2019: Omatseye Warns Against Taking Nigeria To A Nanny State

Chairman of The Nation’s Editorial Board, Mr. Sam Omatseye, has cautioned Nigerians not to elect leaders that would return the country to the nanny state.

Omatseye noted that a nanny state birthed stomach infrastructure which he said does not lead to progress.

Speaking on Friday at the Igbinedion University, Okada where he delivered the 16th convocation lecture titled “Epistocracy: The Challenge of a Knowledge Democracy”, Omatseye said Nigeria need a republic of conscience.

Omatseye stated that a republic of conscience would make the epistocrat enrich the country’s democracy by emphasizing education with the right values.

He said Nigeria needs to return to a republic of the enlightened that Chief Obafemi Awolowo started by making education compulsory up to the university level.

The Nation’s Editorial Board Chairman stated that the resources for the free university education would be available if there was a will.

Omatseye said an enlightened masses is the country’s way out of the quagmire of ignorance and out of the morass of poverty.

According to him, “In Nigeria, the problem of poverty is perceived to be at the bottom of the challenge of a Knowledge democracy.

“But how do we handle this without a good educational system? So ignorance and poverty have come together as the twins that haunt us.

“We still need a democracy not of dunces but of the discerning. We cannot have it for instance with a mass of talakawa who line up behind a man because he is perceived to be a specimen of high integrity and asceticism.

“We need imagination, courage and a spirit of accommodation. Awolowo understand this when he introduced free education and birthed a generation of enlightened men and women.”

Deputy Chancellor of the institution, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, urged government at all level to provide jobs for young graduates or create an environment for skilled graduates to excel.