…Tasked to choose wisely come 2023
Nigerians have been called upon to resist those who make religious and tribal sentiments as their mantra and while been tasked to choose wisely so as to safeguard the nation in the next dispensation.
Speaking during the FCT Town Hall Meeting, the Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dumebi Kachikwu said that the time had come when we (Nigerians), must seek to resist the wicked urge to take on sovereign debts that benefit only a few but repaid by all adding that we can no longer borrow to build bridges and highways that leads to nowhere when the internet was the highway of the future and borrowings must satisfy the criteria of commercial viability while providing much needed basic amenities.
Kachikwu noted that visionless leadership should not and cannot continue to lead the people astray stressing that citizens must strive to elevate millions of its farmers to agripreneurs and transition farming to agribusiness while promising that, “we will secure our farmlands and protect our men and women from those who seek to do them harm. Our farms will no longer be known as killing fields but as the food factory of Africa, providing millions of good paying jobs for the middle class.”
He stated that for too long Nigerians have cried, men and women were being butchered, orphans and widows created by the minute by a war sustained by the greedy who profit from defence contracts and the blood thirsty, who seek to destroy the way of life noting that, “we will confront them headlong and destroy them. This war will be fought on our terms. We will arm all the willing and able to rid our nation of foreign invaders. We will take the fight to their camps as we arrest and prosecute their sponsors.
“No longer will we engage based on Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba or North and South but on the basis of Nigeria, our only fatherland. We will resist all those who make religion and tribe their mantra. It will no longer be business as usual. We will zone out all proponents of zoning and usher in a Nigeria that promotes merit, character and know-how above primordial sentiments.
“Together we can design a new menu for our people. We will rebuild Nigeria from the ground up and do away with the faulty and archaic colonial foundation that now characterises our current existence. We must define our common charter as Nigerians and constitute a new nation that is not only inclusive for all but guarantees equal rights and expressions to all irrespective of tribe, tongue and religion. This new Nigeria must come first before any other identification. It will be our common bond as we do away with all colonial relics of division, mistrust and hatred.”
According to him, every component part of Nigeria was blessed with those who have the talents and abilities to pilot the affairs of Nigeria and we must create the enabling environment for these people to emerge in government and governance also stating that “Nigeria will no longer be associated with mediocrity as we will invest in our citizens, our greatest asset.
“The toga of lazy youths won’t stand as we build the greatest workforce on earth. We must build a workforce that knows today and understands the demands and dictates of tomorrow. We can no longer be in conflict with what we don’t know as we make policy somersaults over modern age financial instruments like bitcoins.
“The arts won’t be mere lip service in my administration. It only makes sense that we support our movie and music industry. They have made us proud and still make us proud. Investing in and promoting that industry is not only patriotic, but also makes perfect business sense. The technology exists to correct their decades long problem of distribution and piracy. This we will do.
“We cannot be seen to be banning and unbanning platforms like twitter that define the expression of the modern man. No longer will our citizenry be driven to the dark web and unconventional means of communications as they seek to hide from a repressive Government. Government is and should be a big brother and not a big bully. Millions of our citizenry still live without light and potable water in the year 2022. This is unconscionable,” the Presidential hopeful said.
Speaking on the state of the Nation, the ADC Presidential flagbearer, pointed out that there was no rocket science to generating power, neither was there magic or a special wand in distributing power disclosing that the debilitating challenges bedeviling the country were man-made and “we must use an iron fist in crushing those whose decades of evil practice in our public service space have led us to the brink. We will treat those who sabotage our nation and way of life as saboteurs.”
He said: “We can’t have different rules for different criminals. If you do the crime, you do the time. If given the privilege to lead you, my first executive interface with the National Assembly will include a bill I have dubbed the Nigerian Patriot Act. It is a bill of equality and fairness. It is a bill that says we are all in this together. It is a bill that ensures that public servants cannot use the privileges they cannot provide to the common man.
“If you desire to be in the public service, you must use the same services the masses use. No private or foreign schools for our families, no private or foreign hospitals for us or our families, no generators or boreholes in our homes. If we desire efficient and effective education, healthcare, utilities, etc we must make it available to all so that we may all equally benefit from it. This is how we will build a nation that works for everyone.
“Thank you all for the opportunity to speak to you about a nation and people I love so much. Today’s town hall is one in a series of town halls I have planned across the country before we go to the polls next year.
“Who is the common man? He is the average citizen, as contrasted with the social, political or cultural elite. It is a title most of us will wear at some point or all our lives. Majority of the population bear this appellation and it is their case I seek to make as I stand before you today. The realities of their existence in Nigeria are well known to us all and so I will not rehash the many challenges we face as a nation or the monumental failings of the Buhari/APC Government.
“My job today is to tell you that even though they have navigated us to the precipice of disaster, we can still reverse course. Even though they scammed us with their failed promises, there is yet hope for us.
“My administration will avenge the lives of all soldiers and civilians killed. They will pay a huge price for their folly and be told in no uncertain terms that Nigeria is not a no man’s land. This is my promise. The sanctity and dignity of life will be restored under my watch. Ritual killings, trade in body parts and kidnappings have no place in civilised society. We will rid our forests of scam artists masquerading as native doctors who promise riches to the weak and lazy. We will protect our young men and women from these predators.
“We are the technology generation; technology will be used to leapfrog Nigeria from third world to developed nation. Nigerians are the brains and engine rooms of most nations why can’t they do the same here? No sensible nation allows their best and brightest to leave. We will reverse this ugly trend. Nigeria will work again for everyone.
“Running for the highest office in the land was not a decision I made on the spur of the moment but one that has been defined by the very essence of my life. It is the only natural progression for someone who has devoted his entire adult life to designing and proposing solutions for the betterment of Nigeria to those who have managed our common welfare.
“It is a table of inequity, injustice, iniquity and intolerance but when you sit at the head of the table you get to decide what the menu is going to be. This is the seat I seek to occupy so that together we can chart a new course for our nation.”
He also called on Nigerians to give a chance to quality and capable leadership that will engineer systems and processes that will ensure that citizens don’t turn to corruption by default.
