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Ribadu flags off campaign, says it’s time for change
The Nation (Yusuf
Alli and John Ofikhenua, Abuja) 17/02/2011 00:35:00
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential candidate Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu yesterday preached the gospel of change. He urged
the electorate to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
the April polls.
“It is time for change because it is a ‘season of change’,” he
said.
Noting the wind of change blowing across Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria
and Yemen, Ribadu said: “While the citizens of other countries
are protesting dictatorship in their countries, in Nigeria let
us act sensibly to take advantage of the fact that we have the
opportunity to effect change every four years through the
ballot”.
Ribadu, who was speaking at a colloquium to mark the launch of
his party’s campaign in Abuja, also unveiled his agenda for the
country, promising one million houses a year, if elected in
April.
The housing scheme alone, he said, would create 30million jobs.
ACN also presented its manifesto to the public at the ceremony.
Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu said it was time to vote
out PDP because the party has brought hopelessness to Nigeria.
Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti),
Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), former Anambra State Governor Chris
Ngige, former Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh and former
Transport Minister Abiye Sekibo promised that ACN will fix the
economy.
Presenting a paper at the colloquium, Ribadu said: “Today, a new
journey of renewal has started in our country. From the
four corners of this great nation - North, South, East, and West
– the work to make Nigeria great again has begun.
”We must not lose the significance that today’s event is
occurring against the fascinating international background of
momentous political changes taking place in the north of our
region— from Tunisia, through Egypt, to Algeria and Yemen.
”In all these countries, young people are kicking against
enthroned autocracies that have pinned their nations down for
decades; they are tossing off decades of oppression and failed
forms of governance. In an exciting display of people’s
power, these young men and women are demanding, negotiating, and
securing democracy through the slogan of change.
”As we are all gathered here, in the service of love, the
service of our people, and the important service of restarting
the agenda that makes democracy meaningful in the lives of
citizens, let us put one point in mind: if we fail to urgently
realise the vision of a modern Nigeria, the echoes of currently
muted, but potentially destabilising, change will soon consume
our land.
”Great members of the ACN family, this is the season of change,
and its sweet scent is in the air. It is expressed in the image
of our young people, and their demand that the business of
governance can no longer be business as usual.”
He said Nigeria needed a transparent, accountable and competent
leader.
The change required, he said, was not the type being mouthed by
those in power.
He said: “Change has come to our doorsteps, the sacrificial lamb
is already in revolt, and while the other parties cannot grasp
the significance of this silent revolution, our party, the ACN,
must help advance it to the next logical stage.
“It has become fashionable for everyone to talk mechanically
about change in the country today, even those who have inflicted
the worst injury to our treasury, and our best values speak
glibly about change. But for us, the distinction is clear as
daylight; the change we talk about begins with a leadership that
is transparent, accountable, competent, experienced, and virile.
“Such a leadership is needed to create a united, modern,
secured, and just society that will meet the demands of the 21st
century. Above all, however, such a leadership must answer the
call to address three fundamental ills that plague the Nigerian
society today: corruption, insecurity and economic failure.
“As these ills are tackled, the economic and social sectors will
be revitalised such that the chronic problems of power,
infrastructure, social amenities, and unemployment get the true
attention they deserve,” he said.
Ribadu lamented that Nigerian youths had been left behind by
successive administrations.
He said: “70 per cent of our citizens are under the age of 30.
They are active, restless, and curious. 43 million of them are
daily exploring the Internet as a communication and social
networking medium.
“Yet the half-century of our nation’s history have loudly left
them behind through failure of governance, failure of economic
management, and a failure of the national social contract.
“Historically, in an election year, these young men and women
would have responded in apathy, walking off in anger, disgust,
and scorn at the electoral process. Guess what, ladies and
gentlemen? Of the 66 million registered voters by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), preliminary
reports suggest that at least 46 million are in the demography
of 35 years and below.
”In the face of its shoddy report card from over a decade of
abysmal failure at governance, the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) can at least be self-respecting to excuse itself from the
dignified gathering of the true apostles of change.
“And from the opposition parties, since the ACN has exhibited
evidence of competent leadership in the four states it is
administering, we clearly earn the historic responsibility of
leading the mission of change.
“They are all here today: my friends and brothers Rauf
Aregbesola of Osun State; Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Adams
Oshiomhole of Edo State; and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.
Thank you gentlemen for the great work you are doing for our
country and for our party. Our challenge now is to reproduce
that example of competent leadership at the centre when we take
over the reins of power and form the next government come May
29.”
Ribadu pledged to tackle the power crisis saying: ”Let me now
elaborate a little bit on our vision of a new Nigeria. First of
all, our administration will be guided by an unalloyed loyalty
to party principles and programmes.
“Our platform is a social justice compact targeted to the
transformation and development of the nation on the ethos of
distributive justice.
“The cardinal principles of the administration we shall run will
be defined by a keen sense of humility in government, a torching
sense of compassion, and a clear sense of integrity in
government.
“The current asymmetric ratio of 75% recurrent budget
allocations over 25% capital allocations will become a thing of
the past. This odd priority in budget making does not support
true development, and only fuels corruption.
“My dear compatriots, the work to make Nigeria work again will
not be a practice reserved for arm-chair crystal gazers. Like
all enterprises devoted to social regeneration, it is going to
be one hard job that demands of us all, young and old, to roll
up our sleeves.
“The cancer of corruption has terribly affected the inner soul
of our social, political, and economic life, and it now almost
singularly constitutes a major disabling factor on how to
rebuild our nation.
“Unless we actively disable the capacity of corruption to
regenerate, through a cocktail of excellent laws, professional
enforcement engagements, and a vigorous public education on its
dangers to our social health, no governance policy will work
here, however excellent in planning and execution.
“Distinguished members of our party, it ultimately boils down to
leadership. Leadership matters. Global testimony indicates that
nations that do well and progress have had to invest heavily in
the character of their leaders, as well as in the leadership
skills of their people. They have also needed to invest in the
integrity and ethical standards of their institutions.
“The ACN must take these matters serious and work to reverse the
leadership and integrity deficits that characterise many
departments of our nation’s life. What we need today
is a transformational leadership model that shows courage in
making difficult decisions with respect to issues that have
plagued the nation.
“I am not talking of an abstraction here; we have a vivid
example from Lagos where my good friend and classmate at law
school, Babatunde Raji Fashola, is redefining the concept of
governance in the service of the people.
“Many in this gathering will remember what we all used to say in
the past about the security situation in Lagos. Today, with even
a bigger population and competing spending priorities to deal
with, Mr. Fashola has transformed Lagos into perhaps the safest
city in Nigeria. That is what we call governance.
”That is what an ACN administration that controls the Federal
Government will bring to all Nigerians. Imagine what sense of
hope will radiate across the land when we initiate our one
million houses a year, and through this scheme alone, open the
doors for 30 million jobs? Imagine what we will do in the area
of arts and culture with the creation of a national endowment of
the arts that will empower our young men and women to be
productively engaged through this country’s first structured
cultural entrepreneurial scheme.
“Now that we all know that the ruling party has completely lost
the will, and is incapable of summoning the vision of tackling
the power sector challenges, it is important to share our broad
thoughts on how this priority sector is located at the heart of
our economic development programme.
“How can a country like Egypt with 80 million people be able to
generate 25,000 Giga watts of power; and South Africa with a
population of 35 million generate 40,000 mega watts while
Nigeria, the presumed leader of the region, can only generate
3,000 mega watts of power.
“Our ACN administration will move promptly to diversify the
energy mix and invest in decentralised renewable energy such as
wind, solar and biomass especially in rural areas, with limited
grid access.
“We will also provide fiscal incentives for private developers
by employing clean technologies in areas like coal power
generation. Through a vigorous consumer education programme, we
shall also promote the most efficient use of energy.
“The same is true of our agriculture, the state of our
infrastructure that is currently in the most abject condition,
and, above all, the prostrate human capital sector of our
country.
“At the agricultural front, our food security policy proposes to
ensure that appropriate attention is paid to every element in
the vital food supply chain - from the field to the table- which
includes primary production, extension and education programmes,
post-harvest handling and farm produce haulage, preservation,
storage, processing, and marketing as well as rural development.
“We are committed to evolving a system of providing an egg and a
glass of fruit juice or one glass of fresh milk to each child in
school by 2014, in order to increase the protein and vitamin
intake of our leaders of tomorrow. This programme will
have the multiplier effect of encouraging increased production
of these food items with attendant manufacturing and service
sector activities that, in turn, will create wealth and jobs.
“The key word for us on the social and economic fronts is
distributive justice and we shall erect it as the central
philosophy of our administration. A country determined to
compete in a 21st century marked by globalisation, fiercely
competing markets, job opportunities, and rapid technological
advances, must have commensurate infrastructure to drive its
vision.
“Now is the time, and urgency is the word, to address decades of
underinvestment, policy incoherence and a failure to appreciate
the crucial role of modern infrastructure in economic
development and social cohesion that has put Nigeria in the
class of failures.
“A healthy, well-educated, and content citizenry will be at the
very heart of the ACN national development administration. To
this extent, the various segments of human capital development
that include health, education, women and gender issues, the
youth, the physically-challenged, and social security would
receive principal attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, despite the pains and the stress of our
land, this is the place we still proudly call home. Fifty years
of failed leadership and corruption may have conspired to deny
the home of the world’s largest black nation its place of honour
and pride, but the future of our country can still be written in
bright, warm, colours.
“I see a great future ahead of our nation; in that future we
must all design our dreams. My own dream of Nigeria’s future is
a nation that honours and deeply cares for its citizens. It is
the land of inherited blemish that we make whole again. It is a
land of united citizens that finally takes its leadership place
in the comity of nations.
”It is possible, my colleagues! God has a purpose of change and
progress for Nigeria. A New Nigeria is truly possible.”
The story was culled from The
Nation
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