As the preparations for the 2015 general elections gather momentum, President Goodluck Jonathan has said that politics is a contestation of ideas and not war. This is coming at a time the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Mathew Kukah said the much talked about Sovereign National Conference will not solve the problem of the nation.
Both of them spoke on Thursday in Lagos at the 25th anniversary of Aka Ikenga, a think tank of Igbo professionals.
While delivering his goodwill message, President Jonathan, who was represented by the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said opposing political groups may not agree on strategies, but that such disagreements must not be to the detriment of the health of the nation.
He said: “Politics is a contest of idea. It is not a war that must be won by dangerous or foul means. Nigerians can disagree on policies, on the sequence of policy initiative and the outcome, we can even disagree on strategies”, but that politics must not be played at the expense of overriding public interest”.
He added that leaders engage each other with decorum.
Kukah, who was guest speaker at the event while responding to questions, said SNC will not fix Nigeria. He said even the SNC eventually holds, it will end in chaos like most things the country has tried to do.
According to him “the question is, how do we fix Nigeria. Fixing Nigeria, in my view, is not about conferencing. The issues are very basic; we don’t need a national conference to know why we don’t have electricity.
“So, my arguments have been that from 1926 we started debating about what kind of nation we want. Up till today, we have still not been able to resolve the issue.
The critical issue is our impatience. I believe it is our responsibility to be patient. A Nigeria of our dream would never become a reality in our lifetime, because there is nothing like that. When you finish building and you finish with electricity, other problems will come.
“I don’t believe that a SNC is a solution to our problem. Even if we have a SNC, it is most likely that it would still be as chaotic as everything we have tried to do in Nigeria, including choosing the members of our Super Eagles in which everybody wants to have a say”.
Earlier in his lecture, Kukah, who spoke on “Nigeria: The Challenge of Democracy,” said Nigeria has a problem of stereotype. While pointing out that stereotype creates problems because it excludes people, he said such system cannot be sustained in a democracy.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha called on the Igbos to stay focused on prospects and opportunities that can uplift the interests of the people.
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