Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has not progressed as much as he would have expected.
Fayemi stated this during an interview on State Affairs, a podcast hosted by Edmund Obilo, while speaking on the state of Nigeria and the country’s development challenges.
The former governor, who is also the author of If This Giant Must Rise, said that although some progress had been recorded, the pace remained too slow for a country with Nigeria’s potential.
Speaking on the performance of the APC, Fayemi said he remained a member of the ruling party but admitted that its progress had not met his expectations.
He said, “I am a member of the All Progressives Congress. Yes, we are not progressing. I would have loved us to have progressed further than where we are.
“It’s not as if we are not making progress at all, but it’s so slow for a nation that has a manifest destiny to lead the African continent.”
Fayemi’s comments come amid growing public debate over the country’s economic direction, governance structure and the performance of political parties in addressing national challenges.
The former governor said Nigeria must become more deliberate in how it organises itself as a country.
According to him, nation-building is a continuous process, but countries must remain committed to improving their systems and institutions.
He said, “I think what we really ought to do is to be intentional about organizing our country. Yes, nation-building is always going to be unfinished. There’s no perfect union. Every nation is in search of this perfect union.”
Fayemi added that Nigeria’s size, population and influence on the continent placed a major responsibility on its leaders to pursue reforms that could strengthen governance and development.
The former Ekiti governor noted that Nigeria still has the capacity to play a leading role in Africa, but said such leadership would require a stronger commitment to progress, institutional reform and national cohesion.
He argued that the country’s development should not be left to chance, stressing that deliberate planning and purposeful leadership were necessary if Nigeria must fulfil what he described as its continental destiny.
