By Abubakar Liman
The Secretary General of Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku has said that the beginning of the loss of values and deviation from standards set by the founding fathers of Nigeria started with the incursion of military into politics.
Ndubuaku stated this on the sideline while fielding questions from journalists after receiving meritorious award as an Icon of Peace & Unity in honour of his passion and commitment to one Nigeria at the maiden edition of the Aminu Kano Legacy Merit Award, organised by the Coalition of Northern Progressive Movement in collaborations with women of Integrity and the Foundation For a New Nigeria held on Monday at Merit House, Maitama Abuja.
According to him, “the problem started with the dislocation and disorganisation of the governance system when the military came in and today, there is no direction. When the system were supposed to be building capacity for governance, the military came and scattered everything. Even the constitution we are using now is the one given to us by the military.” It is not this constitition that was negotiated by the founding fathers.
“So now you have a dislocation of the governance and political system and there is no direction. Now you see the youths rallying and saying they want to take back their country and that is why it is relevant with what is happening here today where some groups have elected to eulogise the qualities of late Aminu Kano so that the present generation and those yet unborn will start learning and understanding where we are coming from and what our founding fathers did.
He therefore called on Nigerian electorate to look beyond religion and ethnicity but to focus on history and the antecedence of the various candidates seeking political offices today.
Ndubuaku, lamented that the absence of history has continued to deprive the Country of good leadership. This he said, is the reason why today we don’t know some of the people who are planning to lead us to know whether it measures up to the standard that the founding fathers of this country have set”.
“That is why what is happening now as a country we cant say this is the character of leader or president that we need because we don’t know our history, we don’t know some of the people who are planning to lead us do not measure up to the standard that the founding fathers of this country have set”.
Ndubuaku pledge the support of ASURI for the sustainace of the Aminu Kano award so that the present generation and those that are not yet born can benefit from what the founding fathers did.
Highpoint of the event was the awards given to some eminent personalities. Honoured at the occasion were Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, Dr. Umar Bindir, National Co coordinator National Social Investiment programme, Hajiya mariam Aminu Kano and professor Chinnedu Charles .
