Obasanjo’s Coalition for Change: Professionals, Activists Speak Out

A body of professionals and civil society activists have identified with the Coalition for Nigeria, a political movement mooted last week by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The group known as Civil Society and Professionals Coalition for Nigeria (CSPCN) was represented at the inauguration of the Coalition for Change on Wednesday in Abuja by the trio of Kayode Samuel, a journalist and former Chief of Staff to a past governor in Ogun state; Dr. Wale Okediran, former House of Representatives member and former President of the Association Nigerian Authors (ANA); and Adamu Ayuba, a Bauchi-based management consultant.

In a statement, Samuel, spokesperson for CSPCN, said: “We in the Civil Society and Professional Coalition for Nigeria (CSPCN) have decided to stand up to be counted in this mission and are ready and prepared to join hands with other concerned compatriots to bring about the Nigeria of our dreams – where life is safe and secure, livelihoods guaranteed and the people have confidence in their government.”

He noted that it was self-evident that two crucial duties – security and prosperity of Nigerian citizens – appeared to have been fulfilled mostly in the breach in the present government.

“Insecurity and poverty roam the land and wrack the people. This has created a climate of uncertainty and fear not just for individual Nigerians but more critically for the entire enterprise of nation building”, adding that: “Today, the country appears to have transited from the domain of bad governance to the zone of a failed state. This has a damaging effect on both public security and citizen well-being.”

CSPCN, Samuel said, had observed that majority of Nigerian youths and women are fast reaching the conclusion that Nigeria is neither good for them nor fair to them, adding that to reverse the narrative required more than lamentation but to become politically involved.

“This historic duty is even more incumbent on civil society and professionals, who must have a continual interest in the good of society and its smooth functioning. They must now assume a custodial role in the remaking of Nigeria for a better future not only for themselves but also unborn generations,” he said.

He stressed that it was in the “enlightened self-interest of Nigerians to rise and be counted on the side of a rescue mission that is almost becoming belated.”

The group targets youth, women and the professionals in Nigeria and in the Diaspora with the requisite commitment, competence and character who, it said, must be recruited to take over public offices from 2019.