The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Tuesday that Nigeria at 60, is yet to find its feet.
The body lamented that the political leaders have failed to build enduring institutions, but instead “enriched themselves at the expense of the dreams of the founding fathers of the country.”
According to him body, the nation’s political leaders including the military misadventures, have failed to invest in the future of Nigeria.
It also blamed part of Nigeria’s woes on the fact that Nigerians had been paying “lip service to godliness and patriotism,” adding, “hence our country is still crawling at 60, while we have collapsed infrastructure everywhere.”
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Samson Ayokunle, who expressed the views in a statement on Tuesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Reform Bill into law without further delay to strengthen democracy in the country and ensure elections in the country were free and fair.
In statement titled, “Pursuing the right path to greatness,” issued in commemoration of the Nigeria 60th independence anniversary, the cleric, who is also the president of Nigerian Baptist Convention, equally called for the revisiting of the 2014 national conference report with a view to using it to address some of the problems working against the peace and unity of the country.
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The statement partly read, “We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sign the Electoral Reform Bill, which has been gathering dust on his table since last year.
“Our elections should be free, fair and credible if we want the governed and other nations to respect our political leaders. Trust is earned, not imposed or enforced.
“Our governments should be sensitive to the yearnings and the groaning of the governed. The era of asking the people to tighten their belts while those in power are loosening theirs should stop.
“Both the federal and state governments must give a sense of belonging to all citizens irrespective of their religious, tribal, and political persuasions.”
CAN recommended that the cost of governance be reduced if the governments were sincere in fixing the economy or practise an inexpensive presidential system “if it is too late to return to the parliamentary system.”
