Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a presidential contender for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former vice president, claims to have the political experience to manage the nation’s security issues.
Atiku pleaded with Nigerians to allow him the chance to use his vast knowledge to lead the nation with wise leadership.
Without unity and national security, he continued, achieving economic prosperity in the nation would be a mirage.
The contender bemoaned the fact that “Nigeria has never been completely overrun by insecurity throughout the nation. Sadly, we have come to a situation when separatists, bandits, rebels, and terrorists have taken over governmental services.
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The Arewa Joint Committee, which consists of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF), Jamiyyar Matan Arewa (JMA), Arewa House (Center for Historical Development and Research), and Arewa Research and Documentation Project (ARDP), held an interactive session on this topic on Saturday in Kaduna.
In addition to promising to expand Nigeria and create a vibrant economy for prosperity if elected president, the presidential candidate also pledged to restore Nigeria’s unity and fortify the security apparatus.
He also bemoaned that Northern Nigeria’s current social and economic challenges called for somber reflection during this presentation to the enormous crowds at the renowned Arewa House, adding that as a nation, we must forge consensus with a prosperity restoration through strong comment and initiatives.
I am dedicated to outlining and carrying out the development and transformational agenda of a united, safe, and wealthy nation, he declared.
A growing number of Nigerian citizens are openly questioning their allegiance to the corporate existence of the country through violent agitations and misguided demands for ethno-regional autonomy, according to the former vice president, who also noted that this is the most dire time for Nigeria’s unity. This is due to “widespread feelings of marginalization and neglect.”
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“Despite having abundant resources, Nigeria is nonetheless one of the world’s poorest and most unequal nations. Our economy is weak and exposed. More than 90 million people now live below the poverty line as a result of job losses, declining earnings, and restricted access to essential services.
“The public education system is underfunded and has continually performed poorly, keeping millions of our children out of school and turning out graduates with skills and competences that are out of step with the demands of our industries and communication.
“The quality of our employees has clearly been impacted by the ongoing industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions of educational institutions, with significant economic repercussions.
Nigeria has persisted in using a flawed, convoluted federal structure with significant centralization. The federal government has been successful in accumulating numerous duties that are the responsibility of other, weaker levels of government. The federal government values these duties and the enormous resources that go along with them at the expense of the states and local governments, Atiku claimed.
