Aduwo: Moderator- opening: Distinguished elders of our Republic, founders and fathers of our political conscience, I welcome you with deep respect. Nigeria today stands at a crossroads once again, buffeted by insecurity, economic anxiety, democratic fatigue and the old ghost of military intervention. I ask you to speak freely, as you always did, for the benefit of those still struggling to hold this country together.
Question 1: On Nigeria’s Present Political Condition
Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe
My dear Moderator, Nigeria’s ailment has always been moral before it is political. A nation cannot rise above the ethical fibre of its leadership. We chased independence, but we abandoned national consciousness halfway. Without unity of purpose, politics degenerates into ethnic arithmetic.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo
I agree, Zik, but let me be precise. Nigeria suffers from intellectual indiscipline. We know what to do, yet refuse to do it. Federalism has been mutilated, planning is absent, and governance has become improvisation. A country cannot develop on slogans.
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (calmly)
Gentlemen, Nigeria is fragile because patience has been replaced with agitation. Leadership requires restraint. When politics becomes warfare, the state weakens. Compromise is not weakness, it is statesmanship.
Question 2: On Coups And Military Intervention
Moderator: Given current frustrations, some voices again whisper about military intervention. What is your view?
Chief Anthony Enahoro
Any Nigerian who invites soldiers into politics is confessing intellectual bankruptcy. The gun has no manifesto. Military rule solves nothing; it only postpones problems and deepens them.
Chief K.O. Mbadiwe (with flourish)
Ah! When the come comes to become, those calling for coups will discover that the unbecome has unbecome disastrously. Soldiers can seize power, yes,but they cannot manufacture legitimacy!
Chief Awolowo (firm)
Coups are symptoms, not solutions. The cure is good governance, social justice and economic planning. Once citizens feel protected and productive, soldiers return happily to the barracks.
Question 3: On Insurgency And Insecurity
Moderator: Nigeria now grapples with insurgency, banditry and state fragility. How should this be addressed?
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
A state that ignores its peripheries invites rebellion. Insurgency feeds on exclusion, poverty and injustice. You cannot bomb an idea out of existence. Dialogue, equity and development must accompany force.
Sir Tafawa Balewa
Security must never be separated from welfare. Hunger is a dangerous weapon. A well fed citizen rarely becomes a rebel.
Question 4: On Leadership And The Way Forward
Moderator: What counsel do you offer today’s leaders and citizens?
President Shehu Shagari
Leadership is stewardship, not conquest. Power should be worn lightly. Corruption corrodes trust and without trust, no government survives.
Chief M.K.O. Abiola (smiling)
Let me put it simply: Nigerians want fairness. They can forgive mistakes, but not arrogance. Democracy must deliver bread, dignity and justice—or the people will withdraw their consent.
Dr Azikiwe (closing)
Nigeria will survive, but only if we choose nationhood over narrow ambition. History is watching, and it is not sentimental.
Moderator (closing)
Elders, I thank you. Your words remind us that Nigeria’s crisis is not lack of ideas, but lack of courage to implement them. May this generation listen before history repeats itself yet again.
•Aduwo is the Permanent Representative/President of United Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) to the United Nations. CCDI is a non‑profit organisation registered in Nigeria and the United States, with Consultative Status of ECOSOC/United Nations.
