Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto has declared that Nigeria’s issues are solvable.
He remarked that every Nigerian is aware of the country’s current issues, and that solving them will require the people’s commitment.
Kukah who spoke as keynote speaker at 3rd Annual National Public Lecture of the First News with the theme; “The Nigerian Question: Survival of the Federation in The Throes of Increasing Economic Challenges” in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state on Friday, even those who are responsible for Nigeria’s problems are not also safe.
The cleric who disclosed that he has been privileged to meet every President and Head of State in Nigeria except Gen Sani Abacha said all of them have the burning desire to develop the country but they have failed because they lacked the will to implement their vision.
According to him every country in the world also has its own problems and it takes the citizens and purposeful leaders to address such problems.
He urged Nigerians to find its own navigational truth for proper development as done in other nations.
He said: “The good thing about Nigeria is that everybody knows what the problems are and the people who are responsible for the problems are not also safe, they too do not know peace.
“Nigerians talk about other countries, I feel sorry for many Nigerians who, because of many troubles, hardly travel out of their immediate environments, not to talk about traveling to other parts of Africa or other parts of the world.
“Though, every country has its own problems, the challenge before us in Nigeria is that, what do we want, obviously, can we democratise and develop our nation? It is a very difficult question to answer, because what we call the civilized world today is the last 200 years of exploitation of Africa that helped to build these nations.
“So we are imagining it ourselves, why are we not like other people, we are not like others because every nation has to find its own navigational truth for development. It is not as if we cannot use democracy to develop Nigeria, but there are certain fundamental things that must be on ground before people can appreciate democracy.
“Unless Nigeria settles the issue of ‘bread and butter mentality’ , democracy can actually look like a lottery.”
The publisher of the First News, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, a former Commissioner for Information in Bayelsa state said the essence of the lecture was to brainstorm on Nigeria’s challenging economy and proffer possible solutions, adding that the nation’s economic problems are very glaring.
According to him, Nigeria’s situation has defied any solution that is why the lecture was arranged to find solutions to the economic challenges.
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Gideon Ekeuwei, urged Bayelsa people to develop themselves in order to curb the economic situation.