"NIGERIA'S SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE."-Mandara

The Country Representative of Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, Dr Mairo Mandara, has warned
that Nigeria’s survival rests on social justice and
equality. But speaking at the 13th Daily Trust
Dialogue in Abuja yesterday, DrMandara said she
was at the event in her personal capacity as a
Nigerian woman.
She said the widening inequality in the country is
responsible for the violent crimes and agitations
in various parts of the country. DrMandaralisted
vices among the youth such as kidnapping in the
South and drug abuse in the North as symptoms
of the condition of the country. “Social justice is
no longer a question of being altruistic but of
survival,”Mandara said. Speaking on the theme:
‘50 Years Since 1966: Is Nigeria Rising?’, she
expressed regret that 50 years after the 1966
coup and the civil war, the country is more
fragmented than before. In a comparative analysis
of Nigeria and Rwanda as post-war countries,
Mandara identified leadership as responsible for
the advances made by Rwanda in poverty
reduction, health care, women empowerment,
education and other human development indexes.
She described the Rwandan president Paul
Kagame as her role model for turning things
around for the development of his country, adding
because of his strides in governance the people of
Rwanda decided to change their constitution to
allow him serve for another term. Reflecting on
the country’s history, she said even university
students in the country have degenerated from
ideology-based divisions to local governments,
states and little ethnic identities. Dr. Mandara
said at independence, Nigeria was a great country
with high potential. She described Nigeria as a
country that has good policies in every sector, but
misunderstand having policies to implementing
policies. On the issue of the country’s ethnic
diversity, Dr. Mandara said the division in the
various sects of Nigeria is so deep that looking at
any government institution, ethnicity is the main
driver of government decisions. “The division in
our sects is so deep that looking at any
government institution, ethnicity is the main
driver of our decision making instead of quality,”
she said.