Gwamcee News
Rising from the fallout of the 2023 general election, the Kukah Center has called for a more cohesive society in Lagos.
The foundation made this call on Thursday during a stakeholders engagement tagged: ‘Strengthening Social Cohesion in Lagos State,’
speakers at the event
Executive director of Kukah Center Abuja, Rev. Father Atta Barkindo said after the 2023 elections and the events in Lagos, it was important for the foundation to have a conversation on social cohesion, national identity, and common citizenship in Nigeria, “In Nigeria what we saw in 2023 elections, particularly in Lagos was very boring,” he said.
He noted that every country faces identity challenges, and Nigeria’s history has made it difficult for citizens to have open conversations about their country’s development, “If we look at the history of Nigerians from the colonial times it has been difficult for Nigerians to have the platform and the opportunity to sit down and have a very difficult conversation about their country and how we can develop and move forward,” he said.
He stated that it was in this regard that the Kukah Center got support from the MacArthur Foundation to embed critical conversations among stakeholders about identity, politics, social cohesion, and common citizenship.
He said the goal is to learn from the experiences in Lagos and apply those lessons to interventions across Nigeria, recognizing that Lagos is a microcosm of the country, “As things go bad in Lagos it impacts the rest of Nigeria and we think Lagos has a lot to offer in Nigeria not only in terms of money but opportunities for young Nigerians to realize their potentials and that’s why we are in Lagos,” he said.
The director expressed concerns about growing divisions, the indigene-settler issue in Lagos, and the lack of intentional government strategies to unite people.
He highlighted how identity exploitation during elections can be dangerous and emphasized the need for collective action to address these issues.
The project manager of Kukah Center, Barrister Asabe Ndahi, also said to strengthen social cohesion in Nigeria, they chose Lagos because it is the market hub of Nigeria, ‘If we can strengthen social cohesion in Lagos then there is hope for Nigeria because we find every other tribe in Nigeria residing in Lagos. We must learn to live together and respect each other to make Nigeria move forward,” she said.
According to her, Nigerians have lost the idea of shared humanity, a challenge the foundation is facing trying to push this initiative “People don’t trust the government, they don’t trust the next person beside them. They want to ask questions about where are you from. While many of the stakeholders bought into the initiative, some didn’t. Not because they don’t want but because they do not believe in Nigeria. They don’t think they can do anything to make Nigeria better than it is,” she said.
Also, the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos, Mobolaji Abubakar Ogunlende said the forum is very important because it gives room for engagement, the opportunity to share different values and ideologies, and conversation that should lead to peaceful social cohesion.
He commended Kukah Center for putting this together, “It is one of the many initiatives we should as a people be involved in and we need to engage in Lagos because it is centered on the youth and youth form a large population of the citizens in Lagos,” he said.
The commissioner called for collaboration to foster the relationship, “The government can not do it alone,” he said.
A filmmaker, CEO, Unbroken Partnership, Ben Chiadaka, disclosed that government and everyone should first realise that we would be doing ourselves if we try to marginalise any group in Nigeria.
He said government should encourage conversation like this and put certain things in place that will make it easier for certain people to want to stay back and say okay the government is interested.
“Most economy strive by individuals, entreprenuers. If they see that whatever they bring to the table will yield profit they will begin to invest and more investors will come to Nigeria and they will learn to stay back because ideas are going out of the country and they are so many ideas that can be shared in this nation but you look at the people you want to share the ideas and see that they are not interested, you will decide to go somewhere else to share them. We are loosing a lot. In US, some of the top doctors are Nigerians they are missing home but have learned to make another place their home because home has not been comfortable for them to stay,” he said.
Also, Media expert, Kayode Akikolu in his remarks, urged youths not to fight each other but rather to fight the problem of ethnic division. “Young people need to invest in themselves. When you engage in doing something you won’t have time for baseless conversation. Be excellent in what you do. Invest in yourself. You are the best asset. This is your country and you need to play your path to make things work,” he said.
High Chief Famakinwa Joseph, secretary Traditional Council of Baales, Ikeja local government Area called on Lagosians and Nigeria to learn from the past experience, “What played out in Lagos was not what we expected as traditional rulers. It was a bitter experience. It is not supposed to happen in the present Nigeria. I thought we have outgrow tribal sentiment. Since 1960 till date, we thought that the cohesion should have materialised but we discovered that tribal sentiment played a very vital role in 2023. I pray it does not repeat itself because if history repeats itself that’s a disaster,” he said.
