Dumebi Kachikwu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2023 general elections, has urged Nigerians to commit to the change they desire in the new year.

Mr Kachikwu stated this in his New Year message in Lagos on Monday.

Mr Kachikwu said Nigerians must begin to accept that the change they earnestly desire in every facet of society must come at a personal cost. He said Nigerians should not continue to leave the country for countries whose citizens had built their nations on the back of personal sacrifices.

Mr Kachikwu said this was the year they all accepted personal responsibility and made the personal sacrifices required to mitigate the economic and security challenges the country was facing.

“For too long, we have played the blame game. We absolve ourselves of personal responsibility and blame politicians, public servants, other religions and ethnic nationalities for our many woes,” Mr Kachikwu reasoned. “The 2023 general elections further exacerbated our divisions and exposed our underbelly to the whole world.” 

The politician stressed that people were “tired of the many failed promises of those who led them now seek change at any cost.”

“Who pays the price for change? This is the question we must answer as a people in the year 2024. If we fail to answer this question, these storms will continue to wreak havoc in our nation,” Mr Kachikwu stressed. “The storms of inequity and inequality. The storms of corruption and wastefulness. The storms of religious persecution and intolerance.”

The ADC’s former presidential candidate added, “The storms of infrastructure deficits and insecurity. What of our failed education and healthcare sectors? 

“What of poverty and the all-time high unemployment rate? Also, storms, but all man-made storms. We can no longer pretend our problems are spiritual, defying man-made solutions.”

He explained that “we can’t continue to ‘japa’ relocate to countries whose citizens have built their nations on the back of personal sacrifices” and that “we can’t run away from the fact that the politicians and public servants we castigate are family, friends and neighbours.” 

Mr Kachikwu said the social media vituperation would not bring about the desired results, adding that the hashtags would always remain hashtags.

“We can no longer be the picture of abnormal. The world must no longer associate us with wasted opportunities and squandered resources,” stated Mr Kachikwu.

(NAN)