The National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kenneth Ukeagu, has expressed concern over the financial hardship plaguing the nation.
Ukeagu stated that the challenges are deeply rooted within the behaviour of its residents and are usually not solely the fault of the federal government.
He acknowledged this in the course of the 2024 Entrepreneurship Grant Ceremony organised by the Connak Foundation in Abuja on Saturday night.
Ukeagu argued that since governance is a mirrored image of the broader society, Nigerians should take accountability for the present financial difficulties dealing with the nation.
According to him, everybody has a task to play in nation-building.
The INEC commissioner additionally contended that it’s unfair to position all of the blame on the federal government and public officeholders with out contemplating the position of the common citizen, who could also be contributing to the system’s dysfunction by unethical practices.
He stated, “I need you to know that it’s not an in a single day course of. You don’t begin at present and obtain outcomes the following day. It requires dedication, devotion, and self-discipline. The fact is that we, Nigerians, are the issue. Those who type our authorities come from the society, and people who push them to behave wrongly are a part of the system.
“From the one that shuts down their petrol station as a result of they’ve heard there might be a shortage tomorrow, to the one who takes pleasure in seeing lengthy queues after intentionally closing their station to make additional revenue on the black market—these are Nigerians, not the federal government.
“Even the woman selling vegetables in the market will cite exchange rates as the reason for increasing prices, despite having grown her produce in her backyard. She doesn’t work for the Central Bank of Nigeria. She is a Nigerian. We all have a responsibility to empower and support each other. Yes, there are shortcuts, but these so-called shortcuts also demand a great deal of hard work.”
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The Chief Executive Officer of Connak Foundation, Mrs Carol Sunday, echoed these sentiments, stating that the majority shortcuts typically result in catastrophe.
Sunday additional emphasised that her initiative is dedicated to helping the federal government in areas corresponding to empowerment, funding in human capital growth, and moral practices to beat the financial challenges dealing with the nation.
She stated, “We consider in human capital growth, and most of our thematic areas have all the time centered on serving to folks, as our motto suggests. But now, it has expanded to the entire nation. Every geopolitical zone is represented right here at present, and that’s how we’ve got all the time operated.
“Today, we have over 500 youths under our scholarship scheme. We started the entrepreneurship programme with about 100 participants, and now we are training over 25,000.”