2023: What Atiku Will do to Change Nigeria’s Fortunes

Danladi Usman
The assertion that man is a political animal and will do everything to win even if it means bribing their way to the very top is not far-fetched from the harsh and unpleasant realities faced by many Nigerians right from Tafawa Balewa’s 1960–1966 era till date; many also would argue tentatively that the country’s prevailing tribulations is nothing compared to the past, due to the incompetence, greed, deceit, disingenuousness, and high-handedness of officials of the present administration that have so far been disadvantageous on the overall welfare of Nigerians. That is why the ultimate objective of this election campaign would be to elect a candidate who is free of corruption, a candidate of the people, one willing to address the nation’s issues at the expense of upsetting the existing quo, and one who would not purchase his way to the presidency.

Today, because of money and power, modern politics has now become dirty, dubious and manipulative; politics when dubiously approached will forever remain a threat to freedom and democracy; that is why till today, many Nations are still suffering from the hands of dirty politicians who camouflage as leaders to their subjects; and as a result, the economy on its part remains enveloped with anomalies that on its part contributes to high crime rate and social unrest.
As a result, past experiences (political or civil) of the presidential candidates should be put into consideration before deciding who rules next. In respect to that, one of the candidates contesting under the platform of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, who served as the Nation’s Vice President for a while, has a lot and possibly more to contribute to the country. His successful and resourceful administration as vice-president under President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, saw positive reformation in most sectors; together, they paid off most debts owed by the country and revamped Nigeria’s economy.

Atiku with the campaign theme #RecoverNigeria has recently been pulling massive support from Nigerians with held rallies in various states such as Abia, Umuahia, Benue, Yola, Sokota, Bauchi, Yobe, Plateau and Kano respectively. He is a man of the people and having been at this stage before, Atiku ran unsuccessfully for President of Nigeria in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 respectively; time will sure tell if it will be sixth time lucky for Wazirin Adamawa.
Atiku’s vision for Nigeria is all-encompassing, straightforward, unambiguous and has a distinct roadmap for how he wants to carry out his chosen course of action. His 5-point development agenda that seeks to liberate Nigeria out of this current economic wobble talked about bringing reforms to reposition the private sector, Atiku said his administration will provide efficient infrastructure to reduce production cost, review inventive structure, provide selective and time-bound protection to priority enterprises and liberalize and de-regulate economy by breaking government monopoly in many sectors.

On investing to increase stock and improve further our quality of infrastructure, thereby achieving Institutional reforms, Atiku stated that government will establish Infrastructure Development Unit (IDU) in the presidency, with a coordinating function and a specific mandate of working with her MDAs to fast track and drive the process of infrastructural development; Strengthen the capacity of the ICRC to promote public private partnerships (PPP) in the construction and management of infrastructures in the country; Privatize all government owned refineries and issue new licenses for greenfield investment in crude oil refining and open up the power sector from generation to transmission for private investments.

A layman would perceive straightaway what Atiku is trying to accomplish. He is gallantly backing private investments in institutions and government owned refineries. This he believes will bring about reforms that will in turn increase stock and infrastructure.

“I envision a new Nigeria without crude oil in which agriculture, manufacturing and MSMEs shall become growth drivers. A Nigeria with a knowledge-based economy with wide application of ICT in health, education, commerce, agriculture and industry.
“A dynamic oil and gas sector that is fully integrated into the economy through linkages with agriculture, manufacturing and MSMEs”, Atiku said.
We have been in this situation before and will continue to be in it for the time being. Moreso, we must this time carefully analyze the presidential aspirants who are put before us and cast our votes for the candidate who is most qualified without any fear or intimidation.

Every Nigerian, including the media, has a part to play in this; the media must assist the electorates make smarter decisions by providing the Presidential contenders with equitable coverage on election day.
A working Nigeria will benefit everyone so let’s come together and ensure that after the election, Abubakar Atiku becomes President Muhammadu Buhari successor.

Usman sent this piece from Kano