Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
challenged the Federal Character Commission to mount a campaign to
enlighten Nigerians on the Commission’s activities as well as the on
spread of federal appointments.
The Minister issued the challenge in Abuja on Friday when he received
some officials of the Commission, led by its Secretary, Mallam Mahmoud
Bello Tukur, on a courtesy visit to his office.
“Nigerians need to know and appreciate what you are doing, and I think
we need more of this interaction. At our level at the Federal Ministry
of Information and Culture, we will very readily partner with you in
the area of enlightenment campaigns because it is going to unite the
country better. Once the people have a sense of belonging, then it’s
the recipe for unity,” he said.
Mohammed said it’s important for the Commission to change the
perception and the mindset of people about the Commission, adding:
”To do so, you must invest in advocacy, interactions and visits like
this.”
He said it is always convenient for people to look at a few
appointments and make a general statement of marginalization, without
taking a holistic view of federal appointments.
The Minister noted, however, that adequate and equitable
representation in federal institutions will give a sense of belonging
to every Nigerian and equally strengthen the bond of unity in the
country.
“It is gladdening to note here that the objective and the mandate of
the Commission go beyond just ensuring that there is a balance, equity
and fairness in the federal ministries and parastatals, but that you
are also very duly concerned about the spread of infrastructure. I
think the two mandates are very important and germane to the unity,
stability and peace of this country,” he stated.
In his remarks, Mallam Tukur said the Commission is currently engaged
in promoting the aspect of its second mandate, which extends beyond
placement in federal institutions to ensuring equitable distribution
of infrastructure.
“The second mandate of the Commission also extends to the aspect of
distribution of socio-economic amenities and infrastructure in the
country, and this is one key area that most people have not focused on
and we want to focus more on that in the Federal Character Commission
now,” he said.
The Commission’s Secretary decried how development is only centred in
certain corridors and the urban areas, stressing the need for
amenities and infrastructure to be broadly spread to extend to the
rural areas in order to encourage private sector investment,
particularly in areas like agriculture.
