The federal government has disclosed its readiness to launch a national lifestyle starter that would clearly define the true identity and expectations of citizens of the country.
The Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, gave the revelation while speaking during his visit to Ekiti State office of the agency and Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
Onilu said that the national life charter was aimed at instituting a well-grounded social contract where the citizenry had certain expectations of the country and the country would in turn spell out what it wanted from Nigerians.
According to him, the charter is not just going to be a mere document but a well institutionalized action framework for all Nigerians with emphasis on core values needed in building a patriotic ecosystem for sustainable growth and development.
The DG said, “As of today, we don’t have a definitive statement on who we are. We have a national anthem and we all know it. The same way you must be able to define who the citizen of your country is supposed to be.
“What are the principles that we have put in place as Nigeria to say this is how we are or who we are as Nigerians.So, these principles have to be spelt out so that we are not in doubt as what is expected of us as citizens.
“So, it’s the commonality of those features that make us unique citizens and make us different from other countries. We must know who we are and what constitutes a Nigerian so that anybody who steps out of that you can say he or she is not a good Nigerian.
“We are launching the charter to return Nigeria to where we were years ago , but we have lost them today in the country and to help us recover what we have lost, there is a need for us to clearly define it.”
He said there are certain values that needed to be instilled among the citizens including honesty, integrity, patriotism, obedience, unity, discipline and tolerance towards building a sane country.
The DG noted that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful progress unless the citizens make these virtues part of their lifestyle and guiding principles, adding President Bola Tinubu was committed to changing the mindset of the citizens towards the nation.
Onilu, who lamented that Nigeria has lost its core values due to moral decadence, added that revitalizing the lost national values was germane because it was the missing link breeding moral decadence in the country.
“Our lifestyles are not cultism, banditry, drug abuse, hooliganism and kidnapping. Our lifestyles are honesty, handwork but we lost our way. And if you are in a state of despair, you may lose hope. But now, the new administration is bringing a renewed hope and that means we have to go back to who we are.
“We are not creating any new Nigeria. We are going back to real Nigeria. We must know who we are and what constitutes a Nigerian so that anybody who steps out of that you can say he or she is not a good Nigerian”, he added.
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