Buhari Can’t Afford to Be Distracted – Asagba of Asaba

Asagba of Asaba, Prof Chike Joseph Edozien, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow himself to be distracted by the infighting between different groups of legislators in the National Assembly in order for his change mantra to become meaningful in Nigeria.

Edozien, who was fielding questions from newsmen in his palace in Asaba on Tuesday as part of activities to mark his 90th birthday, stressed that there was a lot to be done to bring about positive changes in Nigeria that the president could not afford to be unnecessarily drawn into the power tussle among the national legislators.
According to him, “Nigeria is not where and how we want it to be”, he observed, “We want Buhari to change those things hindering progress in Nigeria. Election has come and gone and things not expected begin to happen. Buhari should focus on where he is going; by not allowing distractions to disrupt the good intentions he has for Nigeria. Focus on where you are going and lead us aright.”

Asagba Edozien was, also on Tuesday, inducted into the Asaba Hall of Fame, the first to be so honoured in the history of the kingdom.

He lamented that Nigeria was lagging badly behind as a nation, saying the huge task before Buhari was more than effecting the arrest, prosecution and jailing of corrupt individuals as the problem of corruption was too deep-rooted to be solved that way.

Edozien, who is regarded as “Nigeria’s longest serving professor living today, ” having been professor of medicine for over five decades, said that corruption was so fundamental to Nigeria’s growth and development that serious researches ought to conducted into the issue even in the country’s universities and research institutions.

Edozien said that the ultimate task before any Nigerian leader considered as the true agent of positive change would be to forge one united nation out of the about 250 tribes or ethnic groups in the country.

He noted that Nigeria today is “still a collection of over 200 distinct groups and people”, saying creating a general sense of belonging among the various groups through ensuring equity and justice was the best way to go.

The Asaba royal father lamented that not even one out of about 100 universities in the country has thought it wise to establish a unit dedicated to studies and research into the issue of corruption, including the underlying causes, expressions and sustainable measures against the malaise that has continued to eat into the fabrics of the Nigerian society.

Pofessor Edozien, who has earned many of his academic and professional medical practice laurels in the Europe and the United States of America, is the 13th Asagba of Asaba, whose coronation took place on July 1, 1991.

Tuesday’s events, which are part of a 10-day programme of events to celebrate Asagba Edozien’s 90th birthday and induction into Asaba Hall of Fame, included a display of cultural troupes and special homages by members of the Asagba council of chiefs and eminent sons and daughters of Asaba Kingdom.

Renowned technocrat, Chief (Dr) Patrick I.G. Onyeobi, who is the Iyase of Asaba, conducted the induction recitals of Prof Edozien into the Asaba Hall of Fame, while Chief Ogbueshi Ndili presented a citation on the king with a a 21-gun salute in the background.