This year marks the silver jubilee of my retirement from the Nigeria Customs Service, as Deputy Director, the second highest office in the Service. On the 28th of April 1989 I submitted my resignation letter, two months shy of the twentieth anniversary of my joining the public service. It’s hard to believe twenty-five years have passed so quickly. In that time a lot has happened. I went into full-time business, and also became a politician. And that’s what I’ve done since then. A quarter of a century on, I remain as committed as ever to seeing Nigeria prosper and take an enviable place in the global economy. There will be a lot of things happening this year. We will see elections in Ekiti and Osun States, and we will see preparations for the 2015 elections. How time flies! All eyes are on Nigeria, and there is much nervousness at home and abroad, about how this season will play out. I believe the political class has a responsibility to start this year pledging their commitment towards peaceful electioneering. We all must shun incendiary language, and all action that leaves the impression that the electoral battle is a do-or-die one. There’s nothing do-or-die about politics! There is no justification for the loss of even a single life, in the quest for the realization of a political ambition. Now is the time to start holding ourselves to higher standards. There is too much toxic language in the political space at the moment. No one ever said politics should or could happen without disagreement. It is in the very nature of politics that its players should belong to different camps. But we can compete and disagree sensibly, without descending into abuse and violence. At the end of the day it is not the angry press statements and conferences that bring development; it is well-thought-out plans and policies. AA
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:19:10 +0000
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