Former Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwuka, has challenged the federal government of Nigeria to try the ingenuity of Nigerian youths by giving them 24/7 power supply in one whole month, and see what they could do with their brains.
In a monitored broadcast yesterday, the erstwhile DG of NOA who spoke on ‘State of the Nation’ decried the level of profligacy and insensitivity of political leaders in the country which is evident in the current unprecedented economic hardship ravaging the entire country.
Dissatisfied with the poverty level in the country, the American- based Physician recalled his experience as the DG of NOA, and how he was ousted out of office by act of corrupt system and persons who are bent at destroying Nigeria.
“On assumption as DG of NOA, I was told that workers don’t receive January salary till after April, and I asked why, I was told it was the status quo, that workers’ salary were use for investment (without their consent) by one person, but I told them I won’t do such wickedness. And I delivered”
Chukwuka affirmed that leadership is not for everyone but for serious minded persons with sacrificial hearts, and not for kleptocrats, gerontocrats nor for kakistocrats. “Nigeria’s endemic problem didn’t start today but from the time of Shagari, and as it is we can’t come out corruption today. What we have are politicians who buy houses in UK, US, Canada with public funds.
The medical expert posited that Nigeria doesn’t deserve any person above 55 to be president given what he called in medical terms ‘decrescendo cognitive level’, adding that age of a man or woman affects his productivity.
“We (55 years above) don’t have that cognitive ability again. A good actor leaves the scene when the ovation is loudest. We’re in decrescendo level. Old men have nothing to offer. Look at all Nigerian leaders, old men throughout.
“I served four governors in Anambra, I don’t have a plot of land in Akwa, I was in Abuja as DG of NOA, I don’t have a plot of land in Abuja, that was not what I came for. But I didn’t last in office because of some people’s selfish interest, but before my exit, I ensured accountability and transparency”
He maintained that the Nigerian governance system does not help the common man, but was skewed to favor the rich and a section of the country. “What we have is over- bloated government and over- bloated expanses.
“I summarized Nigerian problems in 5 I’s thus, Indiscipline, intolerance, impatience, insincerity and injustice, but there was no time for me to start tackling them from NOA, because they removed me after 1 year and some months” he bemoaned.