BENIN — THE crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, that led to the creation of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum, has not been handled properly, the Secretary to Edo State Government, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, has said.
According to him, “the best way to have handled it was through dialogue and exchange of ideas instead of the factionalization of the Governors’ Forum.”
Ihonvbere spoke during a courtesy call by the Vice Chancellor of Western Delta University, Oghara, Professor P.G. Hugbo, saying: “My foray into government and politics was to see how to move out of my theory and research in political science and socio-sciences into the practice of it but you will not believe my experience when I begin to talk about it.
“Not one of the principles and rules of politics as a game operates in Nigeria. This is like walking blind-folded and inventing the rule by the hour depending on where you find yourself.
“There is no country in history that has succeeded in that way; you don’t like an organ and you create another one within that one. When people begin to operate in that pedestal politics, you know they are not serious about governance and not interested in going anywhere. The best way to handle the crisis is to dialogue and exchange ideas instead of creating another within it.”
Reacting to a request by the university authority to be its guest lecturer during its first convocation ceremony, Ihonvbere said: “It is very difficult for an academic to reject an invitation like this. We university people are different people, we never cease to engage in learning, publication, comment service, managing students from different backgrounds and constantly renewing ourselves to impact on people.
”There is a kind of spirit driving us without fraternity and that is the knowledge and ideas that unite us wherever we find ourselves. Any opportunity to contribute to knowledge and speak to young people who are living in a kind of society like Nigeria cannot be rejected especially with persons with social conscience.”
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