Democracy as a system of government is meant to get the people directly involved in nation-building but the present Nigeria political atmosphere of ethnicity and religion indicate immature politics thus affecting the livelihood of the people instead. The mere thirst for political power without proven developmental agenda has turned our democracy to a mere game for most politicians. The potency of true patriotism does not support religious and ethnic fights amongst people. Religious and ethnic conflicts make people forget quickly such “core values” like patriotism in the name of playing politics. Religious and ethnic politics breed division and fights amongst people who ordinarily should be working together to build a prosperous nation.

Innovation Nigeria vote for unity amongst the people and not division by religion and ethnicity.

As Nigerians look forward to the 2023 general elections, political activities have become utmost concern to all as the choice of leadership predetermines the fate of our economy and social cohesion, going forward.  There is the need to be accountable for our thinking and decision for the now and then. It is unreasonable that people will blame anyone or anything for our misery, sooner, than take the obligation to own the democratic process and make it better now that we have the elections before us. The blame game must be jettisoned. We must own up to our actions and further take decisions that will revive our political value as a people.

Nevertheless there are pertinent questions that abide with us; Is Nigeria economic system spinning responsively toward evolving an authentic political economy arrangement which guarantees the future of our nation? Is Nigeria’s economic process or the productive life of her people responding in the direction of production, manufacturing with successive governments and or will the coming government achieve this?

The above puzzle or questions constitute the stock in trade that INNOVATION NIGERIA online news seeks to unravel. This has become our duty or self-imposed mandate. We subscribe to the saying that “what government does or fail to do is its policy”. The government is an entity and therefore constantly in motion. The acceptable means of bringing government to power in a democracy is through electioneering.

We reckon that development and the welfare of citizens are primarily the responsibility of the government. Particular ironies are unrelenting drive toward sale of crude oil by Nigeria’s economic planners in practice but never motivated by same political economy to deliberately change the country’s direction toward manufacturing and production. The non-transition of Nigeria from oil export which fuelled import dependence economy over the years is the bane of our current under-development. Nigeria needs a genuine transition, a change of orientation from consuming nation which we are to manufacturing and productive economy which we desire in order to create jobs or bequeaths equitable wealth distribution system to citizens through creating enabling environment that permeates innovativeness, inventiveness and creativity. In developed nations, such an environment had been created through long years of deliberate investments in research & innovations, science, and technology sector in their economies.

Sadly, the general lacklustre both by governments, institutions and the private sector toward developing the research and innovation culture in Nigeria had constituted a discouragement, almost to a point of complete apathy by practitioners in the research and innovations sector of the Nigeria economy.

But there is GOOD news. Every election year presents a fresh opportunity for Nigerians to decide in favour of their collective good. Hence Nigerians must not respond to unnecessary religious and political instigations from politicians during this 2023 electioneering year, because great anger and violence cannot build a stable economy, rather investment in research and development, productive and manufacturing culture are the ways forward to take Nigerians to the promised land.

Common sense must speak to Nigerians in the face of current global proliferation of knowledge or innovations and not giving rooms for political manipulations whose aim is to grab power or for the sake of holding power alone.