vein, former Head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar, an old pupil of the school and the chairman of the occasion called on parents to pay more attention to the educational growth of their children and wards, just as he advised all Nigerians to always support the government in the provision of infrastructures, noting that government cannot satisfy the public due to other pressing demands and scarce state resources.