The Leader Nigeria Wants In 2019 -By Abba Dukawa

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land, climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to their responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which is the hallmark of true leadership,” Professor Achebe, lamented this in his book ‘the trouble with Nigeria’. 

The welfare of the people and security of lives are primary purpose of the government. Today the criteria for choosing leaders would be worth the choice of the people as the tragedy of having the mantle of authority in the hands of those who may not represent the interests of the citizens is better imagined than experienced.    

May 29, 2015 marked a new dawn with the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as the new president after beating the then sitting President at the poll. At these 2019 elections Nigerians are anxious to get a glimpse on how the elections will look like? Unlike in 2015, when change battled continuity, 2019 is most likely going to be maintaining a change versus changing the change.  PMB’s victory came with high hopes and expectations from the citizenry towards correcting the country’s anomalies especially considering the change mantra of the APC administration. Nigerians hope PMB’s administration will sanitize system but unfortunately, things like these have continued to happen under PMB’s watch at an alarming rate, and the most painful part of it is that his continued silence especially when many disheartening scandals rock his government officials.

Unfortunately PMB’s administration is characterized with high level of nepotism at the detriment of the Nigerian masses that sacrificed a lot and spent hours under the sun to vote for you.  The people’s expectation for a pragmatic change in every aspect of national life was quite high and   Nigerians fail to see changes promised to them by PMB and all became disillusioned. Nigerians expected Buhari-government   to provide urgent solutions to some of the myriad challenges facing the nation and its citizens.

But Nation’s economy and wellbeing of Nigerians suffer most because economy has gone from modest growth to its first recession in 25 years, putting the nation’s goal of becoming one of the world’s 20 largest economies by 2020 virtually beyond reach.    Nigerian masses are angry and questioning PMB leadership and style of governance Masses and even Buharist but not blindside one condemned and frowned at it in totality. Masses  couldn’t imagine that an injustice of this nature could happened under his able leadership, nearly end of his first term in office public and investors are still awaiting his economic agenda.   

More than anytime Nigerians need a leader that will strengthen Nigeria’s Unity by promoting the spirit of co-operation and consensus especially in a society that is as complex and as heterogeneous as Nigeria and ensure toward building a strong, resilient and prosperous economy. Nigerians want a leader that will establish a strong and effective democratic government that will secure Nigerians people lives and properties.  The economy is what determines whether a government is first in place and secondly, whether it is functional. Now from those two perspectives, you will recall the very serious promise about job creation and so on. All of those constitute the welfare of the Nigerian people. The second important element is security.

In 2019 elections Nigerians need to have a true leader Nigeria desires today must be knowledgeable in technological trends and how they shape societal growth and transformation. Any aspirant to the nation’s presidency must be vibrant, intelligent and technologically-driven individual with strong entrepreneurial flair.  But the aspirant must be abreast of social, economic and political challenges facing the country today and must have ready-made proposals in the form of manifesto to counter these challenges.  Yes there are very few patriotic Nigerians that fit into the nation’s ideal leader possessing the qualities enumerated earlier.   

The tragedy of having the mantle of authority in the hands of those who may not represent the interests of the citizens is better imagined than experienced. Today the criteria for choosing leaders who would be worth the choice of the people when they get into power have been reduced to a meticulous assessment of the fruits (antecedents) of such a person.     

Having scrutinize Atiku’s policy document As policy document emphasis need for suggest a strong and effective democratic government that secures people and provides opportunities for them to realize their full potentials, allows greater autonomy for country federating units, and gives each region of the country a sense of belonging. Strengthen Nigeria’s Unity by promoting the spirit of co-operation and consensus especially in a society that is as complex and as heterogeneous as Nigeria and ensure to building a strong, resilient and prosperous economy. On the security   if elected his administration will establishing a strong and effective democratic government that secures our people that secures Nigerians people lives and properties.   His administration will allows greater autonomy for our federating units, and gives each region of the federating units.

Policy document aim to improveNigerian transport system, since the nation transport system remains primarily uni-model and fragmented with over 90% of freight and passengers moved by road so  Waziri’s administration will scaling up of transportation spending, through construction and operation of infrastructure projects will create jobs, boost productivity and enhance competitiveness. If PDP elected into the powerit willcreate enabling business environment Reform of Public Institutions to make them stronger and more supportive and facilitating, improved private sector access to credit will be prioritized, and Regulatory institutions will be strengthened and their independence will be shielded from political interference.   

 On Power sector reform this sector will be a critical policy priority need Nigeria to make giant strides in diversifying its sources of power and delivering up to 20,000 MW.  Wazirin Adamawa will ensure in stable macroeconomic environment, Deepen monetary and fiscal reforms to promote a stable macro-economic environment, Monetary and fiscal policies shall ensure low inflation rate, stable exchange rate and interest rates that will be supportive of businesses’ quest for credit.  

 If Atiku Abubakar elected into the power the administrationwill guarantee a level playing field, full repatriation, on-expropriation and easier land titling. His experience in managing his companies is a clear assurance and capabilities creating jobs and economic opportunities for the people and will be vital for reducing the pool of easy recruits for violent groups and reducing underlying grievances that feed the conflict. This can be achievable with the strategies to implement through SGDs and ensure reconcile the link between economic growth and human development through proper selection of effective polices on education and health.

 Atiku’s policy documents set target toward achieving policy objective of transformation of the agricultural sector into a viable high-income generating enterprise for the rural workers.  Implement pro-poor polices that will enhance their participation in economic activities and improve household income. •Work more closely with NGO’s, the private sector and other development partners to mobilize resources for the effective implementation of our empowerment strategy and Provide skill acquisition opportunities and enterprise development for job and wealth creation, rather than direct cash distribution. 

Its alarming rate that Nigeria is rated as one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world, with more than 80 million of the country’s 190 million, or more than 40%% of the population living below poverty line as the case of now Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty with an estimated 87 m or about 50% of the population.

VOTE A LEADER THAT WILL GET NIGERIA WORKING AGAIN

Dukawa can be reached at abbahydukawa@gmail.com