NORTHERN NIGERIA HAMSTRUNG BY THINKING CRISIS-WAFARNINYI THEMAN
The real problem bedeviling Northern Nigeria is the existence of a huge thinking gap.
Policy analyst, Mentor and Former State Lawmaker in Adamawa, Wafarninyi Theman who fired this Salvo, when he appeared as guest, on USAKU FM, good Morning Adamawa show, put it succinctly that great thoughts produce ideas that trigger solutions.
Demajah Gabriel picks it up.
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For over 17 years, Northern Nigeria, beginning with the North-East region, has contended with insurgency.
More recently, banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping, displacements, violent attacks, mass abductions have dominated the scene in Northern Nigeria, and increasingly appearing intractable.
Wafarninyi Theman, a former State legislator in Adamawa, bluntly states that this myriad of challenges have persisted, due to gaps he calls thinking crisis, on how to holistically deal with them. These he says is not only a problem of leadership but also of the led.
“From insecurity to poverty to illiteracy, I would say all those are as a result of what I call thinking crisis. We don’t need long grammar to solve big problems.”
Theman, maintained that addressing insecurity, poverty and other developmental challenges requires leaders who can transform people through knowledge, vision and institution-building, rather than leaders driven by personal interests.
He cited the examples with some of Nigeria’s founding leaders, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who were great leaders and teachers, noting that their backgrounds in education, exposure to global ideas, and commitment to institution-building contributed significantly to national development.
“What we have been faced with, is leaders that don’t think aright, and the solution is, great leaders equal great teachers, we need leaders that are able to teach others how to solve problems”.
The analyst, stressed that both leaders and the electorate must change their mindset, insisting that active civic engagement and responsible leadership are essential to addressing the nation’s developmental challenges.
“So we have kept producing leaders in that system, so what we have now is a systemic problem,
So both the leaders and the led have this thinking crisis, what are you thinking, that you wouldn’t even exercise your civic responsibility to vote? its very dangerous”
Theman, describes the media as a powerful force for societal transformation, urging journalists to use their platforms responsibly by promoting investigative reporting, encouraging issue-based political debates and holding leaders accountable. He points that such efforts would help voters make informed decisions and strengthen the nation’s democratic process.