The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, has outlined the provision of economic opportunities for the people as top priorities for governors all over the country.He said it is the key area where foreign missions in Nigeria must assist, if their intention is to help in the liberation of Nigerians from poverty, hunger and disease.
Fayemi disclosed this to the Czeck Ambassador to Nigeria Marek Skolil who called on him at his Abuja residence on Tuesday.
The NGF Chairman who emphasized that “there is no democracy without rule of law” also philosophised that “elections do not a democracy make”. The Governor who was enumerating what governance at the subnational level entails for the country hinted that “We need to increase economic opportunity at the subnational level for the safety and security of our people because security and welfare is the first job of the government.”
He added that, “In the minds of the people we need more than governance for the goodwill of the people” adding that, “at the end of the day there are no “Federal Nigerians but state citizens”, so those who are friends of Nigeria must understand the two level strata of our government and aid the one that best touches the heart of the problem as it were.
Placing a finger on the problems and diagnosing the remedies Governor Fayemi theorized that “You cannot extricate violence from poverty. Someone who is less educated is a lot more risk-averse than someone who is educated and can read the future and therefore the thrust is to get more people out of poverty and illiteracy, as quickly as possible for good governance to germinate on an even level in the country.”
This according to him is why “States are interested in agriculture, manufacturing, education and other economic generators that improve the quality of life of our people. The more qualified the people the more accountable the governors would be because qualified people will be able to hold those in government to put their foot to fire for the benefit of all.”
Reacting to Ambassador Skolil’s assertion that underscores his visits around the country to witness Nigeria’s elections, where he described Nigeria’s democracy as a learning curve for him and his country, Fayemi asserted that “We’ve proved that we are not just a democracy that writes election results and the country is gradually emerging strong among regions where one must prove his mettle to win, by propounding a strong manifesto and agenda for the people and genuinely convincing them that one is there for their general good.
He thanked the Czeck Ambassador for visiting at a time he did and went ahead to announce that he specifically flew to Abuja from Ekiti to honor this invitation because of his belief that the partnership that can bring bonds at the subnational level will benefit Nigerian, while at the same time saying that he is not talking for the Federal Government but that as a key official of the President’s campaign team he is not unaware of the importance of such partnerships to Nigerians collectively.
“We are a very large country. The partnership at subnational is just as important as that at the national level, Governor Fayemi emphasized, adding that git is good that you are opening your coast in Africa. It’s a measure of your faith to open more missions as not many countries would wanna do so.
Governor Fayemi had started his discussion by insisting that the NGF is a bipartisan organisation.
Earlier, the Ambassador who was accompanied by his embassy’s Political Secretary Maria Nwanyanwu who came decked in Ankara to buttress her links with Nigeria expressed excitement on the prospects of helping Nigeria in any way he and his government can.
“I’ll be delighted as a duty to help in any way. I have witnessed in my short stay in Nigeria that there are areas where we can intervene but most importantly, I learnt after witnessing elections here that there are things to learn from Nigeria as well.”
“I must emphasize, with no false modesty that your political environment was very vibrant when I witnessed it for my personal experience”, the Ambassador stated.
He told Governor Fayemi that “I would like to remind you of the scope of Czeck Republic in Nigeria. Since the 90s we have been rebuilding our ties with sub-Saharan Africa. For example, we can be of help to Nigeria not just in the area of security but, also, we can have both feet on the ground on trade. Nigeria is 2nd only after South Africa in our relationships with Africa.
“Our mission has a broad regional scope. We’ve been busy finding our new identity. We are back in Africa and feel well-acquainted here but at the same time we must feel how you see the challenges of European countries in your continent.”
NewsDiary