Nasir el-Rufai, the executive governor of Kaduna State has said that the disconnection between the political class and the elites is fundamental to the economic woes of the country.
El-Rufai stated the quality of politics is functional to the quality of economy a country gets per time.
“Functioning political system is key to functioning economy,” he said.
The former minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja disclosed this at the first plenary session of day 2 titled ‘Mobilising for the political and economic development of the Nigerian Economic Summit on Tuesday, October 26 at Hiltop Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.
He decries the passive attitudes of many Nigerian elites who tend to shy away from active political activities, but would rather take solace in managing their businesses and living comfortably at Banana Island.
El-Rufai frown at Nigeria’s political culture which according to him is almost the same ideology, hence it is easy for people to move from one party to another.
“It does not mean the various parties do not have their political manifestos rather it is the people that make the difference,” he said.
The fierce urgency of now according to the governor is that Nigerians, including the elites, should come together and agree to build the country.
He cited Italy which according to him was formed from different groups of ethnicity but who agreed to build their newfound country together.
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And in doing this, he advocated that all those who are marginalised should be given equal opportunity in the affairs of the country.
“Let us put aside all our differences and equal opportunities to all sectors,” he appealed.
Ayo Obe, one of the speakers at the event bemoaned the fact that the majority of Nigerians have failed to maximise their power when it comes to elections.
Oke reiterated that there has been some significant improvement in the election processes in Nigeria but the people are the ones failing themselves by not being bold enough to make the right choices.
“Simply having democracy does not deliver dividends, but the choices that the people make do,” she said.
Ayisha Osari in her speech charged the politicians to find a new way of doing things in order to secure the future of Nigeria.
“Elections are manipulated and rigged, and the power class is happy about this. We are not yet practicing democracy in Nigeria,” she said.
However, Aigbode AIG-Imoukhuede in his speech encouraged Nigerians not to despair because no nation has ever had a smooth run between political and economic growth.
The session was arranged to address a range of Nigerian issues that border on stability, cohesion, and development. Besides, is an often-neglected area which is the set of political relationships that drive economic change. This link between the distribution and use of political power on the one hand and economic outcomes on the other highlights one of the most potent and instrumental tools for driving positive economic change.
