Chief Emeka Anyaoku
Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has warned politicians in the country against unguarded utterances that promote sectionalism in the country.
According to Anyaoku, such path was dangerous for the polity especially in the build up to the 2015 general elections.
He issued the warning on Friday evening in Abuja while delivering a lecture entitled, “Nigerian public service in the age of open Government: Giving voice to the people,” during the 2013 Public Service Day.
The event was organised by the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
His words: “The leaders of all our political parties and ethnocultural groups in the various parts of the country should, in the interest of national security, rally round to support the Federal Government’s measures to deal with the atrocities being perpetrated by terrorist groups.
“I am concerned about the worrisome statements being made about the 2015 elections by a number of our high profile citizens. I call on our politicians and opinion makers to stop and think of the implications such could have on the country’s stability”
“We hear declarations from notable nationals that the Presidency in 2015 must come from a specific area of the country, and we also hear at the same time from notable nationals that a different area must have its full two terms of eight years.”
Anyaoku opined that competition for political office should be on policies and not just power pursuit.
“If we are to promote our national solidarity, and if we are to succeed in entrenching our democracy, our politicians and leaders of thought must move away from section-based to policy-based politics. Campaigns and advocacy of support for candidates must be based on the manifestos of political parties, outlining policies and programmes for addressing the various challenges facing the country and its citizens,” he said.
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