Professor Jerry Gana, a former Minister of Information and Culture, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s failure to follow the 2014 National Conference report as “a catastrophic error.”
Gana, who blamed the non-implementation of the confab report for some of the country’s escalating agitations and disunity, said Nigerians were better off as a people and a country if they worked together.
Gana, who spoke during a thanksgiving ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) Worldwide on Sunday in Uvwiamuge, Agbarho, Delta State, said there would be no peace in any country without justice and fairness.
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The elder statesman, on the other hand, stated that he did not share the emotions of those who advocated for the country’s division, noting that he strongly believed in a unified Nigeria where justice and fairness were delivered to all, regardless of political or religious affiliations.
“We in Nigeria’s middlebelt are big believers in peace, justice, and fairness. In 2014, the previous administration held a national conference at which we agreed on some basic principles to ensure justice and fairness. Unfortunately, when this regime took power, they made a huge error. That is the issue: they never touched that report.
“That is why we are now recommending that we begin that conversation.” We should communicate with one another and assure one another of justice and fairness, because there can be no peace without equity. We can’t be united unless we have equity. Let me make a plea to the federal government to promote peace, justice, and equity. Let me also make the case to those who are agitating that being united has immense strength. Let us not try to disperse and divide Nigeria. “It’s better for us to be together,” he added.
He congratulated the Urhobo Nation on the UPU’s 90th anniversary, emphasizing that Urhobo people had played a key role in maintaining and strengthening Nigeria’s unity.
The former minister previously stated that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be thrown out of office in 2023 because it had committed several human rights violations, and that Nigerians were fed up with their leaders.
Gana made the remarks during a speech titled “Raising 21st Century Leaders for Nigeria” at the Youth Arise Conference 2021 in Effurun, Delta State, near Warri.
Advocates for a Paradigm Shift in Governance organized the Youth Arise Nigeria Conference, which drew a big crowd from both within and outside the Delta.
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Deacon Chris Iyowaye, Hon. Gibson Akporehe, Phillip Adu-Odogwu, Cogent Owhe, and Lady E Ejiro Umukoro were among them, with the goal of raising civic and political consciousness among youths in terms of how they engage governance, obtain their PVC as a civic duty while volunteering and investing their time in being useful citizens rather than being purchaseable electorate.
