By Lukman Olabiyi
EMIR of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, yesterday, urged Federal Government to make competence its priority, rather than federal character, in appointing public officials.
The former Central Bank governor said giving priority to Federal Character in appointing public officials has more negative effect than positive, stressing that the policy had made the nation move backward instead of forward.
Sanusi, who was the chairman of the occasion, at the 30 years anniversary of University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA) and N150 million scholarship endowment fund, held in Lagos, said the factor of federal character in giving appointment to people is what led the nation to where it is now.
He said the genesis of corruption in the country could be traced to federal character, for the fact that many leaders who were appointed to manage the affair of the country were not competent, but were chosen based on their ethnic, region or tribe.
“I’m not against federal character, but it should not be our priority in giving appointment to people.
“The problem with our country today is that we always saddle people with responsibility beyond them, all in the name of federal character,” he said.
Guest speaker of the occasion and Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said where the country found itself now, was the making of past administration.
Fashola, who was represented by Commissioner for Work in the state, Obafemi Hamzat, spoke on the topic: ‘Nigeria: Strategies for a sustainable economy’, said former president Goodluck Jonathan had the best opportunity to fix the nation’s power sector but traded it for politics.
He said many things went wrong during the last administration including the sale of power company which, he said, was wrongly done and the consequences of that transaction is what is manifesting now.
He said there was no way the country could develop with a decay infrastructure, and that’s why the current administration is investing heavily on infrastructure development to boost the economy.
UMA President, Alhaji Akeeb Oadokun, in his speech, commended Federal Government’s unrelenting effort to finally crush and dismantle all the strongholds of the Boko Haram insurgents in the county.
He urged the government to restore and resettle all the Internally Displaced People (IDP) into normal life and also have security of lives and property restored in their various primary places of abode, as quickly as possible.
