Breaking News: Nigeria in Deep Trouble, Urban Bandits Have Taken Over Leadership–El-Rufai
–Lagos Reporters
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised alarm over what he describes as Nigeria’s worst crisis since its amalgamation in 1914, blaming the country's woes on the emergence of what he termed “urban bandits” in leadership positions.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday at a public lecture marking the 60th birthday of former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, El-Rufai criticized the repeated election of “incompetent leaders” who, he said, are unprepared to tackle the country’s deep-rooted challenges.
The lecture, themed ‘Weaponisation of Poverty as a Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria’, served as a platform for the former FCT Minister to deliver a scathing assessment of Nigeria’s current political trajectory.
“Nigeria is in its biggest trouble since 1914, and that is why we are together working and conspiring to build a coalition to take Nigeria back on track because it is off track,” El-Rufai declared.
He added that the country’s decline stems not from the activities of armed bandits in rural areas, but from individuals in high office who exploit power without any vision for development.
“It has turned to this level because we have allowed bandits — not the ones in the bushes — but the ones in the urban areas, called the urban bandits, to take over leadership,” he said.
El-Rufai did not mince words as he blamed the electorate for consistently recycling failed leaders.
“I believe that the problem we have is that we just get incompetent people, and we hand over leadership to them. Most of them don’t really know what to do. They just know how to grab power but don’t know what to do with it,” he added.
He called on Nigerians to break the cycle by electing leaders with the competence, capability, capacity, and commitment to move the country forward.
The event drew notable political figures, civil society actors, and academics, all reflecting on the dangers of poverty as a tool of political control and national stagnation.
Lagos Reporters will continue to monitor the evolving political landscape and bring you in-depth analysis, accountability journalism, and updates on efforts by various stakeholders to reshape Nigeria’s democratic future.
Breaking News: Nigeria in Deep Trouble, Urban Bandits Have Taken Over Leadership–El-Rufai
–Lagos Reporters
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised alarm over what he describes as Nigeria’s worst crisis since its amalgamation in 1914, blaming the country's woes on the emergence of what he termed “urban bandits” in leadership positions.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday at a public lecture marking the 60th birthday of former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, El-Rufai criticized the repeated election of “incompetent leaders” who, he said, are unprepared to tackle the country’s deep-rooted challenges.
The lecture, themed ‘Weaponisation of Poverty as a Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria’, served as a platform for the former FCT Minister to deliver a scathing assessment of Nigeria’s current political trajectory.
“Nigeria is in its biggest trouble since 1914, and that is why we are together working and conspiring to build a coalition to take Nigeria back on track because it is off track,” El-Rufai declared.
He added that the country’s decline stems not from the activities of armed bandits in rural areas, but from individuals in high office who exploit power without any vision for development.
“It has turned to this level because we have allowed bandits — not the ones in the bushes — but the ones in the urban areas, called the urban bandits, to take over leadership,” he said.
El-Rufai did not mince words as he blamed the electorate for consistently recycling failed leaders.
“I believe that the problem we have is that we just get incompetent people, and we hand over leadership to them. Most of them don’t really know what to do. They just know how to grab power but don’t know what to do with it,” he added.
He called on Nigerians to break the cycle by electing leaders with the competence, capability, capacity, and commitment to move the country forward.
The event drew notable political figures, civil society actors, and academics, all reflecting on the dangers of poverty as a tool of political control and national stagnation.
Lagos Reporters will continue to monitor the evolving political landscape and bring you in-depth analysis, accountability journalism, and updates on efforts by various stakeholders to reshape Nigeria’s democratic future.
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