On Monday, I was honoured to join some of our nation’s finest minds and statesmen at the 14th Chief Emeka Anyaoku Lecture on Good Governance in Enugu.
I’m deeply grateful to His Excellency Governor Peter Mbah for hosting such a profound and timely gathering — and I commend him for the bold strides his administration is making in transforming Enugu.
My heartfelt thanks to Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, General Ike Nwachukwu (Rtd.) who chaired the event, and all the distinguished speakers whose wisdom continues to light the path forward.
It was a profoundly important engagement — to gather some of our most respected elders and leaders, individuals with unimpeachable credentials and deep reservoirs of experience, to reflect on the urgent governance challenges before us.
At the heart of it all is one truth: without fixing our foundation, we cannot hope to achieve the kind of governance Nigeria needs and deserves. A weak foundation cannot sustain a strong nation.
Today, we are a country but have yet to become a true nation.
As Chief Emeka Anyaoku so eloquently reminded us, history is filled with examples of countries that failed to manage their diversity through proper federal structures — Yugoslavia and Sudan, among others — and who paid the ultimate price. Those who succeeded, like India, Canada, Brazil, and others, did so by embracing decentralisation and true federalism.
The few instances of good governance we sometimes celebrate are fleeting snapshots—accidental, not systemic. They cannot endure without a deliberate, structural redesign.
We once experienced better governance when Nigeria was decentralised. Until Nigerians awaken to this consciousness and demand real structural reform, we will continue to recycle failure. Nothing earthshaking and enduring will happen until we collectively and resolutely say enough is enough.
Ka Anambra Chawapu!
#KaAnambraChawapu #AnyaokuLecture #NigeriaDeservesBetter #RestructureNow