A good governance advocacy group, the Unity House Foundation (UHF), has called on the country’s political leaders to come together regardless of party affiliations to save the Ship of the Nigerian state from sinking.
UHF national leader, Kingsley Wenenda Wali, made the call in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, the Rivers State capital.
Wali said, “Without prejudice to the petitions before various election tribunals and courts, I think that the moment calls for national interest over and above any other considerations.
“Our country is in dire straits and we know it. The President and the APC cannot play ostrich. Former Vice President Atiku and the PDP know this because it’s blowing in the wind.
“His Excellency, Peter Obi and the OBIdient nation say things are in a terrible state and that’s why they are seeking new ways. Nigerians have already seen 99 and not even scared of what 100 can do to them.
“My point? This is the time for all hands to be on deck, else this ship will sink. So, is massaging or feeding our egos worth the catastrophe that awaits us, if we keep turning our heads away, pretending not to see that only a national resolve, can stop the national ship from hitting the rock, less than 100 meters ahead of us?
“The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must rise above party politics and victory dance, and grab with both hands the challenge of a genuine national reconciliation and the urgent need for a national agenda.
“God has been more than fair to him, and I don’t think perquisites of the office of the Commander-in-Chief, should override the opportunity of becoming a national hero.
“The opportunity of becoming the President, who rescued the national ship and steered it to the path of greatness, is one he must grab firmly. This is only when the pledge of ‘Renewed Hope’ will be meaningful and not just a singsong.
“The leadership of the opposition – especially Vice President Atiku Abubakar and His Excellency Peter Obi, must convince themselves that they truly mean to fix this country.
“An exercise that must be achieved, whether they are the ship’s captain or not. They must not wait for President Tinubu to make that call, because the survival of this country is our collective monkey.
“The challenges are enormous and the distractions of electoral – albeit political, disputations must not be allowed to be the deadweight that will sink us.
“The economy is several thousands feet below sea level. Insecurity is fast becoming our body double and Nigerians have generally become despondent and near hopeless, because of hunger, strife and disease. And only a deliberate and intentional effort by the political leadership can reassure them that it is not finished.”
