The Founder and President of Anap Foundation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has urged Nigerians to rise up against perpetrators of state capture who, according to him, had deprived over 200 million Nigerians the opportunity to enjoy a Nigerian that could work for their advancement and progress.
Peterside, made the call on Tuesday, in Lagos when he delivered a keynote address at the 4th Nigerian Leadership Colloquium in Honour of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo’s 63rd Birthday with the theme “Mistakes Nigeria Made.”
He described perpetrators of state capture as public officials and business elites that believed that it was their divine right to corner all the resources of the country and leave the rest of the citizens with handfuls of crumbs.
He stated that the dangerous thing about state capture, which made it worse than corruption, was that it could be achieved and sustained through legal and constitutional instruments.
Peterside said: “We must not give up. Those of us who are not beneficiaries of state capture must make it a priority to fight for the rights of 200 million Nigerians.
“In the meantime we must hold every public officer accountable. Think about it, if we just leave them alone, no whistle blowing, no pressure on them; they will even capture more of the state.
“The rest of us who are not part of that state capture must constantly get involved in whistle blowing and shouting to the high heavens. It is like holding their feet to the fire. If we do not hold their feet to the fire there will be no change.
“The real enemies are those that are involved in state capture. You can be in APC, PDP or Labour Party and still be my enemy if you are involved in state capture.
“In 2012 when the economy was buoyant they bought Toyota Camry. But in 2023 when the economy has tanked they went for luxury SUVs. It is the same mindset of state capture of people believing that they can capture what they can and the rest of us cannot do anything about it.
“The point I am making is that those who are enemies of state capture must organise the opposition to be genuinely against state capture.”
He added: “Our task is to seek and encourage the few leaders whose sense of patriotism goes beyond seeking their share of the spoils.
“Indeed we must identify and celebrate the handful who continue to insist that their priority will remain seeking the greatest good for the greatest number of Nigerians.
“We must learn to put our trust in persons who still exhibit genuine belief in social justice and encourage them to deploy both modern and traditional tools to expand their networks and spread across the nation.”
The Chairman of the occasion, General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), posed 38 questions that required genuine attention in considering and proffering solutions to the “Mistakes Nigeria Made.”
Some of these questions included, “was our unwillingness to renegotiate Nigeria’s continued existence as a country a mistake?”
Nwachukwu added: “I believe that the solutions to Nigeria’s and its people’s problems will emerge when we candidly address and answer these questions and many more that will emerge from this colloquium.
“And I also believe that from these answers will come, quite easily, the will to do right by all manner of peoples and interest groups that form the main ingredients of the Nigerian state and country.
“The 2014 National Conference did. That is why all the delegates by consensus made the crucial recommendations to salvage Nigeria. And I strongly recommend that we do not set them aside.
“Only by courageously facing the truth can Nigerians and Nigeria begin to heal from the mistakes and hurts of the past and commence the transformation to a better future.”
In his contribution as one of the discussants, Dr. Reuben Abati of ARISE TV News, said Nigeria needed to capture its youths via education in order to have youths that could compete in the future.
Abati said: “We need to capture the youth population via education in a world that has become competitive. This should be a national priority and a national emergency so that we can have youths that can compete in the future.”
Another discussant, Professor Olubukola Oyawoye, said Nigeria’s greatest mistake was that, “we have not outlined our vision and our mission.”
The Celebrant, Pastor Ighodalo, said honest conversation was the only thing that could change Nigeria.
He said: “It is conversation, conversation, conversation. What is critical to me is that in this business of Nigeria we should go back and discuss Nigeria.
“If the foundation is not right we have to knock it down and build it again.”
Dike Onwuamaeze
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