Nigeria is showing signs of failed state – Gov Aliyu

Written by Daily Trust Friday, 26 March 2010

ShareNigeria is showing signs of a failed state because of the inability of its leaders to provide basic amenities like electricity, potable water, good roads, the near comatose economy and the senseless killings across the country, the Governor of Niger State and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum Babangida Aliyu said yesterday.

Babangida who said this in his opening speech at the NGF meeting added that it was sad that in the year 2010 and after almost 50 years of independence, Nigeria was still witnessing such, while other countries had started manufacturing airplanes and automobiles.

“Our nation is indeed going through interesting and challenging times, requiring our collective sense of patriotism, political maturity, dexterity and innovation in governance. We must therefore continue to appreciate the norms of our society while we continue to respect our constitution and play according to the rules of the game to engender political stability and sustainable development   in our great nation”, he said.

The chairman of the NGF who urged Nigerians to cooperate with the government in power said all the 19 northern governors had pledged their loyalty to the Nigerian constitution. The meeting was attended by 11 governors, four deputy governors and four Secretaries to State Governments. Governor Aliyu also expressed concern over the increasing number of Northerners begging and prostituting in Saudi Arabia, saying it was damaging the image of Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Begging, prostitution and other social vices are anti –Islam and therefore must be discouraged and condemned. We need to take decisive steps to address this embarrassing trend which is becoming a norm in our society. Time has come for us to act more reasonably and stop politicking over every issue and abandoning our responsibilities to the people that we have sworn to serve. We must work had to regain the confidence and trust of the people”, he said.