Since last week, BBC Newshour has been relentless on covering the kidnapping of school kids in Nigeria. Now this: “Bandits have demanded an exorbitant ransom of N40 trillion, along with vehicles and motorcycles, for the release of the abducted 16 residents of the Gonin Gora area of the Kaduna metropolis…demanded an unprecedented ransom of N40 trillion, along with 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles, for the release”.That is more than Nigeria’s annual budget!
My special wishes to the citizens and their families, and hope all abducted make it back to their families. When you read things like this, you would wish Nigeria had a constitutional framework to force politicians to debate, at least for the presidency and governorship jobs.
Yes, debates do not solve problems. Yet, you must understand that debate forces you to look for knowledgeable people so that you can prepare for it. And by the time you are forced to prepare, you would become knowledgeable on issues. That process will prepare anyone for a better leadership outcome.
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I write this because I was my secondary school’s Library Prefect and the leader of the School’s Debating Society. It was my job to organize debates across classes, and prepare for external competitions. To do that, I had to actually prepare for all topics the junior students would be debating on.
Do not tell me in 2027 that Nigerians do not deserve for their leaders to debate on national issues. On that, I am calling for a Constitutional amendment to make that a requirement for the main offices in the land – presidency and governorship. Hopefully, through those debates, I can get a picture of how the key politicians plan to tackle national challenges like insecurity! As I write, I have no clue what they plan to do, conceding that the plans could be “classified”.
Bandits demand N40tn, 11 Hilux vans, 150 motorcycles for the release of 16 abducted Kaduna residents
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