The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has ahead of the 2023 general election, said the country needs a visionary leader that can fight insecurity, reunite the six geopolitical zones and rebuild the nation’s stunted economy.
Senator Anyim, who recently declared intention to contest for President in 2023 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lamented the high rate of unemployment of youths, depreciation of Naria, and lack of good governance in the country.
Anyim made this known in his acceptance speech at the 2020 Ziks Prize given to him and other prominent leaders of the country in Lagos.
The statement reads in part: “Nigeria now, more than ever before, is in urgent need of men and women who will think, act and live like Zik and his fellow nationalists.
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“Our problems are now monumental and more complex. Therefore, the demand for leadership in present-day Nigeria has become more daunting. For instance, our population has risen from about 45 million in 1960 to over 200 million in 2020. Most of that population is in the youthful bracket.
“Our economy has moved from the boom of the 1960s and 1970s to cycles of stunted growth and recession in the last decade. Our educational institutions have moved from the best rankings in the 1960s to mediocre positions in the 2020s.
“Our Naira has depreciated from 65 kobo to a dollar in the early 1980s to the present N568 to a dollar in 2021. Our labour market has moved from the employment of choice in the 1970s to crises of underemployment and unemployment in the 2020s.
“In agriculture, we have gone from a net exporter of food and cash crops to a nation of food insecurity and import dependence. Nigeria was founded on the principle of unity in diversity, but we are now more divided than ever in our history.
“Today danger lurks at every corner, nobody is safe anywhere. Around the world, our image has shifted from the giant of African to what some say is the poverty capital of the world.
“The leadership approach that will cope with these challenges must be beyond the usual. We need leadership that will change these challenges to a success story. Such leadership must have vision and capacity, be determined and above all be inclusive.”
Anyim, the former Senate President tasked the Federal Government to redeem Nigeria’s image and respect abroad.
“For Nigeria to survive and thrive, we must have peace at home and respect abroad. For that, we need leadership that understands the challenges, the imperatives, and the concomitant of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
“We need leaders that must connect and engage with the people especially the youth. Such leaders must place the youth at the center of every nation-building effort in order to move them from the current valley of despair to the height of their potentials.
“We need leaders that can build societal consensus, repair our broken social fabrics and show deep empathy for all Nigerians that are suffering deprivation, poverty, and want of any kind. Our leaders must be skilled in the science and art of good governance.
“They must be visionary and ready to keep pace with contemporary social, economic, and technological changes. They must be pragmatic and result-driven in dealing with security, education, health and other myriads of challenges that confront our nation” he stressed.