Nigeria’s wealth in the pocket of influential few, reveals Amaechi

A former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has lamented that the country’s wealth has been in the pocket of an influential few and called for politicians to invest in infrastructure to create jobs and reduce crime.

Amaechi said Nigeria is a country without consequences, as citizens and voters have failed to hold politicians and leaders accountable for their actions and policies.

Speaking during a panel session at the 5th edition of the Nigeria Symposium For Young and Emerging Leaders held in Lagos, yesterday, on the topic, Ineffective Policies And Extreme Poverty, the former Rivers State governor said: “I know politicians who have suddenly become billionaires, and this is the money that should have been used to build roads and provide amenities that could have been used to improve the lives of citizens.

“Our politicians have to be clear about how they intend to lift people out of poverty.”

Commenting on citizen participation, the former presidential candidate of KOWA, Prof. Remi Shonaiya, said: “We have to educate ourselves in order to become more active, and we have to begin to consider the greater good in our decisions.

“Most of us don’t care about what is happening in the House of Assembly, we are much more concerned about ourselves. The focus has to be on the people, not the government.

“But we also have to make sure that we hold our leaders accountable to us. There’s too much personal style in the way we practice politics in the country.”

Themed, ‘Turning the Curve, Aligning Government Policy to our Realities,’ and hosted by media personalities- Sandra Ezekwesili and Hero Daniels- this year’s edition emphasises youth inclusiveness in all spheres of the political economy and encourages realistic and effective policies for global competitiveness.