A former Edo State Governorship aspirant, Kenneth Imasuagbon, has said Nigeria is losing global respect due to the problem of insecurity and the poor state of its economy.
In a statement by on Saturday May 3, in Benin, the Edo State capital, the politician said the country’s inability to solve its problems is becoming a national embarrassment.
“The world is laughing at us and we are losing global respect. Foreign news headlines mock our pains. We are now seen as a country of chaos, a land where life has little value,” he said.
He noted that the government’s inability to tackle insecurity was discouraging investors from coming into the country, which in turn was worsening unemployment and poverty.
He explained that the ongoing crisis was driving investors away, as people were unwilling to invest in a place where their lives were at risk. He added that every gunshot fired by a bandit not only claimed a life but also destroyed a potential business idea.
Imasuagon added that, as a patriotic Nigerian, he could not remain silent while the country continued to drift further into darkness.
He remarked that, at 59, he should be focused on building legacies, but questioned how that could be possible when nothing was working. He pointed out that roads were unsafe, schools were closing, and farmers were too afraid to go to their fields, expressing frustration over the state of the country.
He called on the government to take swift and decisive action in addressing the nation’s challenges while adding that what was needed were leaders who truly cared, not those who made excuses or were solely focused on elections.
“Nigerians are dying, businesses are collapsing, hope is dying. President Tinubu must wake up. This is not what we voted for.
Citizens must remain united and demand accountability. We must not allow silence to destroy us. If leaders fail, the people must rise. This is our country. We must fight to make it better,” the statement reads in part.
Imasuagbon, a former governorship aspirant for Edo State under the Labour Party, lost his ticket to Olumide Akpata, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, in the lead-up to the 2024 governorship election, where the party finished a distant third.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org