Nigeria‘ll labour in vain without social cohesion – Moghalu 

 

Founder and President Strategies LLC, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has decried the decreasing level of social cohesion in Nigeria, saying there should be a wakeup call in order to ensure national unity and progress.

Moghalu stated this during the Nigeria Social Cohesion Dialogue and Launch of the 2022 Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey Report #NSCS2022, organised by Africa Polling Institute (API) and supported by the Ford Foundation, Thursday in Abuja.

“Where we lack social cohesion, where citizens lost the sense of belonging, social justice, sense of patriotism and investment in the community, then all efforts that the government or all Nigerians are making for what we consider to be progress, we labour in vain. It is something we need to take seriously to advance our economy.

“The subject of social cohesion is one that is of primary importance. Socially, cohesive societies result from effective leadership and good governance which organizes societies and brings them together. Scholars have defined social cohesion as the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a community based on trust and shared emotional commitment.

“Social cohesion matters greatly because it helps create peaceful, democratic and prosperous nations. As I have had occasion to say previously in relation to our country Nigeria, what builds a nation and makes it successful are the intangible things such as trust amongst citizens and the between citizens and the government, a sense of oneness and patriotism and other types of emotional investment, and the opportunities we have or do not have to fulfill our God-given potential within our geographical space,” he said.

Earlier, the Executive Director API, Professor Bell Ihua, said the concept of social cohesion is looking at Nigeria’s unity and togetherness, the ability for Nigerians to have a sense of belonging, saying: “We are pleased to have been able to assemble some of the brightest minds in Nigeria to share more light here today.”