Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has criticised Nigerian politicians for focusing more on the next election than addressing the challenges facing citizens.
Ezekwesili said this during an interview on News Central Television while discussing insecurity, governance and the 2027 general elections.
She said politicians who fail to think beyond their immediate political interests cannot provide the leadership needed to address the country’s challenges.
“They’re all interested in the next election. They say that statesmen think of the next generation, but lousy politicians only think about the next election,” she said.
Ezekwesili also questioned the huge sums of money allegedly spent by the government on fighting terrorism, saying Nigerians deserve to know what has been achieved with the funds.
“Fighting terrorism is now an industry from which people who have the levers of power, starting from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to the military establishment, are benefiting.
“They need to be telling Nigerians what the performance is from the kind of trillions of naira that has been allegedly used to fight insecurity in the country. The results point to the fact of poor governance,” she said.
The former minister also accused the government of treating the safety of citizens with insufficient seriousness, warning that such an approach could send the wrong message to those threatening the country.
“Joking with the life of your citizens is the way that you send a signal to the enemies that you cannot be bothered,” she said.
On the establishment of state police, Ezekwesili said she supported the idea but stressed the need for clear mandates among security agencies.
“Yes, but if we had good governance, the clarity of the mandates would be observed,” she said.
She cited the Department of State Services as an example, recalling efforts to restore professionalism to the agency after what she described as a period when it had been degraded.
“There was a time the DSS was degraded. A certain Adeola became the DG of the DSS and they began the reprofessionalization,” she said.
Ezekwesili said the Nigeria Police Force has not been able to effectively perform its expected role, forcing the military to become increasingly involved in internal security matters.
“The police is not able to be that institution. This has gone beyond their pay grade. That’s why the military has become involved in internal matters of this kind,” she said.
Speaking about the 2027 election, she said a turning point could emerge without being obvious beforehand.
“Sometimes turning points don’t announce themselves,” she said.
Ezekwesili also criticised the National Assembly, accusing lawmakers of failing to prioritise the interests of citizens.
“Look at the National Assembly, we consider them to be a bunch of people who don’t really care about the citizens,” she said.
She further lamented the failure of the political system to fulfil the constitutional responsibility of government to protect citizens and promote their welfare.
“So, here they are, things are completely aground in terms of the functionality of the system of ensuring that what our Constitution places as a mandate of the government, that is, security and the welfare of the people is the primary responsibility of government, they don’t care to read that page,” she said.
