Nigeria Content Online

The governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola,
on Thursday, called for presidential debates for aspiring candidates vying for
the seat of the number one citizen of Nigeria.

Mr. Fashola, while speaking to reporters at the
presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on his way back from
a lecture titled: ‘Abundance of Possibilities for Nigeria’, which he delivered
at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, disclosed that higher institutions should
partner with their respective communities in a bid to make democracy work
better in the country.

“I am surprised that even as we speak, there is
no information that there will be a presidential debate, and we are going to
elect a president in the next few weeks. Now, democracy is always concerned
only about whether a candidate has been picked by popular choice.

“Democracy does not assure us that that candidate
knows what to do about security; it does not assure us that that candidate
knows what to do about electricity, or indeed about transportation or
healthcare. It is only processes built within the democratic process like
debates that enables the public test the preparedness of the candidates,
whether or not they are ready or they are even aware of what their problems
are,” Mr. Fashola said.

The governor disclosed that higher institutions
of civilised nations organise debates to get the basic information of whether
their choice candidate has the wherewithal to take the community to a better
level.

“This is what is done by universities like
Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and others for prime ministerial, gubernatorial,
and presidential elections in the two oldest democracies in the west. I didn’t
expect that we will be going to an election and at least there would not be a
debate held in each of the six geopolitical zones; three for the vice
presidential candidates, three for the presidential candidates in our
institutions of higher learning. How much will it cost to organise that and
televise it live?” He queried.

‘We need young leaders’

Mr. Fashola further called for young leaders in
Nigeria, arguing that it is by this that the country will be able to
efficiently tap from the knowledge of the youth.

“I think it is obvious now to everybody what
young people can do. For the very first time, they entrusted youth corpers with
the voter’s registration exercise and so far so good.

“If we don’t give this young people a chance,
then are we truly really sure that this democracy is about them, are we really
sincere that the future truly belongs to them? When 40-year olds are now
leading nations and our 40-year olds can’t even get to the Senate, they can’t
even become governors. Are we really preparing this generation for the future?
Those are the issues really. We cannot point to success in other countries and
refuse to do what those people are doing to get things right,” he said.

Striking Doctors

The Lagos State governor called on doctors in the
city to understand the constraints faced by the government, adding that the
government has done its best by increasing the pay of the workers.

He, however, said he will continue to dialogue
with the medical practitioners, as opposed to the demand for their sack by his
predecessor, Bola Tinubu.

“I think the point is that we will continue to
engage and appeal to them. This is not a war of who is superior; this is a war
of rationality and reason, and we think that the point has been made. It is not
a choice that we do not want to pay; it is the reality that we cannot afford to
pay the full sum that they are asking for.

“After salaries, we have to buy drugs; after
drugs, we have to power medical equipment and keep patients alive; after all of
these, we have to pay security; we have to build roads; we have to build more
schools; we have to provide water supply. These are all involved in this
process and not everybody can really have everything that he wants.

“We have made a compromise, we have increased salaries, and once again, I
appeal to them to see themselves as part of the solution rather being a
problem,” he said.