Former Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka has urged Nigerians to forge a fresh national consensus anchored on the principles of equal citizenship and transparent governance. Speaking as the keynote lecturer at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture in Port Harcourt, Chidoka emphasized the necessity of a shared commitment to protecting the rights of every citizen. The event also served to inaugurate the Martyrs’ Day for the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), an organization co-founded by Professor Wole Soyinka, who attended the ceremony at age 92.
Reflecting on the lecture theme, which focused on reclaiming the state through justice and civic courage, Chidoka contended that Nigeria’s core difficulties extend beyond its federal structure. While he recognized the potential benefits of decentralizing policing and fiscal authority, he warned that structural adjustments remain ineffective without a firm moral framework. He argued that even a decentralized system could facilitate local oppression if the underlying culture of power remains unchanged.
Chidoka proposed three specific pillars for this new national consensus: the guarantee of citizenship free from political patronage, the operation of public power as a traceable and corrective trust, and a unified duty to defend the dignity of all Nigerians. Defining true accountability as answerability followed by tangible consequences, he introduced the concept of trace, test, and correct for public officials. He concluded by urging the NAS to extend the spirit of their commemoration to all citizens, calling for a future where civic rights are protected without the requirement of exceptional bravery.
