Interview With Chief Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation

Chief Chika Osita NG@60

The first question pastor Poju, the convener of the Platform, directed to Mr Chidoka bothers around the top 3 issues affecting the score. In his response, he said there’s a very wide gap between promise and performance – promise as at independence, and performance 60 years down the line, which is today. He believes the challenge of Nigeria is corruption & our inability to govern the states. 

There’s also a situation of division from the very beginning, pointing out how that led to the crisis of ’64, ‘ 65, the coup in ’66 and civil war that followed thereafter. Many things have broken down because there’s a multi-ethnic coalition which is incompetent at running a nation. The Nigerian Elites have feasted on what’s supposed to be for all of us, meaning well for their own pockets while the masses have been duped. 

He went further to highlight three existential crisis we have as a nation, which is: insecurity issues like we have in the Boko Haram situation, oil going out of fashion, and pension increasing beyond due. He proposed a new leadership where the multi-ethnic coalition can effectively work together, to build a nation where no man is deprived. 

The host referred to his statement as quoted in a 2007 vanguard newspaper article where he said: “the unity of Nigeria is negotiable”. ‘How do we renegotiate our union?’, Pst Poju asked him. 

He still reiterated what he said then that our unity as a nation is truly negotiable. We can adopt the UK model, he claimed. In such a negotiation, there has to be the possibility of exiting if need be. He feels that the system has been rigged by a multi-ethnic coalition. You can refuse to be discriminated against by insisting that you will be a stakeholder. In his exact words, “do not sit back at home and expect someone to bring you to the limelight. Nigeria at 60 belongs to all of us and I think Nigeria at 60 presents to all of us an opportunity.” 

He rounded off by saying we can change the narrative of Nigeria and build a Nigeria where we are united in vision. He challenged the young people saying, “a nation where no man is impressed, a nation of equal stakeholder, a nation where we reject discrimination is possible.”

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