Ezekwesili, Ibeanu, others move to proffer solutions to nation’s challenges  

Former Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and two professors, Okwudili Nnoli and Okey Ibeanu, will on Tuesday, attempt to proffer solutions to some challenges facing the country, with a view to achieving greater citizenship involvement in turning things around to achieve the founding fathers’ vision.

The event, tagged ‘the big ideas podium,’ is being organised by the African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage), Enugu, and will see the trio speaking on the topic: ‘Nigeria: The Economics of failure.’

Shedding more light on the choice of the topic, Prof Ufo Okeke-Uzodike, Executive Director, AfriHeritage, said it was borne out of the country’s failure despite its significant natural and human resource endowments.

He said: “Our forefathers envisaged a country that was united, prosperous and egalitarian. They anticipated and worked towards a country that would be anchored internally on social justice and maintenance of peace and order, while leading externally from the front in Africa and around the world.

“Regrettably, however, today’s Nigeria is a floundering country under severe stress, out of grip, and in dire need of workable solutions. Beyond its decaying social infrastructure, poor standard of education, growing unemployment, weak healthcare system and high poverty rate, Nigeria is a country that has lost its compass and is desperately in need of solutions for ailing social institutions, governance systems and political economy.”

He said the country’s leadership has continued to demonstrate a collective inability to drive the country forward, as virtually nothing seems to work properly or for a sustained period in Nigeria.

“Our political governance arrangements are abysmally inefficient administratively; accepts and promotes mediocrity with respect to human resources; wasteful of scarce human and financial resources; and predatory with respect to the manner in which political leaders and their cronies b ilk the country and citizens of valuable resources

“Our economic governance arrangements are equally wanting with respect to policy, where its formulation, implementation and monitoring remain largely rudimentary, due not only to endemic corruption and continuing lack of political will, but also a short term approach and pitiful due to a terrible lack of policy articulation and vision,” he said.