The Julius Abure-led National Working Committee of the Labour Party has accused Nigeria’s ruling class of lacking empathy and selflessness, warning that the country will continue to face hardship unless leaders put the welfare of ordinary citizens first.
The Labour Party chairman made the remarks in a Christmas message released on Friday in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh.
Abure said resources allegedly cornered by a few privileged Nigerians could have been used to provide critical infrastructure and improve schools, hospitals and other social services across the country.
“Nigeria can only get better when leaders have empathy for the common Nigerians by exhibiting selflessness. This will bring to an end primitive acquisition of wealth by a few individuals, resources that would have helped in putting needed infrastructure, building schools and hospitals, amongst others,” he said.
He warned that the country would continue to struggle unless today’s leaders adopt the sacrificial spirit of Nigeria’s founding fathers.
“Until leaders of today imbibe the sacrificial attributes of our founding fathers, including Malam Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Malam Aminu Kano, amongst others, Nigeria will continue to struggle,” Abure added.
The LP chairman said the life of Jesus Christ, marked by humility and sacrifice, should serve as a lesson to those in power, noting that such values were largely missing in present-day leadership, especially among the ruling class.
According to him, Nigeria can only make real progress when leaders show genuine concern for the masses through selfless service, stressing that this would help curb what he described as the primitive accumulation of wealth by a few individuals at the expense of the public good.
Against the backdrop of widespread concerns over corruption, Abure called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take firm action against graft.
“I call on President Tinubu to use the broom, which is his party’s logo, to sweep away corruption in the country because no government can survive until corruption is fought to a standstill,” he said.
He cited Christ as an example of incorruptible leadership, saying scripture showed that Jesus exposed corruption even among his close followers.
Abure also urged Nigerians to pray for improved security across the country, while commending security agencies for their efforts during the festive period.
“I praise the gallantry efforts of our service men, the State Security Services and every other paramilitary group for ensuring that peace prevails within this season,” he said, adding that the president must ensure the military is well motivated to sustain its operations.
