By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
The immediate past Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Amb Sarafa Tunji Isola, has identified the fast disappearing culture of trust at the family units and communities as one of the factors militating against the country’s quest for growth and development.
Isola said trust in members of one’s family and community is the bedrock of trust in members of the larger society, the government and its institutions, stressing that when trust is lacking in one’s immediate environment, it becomes difficult to trust people one relates with from afar.
The one time Minister of Mines and Steel Development spoke on Tuesday alongside former Resident Electoral Commissioner to Ogun and Anambra States, Elder Ahmed Raji, SAN and the Director of TVC Entertainment, Dr Morayo Afolabi-Brown, at a public discussion organised by the Mass Communication Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.
The public discussion was organised by the department in conjunction with the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
The discussion which has as its theme “Trust and National Development in Nigeria” was held at the theatre lecture of the new building of Faculty of Social Sciences of the University.
It seeks to interrogate the challenge of mistrust existing between the government and the led and the need to bridge this gap to enhance national development.
Isola noted that the culture of trust is fast disappearing at the very important part of the society – the family unit, wondering how someone who could not trust his uncles would trust local government chairmen or those at the state or federal level.
He said, “trust building start from the smallest part of the society, once trust is broken at this level it will only be graduating, if you cannot trust your uncles, neighbours, how will you trust the local government and if you don’t trust people at the local governments, how will you trust those at the state level and so o..”
The former Envoy believes that the problem of trust deficit can be tackled with attitudinal change especially from the angle of the led who would not mind electing into offices people who are without character and do not have the required competencies and capabilities to deliver on good governance.
