At the
dawn of civil rule in 1999, after about fifteen years of uninterrupted military
gangsterism, rapacity and greed, there emerged on the nation's political
firmament, an assembly of politicians and professionals under the age bracket
of 50 years, the National Integration Group (NIG). The group's aim was
ostensibly to re-engineer the Nigerian public life and take over the mantle of
political leadership from the old brigade. There were, indeed, conflicting
reactions to the development.
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| *Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State: Nigeria's youngest governor |
While some Nigerians believed that the group had ulterior
motives, and therefore its mission preposterous, many believed and still
believe that amidst the despair that has enveloped the nation, there is an
obvious need to call to question the desirability of continuing with business
as usual. This issue has remained prominent in the upper reaches of our
national discourse especially given the woeful failure of the old generation of
politicians to improve the standard of living of the people and engender
positive development in the country since independence.
