Nigeria has not been this split since the 1967–1970 Civil War, according to Muhammad Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He added that the integrity of government institutions had been called into doubt because of how the elections had left the nation “dangerously split along ethnic and religious lines.”
“The people now have suspicions about policies, policing, judiciary and the election umpire,” he said.
At the third Nigerian Leadership Colloquium held on Tuesday in honor of Ituah Ighodalo, the senior pastor of Trinity House in Lagos, who turned 62, Sanusi delivered the statements.
The event was titled “A new Nigeria: Leadership imperatives for radical growth and transformation,” and it took place on Tuesday in Lagos.
In his speech delivered through Zoom, Sanusi said that the nation-building task before the nation was now a difficulty, and that the economy was currently in a slump.
His words were, “In October 2022, speaking at the Kaduna Investment Forum, I told Nigerians that if anyone told them that dealing with Nigeria post-2023 would be easy, they should not vote for that person. I meant it.
“I don’t think Nigeria has been in a place as difficult as this since the civil war. We have a challenge of nation building.
“We have a country that has been divided dangerously along ethnic and religious lines.
“We have an economy that is in the doldrums, and unfortunately, we seem to be having a dearth of leadership.”
He contends that in addition to identifying the types of leaders the nation requires, it also has to critically examine the method by which those leaders are selected.
“No process is perfect. We have seen so in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the very least, the people should know who they are voting for. I think we need to begin to look at the Electoral Act, 2022 much more earlier than elections. We need to have a system where one cannot just go to participate in party primaries without being exposed to public scrutiny. This is what happens everywhere. People need to know what they are voting for. In other climes, they are compelled by law to participate in public debates to discuss issues of policy.
“This is the only country I know where we elect a President first before knowing if he knows what he is doing or whether he understands what the job is,” he added.
He added that Nigerians’ selection of their leaders ought to be done in a more open and accountable manner.