Violence,  war not option for Nigeria – Kayode Fayemi

ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – Governor of Ekiti State Dr. Kayode Fayemi has stated that  the problems  confronting Nigeria cannot be solved through war or violence.

Fayemi who delivered the  Nnamdi Azikiwe University ,  Awka  Faculty of Sciences Zik lectures series with theme “Security ,governance and nation building said there is absolutely nothing heroic about dying foolishly for a cause for which dialogue and negotiation can provide pathways to workable solutions.

“Whatever is worth fighting for, is worth staying alive for. I can very much hear this refrain flowing from the life experience and legacy of Nnamdi Azikiwe. And if the Great Zik were alive, this is precisely what he would be telling this august gathering. Let us hearken to his words of wisdom” he said .

According to him, what the Nigeria needed at this  critical time was nation building and not confrontation or war. Fayemi who is the chairman of Nigerian governor forum  said that one of the most critical factors for the success of any nation is the achievement of a broad and enduring consensus among the elite drawn from various walks of life on a fundamental set of questions that are germane to the establishment and nurturing of a stable foundation for the pursuit of security and development.

According to him, nation’s theory of development can only derive from the consensus that has been forged on key national questions, especially those related to the issues of identity, religion, participation, justice, and the overall management of diversity.

 He said that there is need to  mobilise to define the value of citizenship and to set the parameters for inclusion or exclusion within the nation’s socio-economic and political space.

” As such, there can be no successful nation-building in our current climate where a wide section of our citizens are apathetic to the very idea of the nation-state and perceive the political institutions that govern them as enemies. For many, nation-building is no more than age-old idealistic rhetoric that has no bearing on lived realities

“My argument has always been though, that we cannot speak of national development without first resolving the key issues of nation-building. I make bold, therefore, to say that the security challenges that are confronting us in all their various dimensions and ramifications, and all the issues of governance instability that we are confronted with are directly consequential upon our inability to settle some fundamental questions of nationhood and find points of convergence in a plural society like ours.

“Where the very existence of the nation itself is easily brought to question at the slightest provocation, it should serve as a warning to us that the very foundation upon which the nation stands is either weakening or has collapsed. In either case, measures aimed at reinforcing that foundation must be adopted speedily” he said