Rawlings To Nigerians: Stop The Tribal Hate, It Will Lead To War

Former Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings has advised ethnic nationalities in Nigeria to stop beating the drums of war.

Rawlings warned that the current tribal war which he noted has reached "dangerous" level is antithetical to development, adding that it must stop forthwith.

The former Ghanaian President spoke as a guest of honour at the 12th Annual Lecture organised by the University of Ibadan Alumni Association (UIAA), Ekiti State branch, which was held at the Conference Hall of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State.

He stressed that it would be in the best interest of Nigerians to stop threatening one another but rather leverage on their diversity and co-exist harmoniously.

He advised Nigerians to shop for the right people of integrity who can perform the much desired miracle, adding that Nigeria can sustain good leadership by persistently deploying their tongues and votes rightly.

Rawlings reiterated that the fundamental challenge facing African nations lies in absence of leadership with character.

He also advocated the sustenance of war against corruption in Nigeria and Ghana, saying he is displeased with the ranking of both countries in the Transparency International (TI's) corruption watch.

He said when Nigeria wins the war against corruption, the effect would trickle down to other African nations as Nigeria commands 75 per cent of African population.

He said, "Transparency International shows that countries in the South South region of Africa failed to address corruption and that Ghana and Nigeria rate high in corruption indices. However, some leaders have the will but not the character to fight corruption. The fight against corruption in Nigeria calls for integrity and wise approach so that it will not conflict with the lives of the people.

"I am sad over the mean behaviour of my fellow black man. African countries are plagued with several challenges such as agriculture, deforestation, bad economy, governance, education amongst others. Nigeria has the pride and integrity. Most African countries cannot meddle with you people”, Rawlings said.

In his lecture, Dr. Makanjuola Owolabi who spoke on "Leadership with Character" also attributed Nigeria's problem on bad leadership with mediocrity.

He called for attitudinal change among Nigerians, saying, “We must also change our attitude to politics and governance of winner takes it all, of revenge, vendetta, vengeance, exclusion, extreme partisanship, wickedness and sadism which have been excluding close to 80 per cent of Nigerians in government activities and expenditures at all levels”.