Laolu Akande, a veteran journalist and former presidential aide, has urged Nigeria’s former Presidents and heads of state to rise above political differences and lead a national advocacy for an elite consensus to address the country’s growing challenges. Speaking on the My Take segment of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Sunday, Akande called for unity and collaboration among Nigeria’s leaders to move the nation forward.
“These former Presidents and heads of state certainly stand in a rare position,” Akande said, emphasizing the potential of the Council of State as a platform for transformative action. “If all of them come together as former leaders with the incumbent, perhaps using the Council of State in an honest effort to move Nigeria forward, there will be significant traction and progress.”
Akande stressed the unique privilege and moral burden carried by Nigeria’s past and present leaders, having served as the nation’s Number One citizen. He appealed to their sense of patriotism, urging them to focus on the nation’s collective good rather than political battles.
“All of them, including the sitting President, have experienced the limited and exclusive privilege of being the Number One citizens at one time or the other,” he noted. “This imposes on them the moral burden and responsibility to demonstrate the highest quality of patriotism available or possible regarding the fate of Nigeria.”
Acknowledging the current state of the nation, Akande observed, “I think the majority of us in Nigeria are in agreement that our country is tottering and is not in the best place now. And this is cumulative over the years. Each one of these leaders ought not to take lightly such a national condition or make it a subject of pejorative jest.”
Akande criticized the tendency to weaponize Nigeria’s challenges in the pursuit of political power, calling such actions counterproductive. “The matter should not also be a weapon useful in the context of a battle for political power. These leaders can and should rise above such a distraction or temptation at a moment like this,” he warned.
Quoting 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, Akande stressed the “urgency of now” for Nigeria’s leaders to come together and chart a new course. He added, “Most of our leaders, by either act of omission and/or commission, have in part contributed to our current challenges.”
Akande proposed the formation of an “elite consensus” under the leadership of Nigeria’s senior statesman, General Yakubu Gowon. He also highlighted ongoing efforts by figures such as Professor Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to lay the groundwork for such a consensus.
“Under the leadership of General Gowon, who is the oldest of these six former leaders, they should come together and advocate for an elite consensus,” Akande said. “We also know that Professor Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of INEC and former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, with some other colleagues, have quietly commenced preparing the groundwork and the empirical basis of an elite consensus to move Nigeria forward. This is the kind of progressive advocacy that we want our former Presidents to do—not just political jostling.”
Akande also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to actively engage and collaborate with former leaders in the spirit of national interest. He urged the President to utilize the constitutional platform of the Council of State to achieve this goal.
“Again, we call on General Gowon, Obasanjo, Babangida, Buhari, and Jonathan to lead and make the effort to give Nigeria an elite consensus,” Akande reiterated. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should then support and work with them. The 1999 Constitution already offers a veritable platform that the President can use—the Council of State.”
