To halt what they deemed the downward slide of Nigeria into socio-economic and development abyss, some Nigerians in the Diaspora have vowed to ensure that a career politician did not succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
According to them, it is time for career politicians to take a back seat, and entrepreneurs must be supported to take over in the new era of “politics of the unusual.”
In a communique by their Coordinator, Mr. Ahmed Ja’Usman Tijani, they said their desire is to “change the negative trajectory of Nigeria’s politics. There could be no better time to address these issues than now, as the nation gradually enters another season of politicking and horse-trading for the 2023 elections.
“The 247 participants at this inaugural meeting were drawn from various advocacy groups across the united states, the UK, Continental Europe, and Nigeria. The participants were fervent in their conviction that Nigeria can no longer afford to continue on the path of political decadence that have blighted the promises of this nation in the past decades.
“The participants, also unanimously declared, that as stakeholders in the destiny of this nation they can no longer stand aloof, while some unsavoury characters continue to decimate and destroy the glory and prospects of this nation.
“A number of participants in diaspora stated that they were forced to flee Nigeria because of the inanities and destructive politics which have brutally dimmed the potentials of both Nigeria and Nigerians.
“We believe that working together, with all Nigerians, we can begin the arduous, but not insurmountable task of pulling this nation back from the path of self-destruction. There is no more time, this task must start with the forthcoming general elections in 2023.”
Going forward, they noted that leadership failure caused by the stranglehold on the reins of power by the old class of career politicians was the reason for Nigeria’s stunted growth.
“This set of leaders have failed to use the instruments of power to build the nation, but are only interested in acquiring power for the sake of power. This has been the bane of Nigeria and it is disheartening that such characters are already parading the national space, with the intention of attaining power at various levels come 2023 in order to continue their destructive politics of self-aggrandizement.
“Nigeria cannot afford to tow this path again. It is time for a new leadership to emerge. Until we retire the career politicians, who have created and used ethnic and religious divisions to attain and perpetuate themselves in power we will continue to wallow in poverty and underdevelopment.”
Consequently, they said: “it is time to build a new vanguard of leadership which is totally anchored on competence and track record of verifiable achievements.
“It was agreed generally, that in this nation they are personalities that have created massive values through dint of hard work, managerial acumen, and unbridled spirit of entrepreneurship.
“These men who have created something out of nothing deserve to be pushed forward at this time in order to rescue Nigeria from the edge of the precipice. “
