The founder and spiritual head of Shafaudeen in Islam world-wide, Professor Sabit Olagoke has revealed that the myriads of problems confronting Nigeria is as a result of a curse pronounced on the country by the late Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
He disclosed that the only way out of the curse was for leaders in the country to do things accordingly by allowing transparency and accountability to thrive.
Prof. Olagoke posited that he finds it shocking when people keep lamenting over lack of money in the country, when the leakages where the money is being siphoned are not blocked due to corruption stressing that lots of wastages could be found in various ways Nigerian leaders are administering the country.
“When Awolowo was alive during his campaign days, people were saying education must be free you are saying is not possible now. But Awolowo said it was possible. He said they have made researches and the research showed that those people working in the federal parastatals, they drink tea, they take coffee, that when we calculate the amount being used per month, it is in millions. If they don’t drink tea or take coffee, will they die? Then Awolowo said this is the area we are going to source for our funds.”
“It is always embarrassing when we say there is no money in the country and we can see a lot of wastages in the number of people following the president or the governor and the way they go about awarding contracts; fraud everywhere.
“And Awolowo said, you have denied me the opportunity to put things right. What remains for you is that you will take your destiny in your hands. You may no more see or know anything called democracy.”
“He was then asked how Nigerians would break the jinx? And he replied ‘The only way to remove the jinx is by daring the devil. You dare the devil by doing things accordingly’.
“Transparency and accountability are the watchwords of democracy. But the problem is how do we find transparency again? How do we find accountability again?
“We continue to cry that things are not okay and we know how and why things are not okay.
“Why are we not addressing the root causes? These are the areas where a lot of us need to shine our eyes now and focus our thoughts so that things are done accordingly,” Prof. Olagoke posited.
While expressing his view on the continued insurgency in the country, the don pointed out: “When you look at the history of insurgency, the north happens to be the greatest problem we have since the days of Awolowo.
“These were the people that have toyed with education. Education is supposed to liberate everybody to know your rights, to know what you are supposed to do, to know what you are supposed to preserve.
“Unfortunately, only the royal houses there, allowed their children to go to school. I was surprised when the president was saying they were going to phase-out Almajiri system of education. Why are they just realising it’s outdated? Why do you need to keep children growing under poverty?
“These people are now adults. That is why they are ready-made fuel for anybody that wants to perpetrate any evil or cause violence. And that is why Boko Haram snowballed into an international dimension,” he observed.
While proffering solution to the insurgency problem, Prof. Olagoke posited that experts in conflict resolution are needed, noting that politicians are empty headed when it comes to resolving problems.
“How can you say because I am the president or governor, I have all the knowledge. You need all these people to tell you what to do. That is how to go about good governance.
“And when you look at the kind of party politics we are playing in Nigeria, it can never bring any development, because opposition will continue to say I want the environment to be ungovernable for you.
“So how do you want me to perform when the environment is hostile? That is why we are talking about promoting inclusive government whereby you will be looking for merit,” he concluded.
Packaged by Ojo Peter
