We must address issues of democratic failures to survive — Adamu

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has said one of the challenges confronting the success of democracy in Nigeria is the choice of leadership. Speaking yesterday in Abuja, when he received a delegation of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy  and Development (Council of the Wise) led by its […]

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has said one of the challenges confronting the success of democracy in Nigeria is the choice of leadership.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja, when he received a delegation of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy  and Development (Council of the Wise) led by its chairperson and former president, Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, Adamu said Nigeria must address issues of democratic failures to survive as a nation.

 He argued that the success of a democracy is multifaceted, adding that the leadership has its roles and the followers have their roles to play as well.

Adamu said Nigeria needs to address very fundamental issues that affect the success or failure of its democratic processes.

“Ours is a developing democracy, as it is a developing economy, and there are certain mistakes we make so much, so often that we have no excuse if we have the right leadership to withstand them.

“One of the challenges that confront the success of democracy is the choice of leadership. Why do leaders fail? Where do you get a leader, male or female, made of outstanding character, of integrity and what have you? And what level of expertise does he require to meet the expectations of the people and that will make him enjoy the confidence of the electorate? There must be a meeting point.

“One thing I have noticed in the course of this journey is that the spotlight has been on leadership. But let us not just address the leadership only because the leadership can succeed to the extent that the followers play according to the rules of the game.

“I want to call on your council to help us; we are today the chosen leaders of the ruling party of the Federal Government of Nigeria. We want to correct as much as we can some of these weaknesses that are identifiable not only now but many of them before we came to power; we want to make the difference.

“We invite you to be our partner in seeking for that difference. We want to assure you that under our National Working Committee, we will work with you because we know that you will deliver. You can invite us to any of your retreats and seminars and you will find us as partners,” Adamu said.

In her remarks, Hon. Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa said for Nigeria to develop, there must be stable, good governance, which could best be put in place through free, fair and transparent elections.