We Need To Seek Proper Diagnosis Of Nigeria’s Problems – Former NERC Boss

A former Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, has said until a proper diagnosis of Nigeria’s problems are made, there wont be a way forward.

Amadi who is the current Director of the Abuja School of Political and Social Thoughts, noted that as a nation, we have to go beneath the surface of our problems and see the underlying cause, adding that the most important thing is to seek radical knowledge of our problems and be willing to address the roots.

In an interview with The Punch, the former NERC boss maintained that though Nigerians are redirecting the narrative from the past, but the country’s future may not lie in the hands of politicians.

He explained that the present crop of leaders do not give much confidence about the future of Nigeria, adding that the country was blessed with several people who could turn the tide if properly harnessed.

Tinubu Not Fit For Nigeria

Amadi however opined that the All Progressives Congress(APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, was not the right person to lead the country from 2023,because he and his party were deficient in “ideological orientation” of its governing elites.

He continued saying for the need for civic reawakening, the presidential candidates of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP),Peter Obi still stand better chances of leading the country to the desired destination.

Amadi observed that Nigeria doesn’t only need civic reawakening, but also need a new constitution to turn it from a neo-feudal and neo-patrimonial state into a truly secular, modern democratic state.

“There has been several predictions of rising for Nigeria. Yet Nigeria is yet to rise. Nigeria has come of age, as it’s first Prime Minister declared. But it has not proved its skeptics wrong. Nigeria is a resilient country. But it is yet to become a prosperous and stable country. Probably Nigeria was misbegotten but it is still our responsibility to correct the foundational errors and fulfill the hopes of the world leaders of a great Black Country in the African continent,” he noted.

Amadi who referred to Nigeria as a bright hope and a city on the hills in 1960 at independence described her today as a nation in distress, with an epileptic supply of social services like electricity.

“But today, with seven total blackouts in nine months, Nigeria has gone beyond epileptic supply of electricity. Nigeria is now more than a distressed country. Many will say Nigeria is a collapsed or failed country,” he added.

Hence its not “disputable that Nigeria had betrayed the trust, dashed the hope and broken the heart of its citizens and well-wishers across the world who looked forward with confidence to the birth of a new country that will prove that what one race can do another can do better.”

“Nigeria’s future may not lie with the politicians, it may be more important at this point to raise great men and women who will be able to orchestrate new learning and social practices to recreate Nigeria. The political class is very important but they are not sufficient. We need civic reawakening. We need explosion of knowledge and expertise,” Amadi expressed.