It was Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former Central Bank Governor (now Emir of Kano) who in January 2014 enriched our political lexicon with the coinage of the term Vested Interests.
At a youth summit geared towards national rebirth and renewal, Mallam Sanusi declared that Nigeria can only become great when as a people we “overcome the fear of vested interests.”
And by that he meant that those entrusted with leadership and governance must muster the political will to do the right thing no matter whose ox gored.
In a thought provoking message that went viral soon after the meeting, Sanusi averred that “we must recognize that at the heart of the problem of Nigeria, at the heart of ninety per cent of our issues – from Boko Haram, to religious crisis, to ethnic crisis to unemployment, to the lack of education, to the lack of health care – is that there are people who profit from the poverty and underdevelopment of this country.
“And these people are called Vested Interests. And so long as they remain entrenched, and so long as we do not overcome our fear of them and dislodge them, we are not going to find a solution to this problem and we are not going to reach true potentials.”
Emir Sanusi’s narrative comes strongly to mind as I observe the heated and, sometimes confusing debate, over the proposed amendment to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) Act by the Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
Proposed amendment
The reactions to the proposed amendment have ranged from the ludicrous to the outrageous; ludicrous as in accusations that the proposed amendment is a ploy by the Governor to “control the DESOPADEC funds” and outrageous as in the Urhobo Youth Alliance for Equity and Justice threatening to “make …Read More
Source:: New Mail
