The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed concerns about the economic hardship bedevilling the nation, saying the challenges are deeply rooted in the behaviour of its citizens and not the entire fault of the government.
INEC National Commissioner, Kenneth Ukeagu, made the assertion at the 2024 Entrepreneurship Grant Ceremony organised by Connak Foundation in Abuja on Saturday evening.
Ukeagu, a sociologist by training, argued that since governance is a reflection of the larger society, Nigerians must learn to take responsibility for the current hardship plaguing the country.
According to him, everybody needs to play their role in nation-building.
The INEC commissioner also argued that it would be unfair to blame only the government and public officeholders without dissecting the role played by the average ordinary citizen striving to sabotage the system with unethical practices.
He said, “I want you to note that it is not a one-day thing. You don’t start today and make it the next day. You have to work for it. It requires a lot of commitment, devotion and discipline. The truth is that we, Nigerians, are the bad people. Those who make up our government are from society. Those who push them to do wrong things are part of the system.
“From the man who decides to close his fuel station because he heard there will be scarcity tomorrow to the man who enjoys seeing long queues after deliberately shutting his filling station to make most of it (profits) in black markets, they are Nigerians, not the government.
“Even the woman selling vegetables in the market will be reminding you of the exchange rates when it is obvious she got her leaves from her backyard. She doesn’t work in the Central Bank of Nigeria. She is also a Nigerian. So we have a responsibility to empower and support ourselves. Yes, there are shortcuts. But the truth is that these so-called shortcuts also demand a lot of hard work.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Connak Foundation, Mrs Carol Sunday, also shared her sentiment, saying most shortcuts often end in disaster.
Sunday further emphasised that her initiative was committed to assisting the government in the areas of empowerment, investment in human capital development and ethical practices to overcome the economic challenges in the country.
She said, “We believe in human capital development, and most of our thematic areas have always been to help people, just as our motto says. But now, it has expanded to the whole nation. So every geopolitical zone is represented here today, and that is how we have always done it.
“Today we have over 500 youths under our scholarship scheme. We started the entrepreneurship programme with about 100 people. Now we are training over 25,000.”
