West Africa’s first astronaut, Chief Owolabi Salis, has met former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as part of a strategic dialogue targeted at national development.
The New York-based lawyer and chartered accountant, who was in Nigeria recently, disclosed that the move had become expedient to put Nigeria on the right democratic trajectory.
According to him, plans are also in the works to see President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Heads of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Salis, while commending the Tinubu administration for its reforms, however, noted that Nigeria was still drifting after over two decades of democracy despite its potential.
The New York-based lawyer and chartered accountant, who described his recent meeting as very revealing, blamed the development on desperate politicians and a weak democratic culture, which he said needed to be rejigged.
“This is the major reason the poor continue to be poor in spite of measures targeted at lifting people out of poverty by the present administration.
“This has led to a wide gulf between the rich and the poor, who are dying on a daily basis due to poverty and medical issues that should not be dying of. Some antibiotics are out of reach of the poor, and without such, they die untimely death.
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“This hardly concerns the rich because they do not rely on government for medicals and they can fly out of the country if the need arises.
“I know I spend between $4,000 and $5,000 on assisting people to take care of food and medicals on a monthly basis.
“This is the reason we need a better electoral process that will ensure elections are properly conducted.
“With all sense of modesty, I think I have the solution, though I do not want to discuss this in the media, but I hope to share ideas with President Tinubu and other leaders soon,” he stated.
“I know President Tinubu is serious about tackling the issues and I can sense that he loves Nigeria from the interactions I have seen him have with many leaders.
“I also had the privilege of meeting him briefly in Qatar alongside a close friend from the North and I can deduce that he is serious about taking Nigeria to the next level,” he added.