Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has emphasised the importance of allowing people to freely choose who governs them during the 16th edition of the Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe lectures held at Marriot Hotel, Ikeja, on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Johnson stressed that politicians should create conditions in which people can unleash their potential, and that freedom to choose those who govern you is an indispensable right.
He added that democracy remains the best option for people, citing the fear that the Russian people may choose democracy as the reason for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Johnson listed criteria that governments must ensure to enhance human capital, including safety and equality under the law, the right to choose and remove those who govern, and freedom to live within the law.
“Imagine the Russian police arresting Vladimir Putin? Can you imagine the Chinese police doing the same to Xi Zing Ping? It shows to me that the law is enforced in my country without fear or favour.
“Whether you are rich or poor, you will receive the same scrutiny and the same protection, the same protection in the UK that is the first and most crucial freedom and the precondition for economic growth and investment.
“Freedom under the law. Freedom to live your life as you choose within the law, provided you do no harm to others. With extreme freedom and indispensable freedom is the right to choose those who govern you.
“You have the right to remove them and it’s very precious, and it works. And it’s under attack the whole time. Why did Vladimir Putin decide to launch his evil and criminal attack on Ukraine triggering the worst war in Europe 80 years?
“It was because he could see that with the Ukrainians choosing a different path and going towards an open liberal democratic system as different from the one that he was committing the Russian people to, if Ukraine succeeded and align more closely with Western democracy, the Russian people will themselves demand change. That would be under threat.”
He also called for collaboration and synergy between Nigeria and Britain to tackle similar challenges together.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, advised Nigerians to stop making derogatory remarks about the nation and instead promote the positives. He added that until everyone is free from poverty, war, and violence, “no one is free.”
Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, urged political leaders to pursue the theme of the lecture by making the comprehensive welfare of the people the bedrock of policies and actions that will make the world more habitable for everyone.
The Coordinator General Osigwe Anyiam Osigwe Foundation, Charles Anyiam-Osigwe, stated that the purpose of the organisation is to realise a better world order, which can be made possible with the potential built-in man.
