When Mr. President took the Oath of Office in may 2015 at the Eagle Square in Abuja, his inaugural speech left no one in doubt about his pan Nigerian Political philosophy when he told the Nation and the world that : I belong to nobody and I belong to everybody.
The president has kept faith with that pledge and i as his ardent student have followed suit by giving every part of my State that was hitherto polarised along ethnic and religious line,a sense of unity and togetherness.
While some people in the Southern part of Nigeria have complained that Mr. President’s appointments have been lopsided in favour of the North, most people in the North have accused Mr. President of concentrating his signature and high impact infrastructure projects in the Southern Part of Nigeria; reinforcing his even handedness in the running of the Country, because he belonged to nobody and belonged to everybody.
Inherent in the Political philosophy of Mr. President is Nigeria first. It is therefore shocking that those who pretended to be of the same political philosophy as Mr.President,and who indeed rode on Mr. President’s back to become Governors and parliamentarians have betrayed Mr,President by withdrawing and crawling back into failure, singing divisive tone in the run up to the 2023 elections by advocating Zoning,region,religion,tribe and other primordial sentiments in the choice of successor leaders.
The problem with sentiment in leadership is that if a man you do not share his sentiment comes up with a fantastic ideas that will lift your people out of poverty, you would lose the opportunity because your judgment is perverse and tainted by sentiment.
Those who have short sight, because they are in one remote corner of the Country or the other, cannot see beyond their limited enclave. They swim and sink in that limited cocoon. They are bound to see the Country from that narrow prism of Zone, tribe or religion. Their political philosophy is driven by nepotism, religion,tribalism,sectionalism,etc.The net result for the Nation is abysmal failure. Their political philosophy is : I chop, them you chop.They play politics of marginalisation,identity,divide and rule, while progress and development becomes the casualty.
How can I , sitting in the middle of Nigeria boarded by 10 States, filling the pulse of muslims,christian and all the tribes in Nigeria not be driven by genuine love of the whole Country. I am so in the middle of Nigeria that i cannot be limited to any Zone or Tribe. I am the authentic pan Nigerian Candidate, who would insist that water board must supply water to homes instead of Borehole, that it must be public power supply and not generator, that our steel must be processed into rail tracks to move Nigerians and goods and services around the country, that every corner from the remotest part of Birnin kebbi to Oron and indeed every human settlement in Nigeria must have access to at least primary health care and Schools.
It is becoming clear those who the pretenders and those who are genuine followers of Mr.President.Poltics of turn by turn played for 60 years have failed to bring progress and development to Nigeria, it has driven our people into illiteracy, banditry, despair and others into the Diaspora. It has failed to unite the Country, it has failed to provide power,roads,schools,hospitals and i am determined to change that ugly Course.
We have made ourselves laughing stock to the rest of the World because we thrive on sentiment. We have become net recipients of all sorts of aids because we refused to properly harness our resources.
We are shamelessly importing vaccine from India when about 40 years ago we were at par with India in terms of development.
It is as if the more we drill crude oil from the ground, the more our Naira lose value. All because we have failed to demonstrate sincerity in our public life .
In 2023,i would change the conversation in the country to how many schools, potable water, health care centres can be built in Six Months .I would be interested in how many roads, bridges, employment can be put in place in 10 months; and replicating that on continuous basis. I would be interested in harnessing our men and women, youths and people with disability to drive development.
I would appeal to those whose only selling point in politics is Zone, religion and other primordial sentiments to have a rethink because if this Country fails, neither Saudi Arabia nor the Vatican would accept us as refugees. Our neighbours would laugh at us with indignation. I am the candidate that would change that narrative. I do not see myself as a candidate standing on a Zonal, regional, religious or tribal platform. Conversation about Zoning are carried by those who have failed politically. They have nothing to offer other than sentiment.
I am the candidate with the whole of Nigeria as my Constituency. And I mean it, because I have lived and practised it in my private and public life as the Executive Governor of Kogi State.
May God Bless Our Country.
