28th May, 2012
Former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku has appealed to the media and politicians to spare the country of what he described as “distractions of 2015”.
Anyaoku spoke this morning at the 2012 Democracy National Symposium holding at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Anyaoku, who was the chairman of the occasion, said preoccupation with politics of 2015 barely one year into the last election will confirm the suspicion that Nigerian politicians are bereft of creative ideas to tackle the various problems confronting the country.
Rather than politics, Anyaoku said the focus of government should be on how to confront massive theft of crude oil going on in the Niger Delta, the security challenge posed by Boko Haram fundamentalist sect, and the growing spate of kidnappings across the country.
The former diplomat who noted that the country’s democracy has faced a lot of challenges in the past one year, however, said the Jonathan administration has put the country on the right path with its various plans to revive the power, agriculture and other sectors.
He, however, said such plans can only be successful if there is a buy in and support of all the citizenry.
Present at the symposium which was still going on as at the time of filing in this story was President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Shehu Shagari, members of the National Assembly and members of the Federal Executive Council.