Atiku’s Closing Argument: We Can Build The Nigeria of Our Dreams

FOCUS

On Saturday, 25th February 2023, over 93 million eligible Nigerians will have the opportunity of heading to the polls to elect a new President to pilot the affairs of our country for another four years.  I, Atiku Abubakar, am the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, “PDP”, in this election.

It is not an overstatement to say that the coming elections are the most important in the relatively young history of our Fourth Republic.

To start with, the contrasts in the leading candidates for President, and their parties, could not be starker.  First, you have the APC, whose candidate for President is the national leader of the party; a party that has, for almost eight years now, brought to our country a period of unspeakable misery, economic decline, mass poverty, massive insecurity, monumental job losses, fractionalisation, disunity, and injustice.  A party under whose watch, our country has witnessed a frightening descent into anarchy, multidimensional crises, economic meltdown.

It was under the APC that our country returned to pauper-nation status with over =N=77 trillion in debt, and under whose watch, over 22 million of our children are now out of school!

Then you have my party, the PDP.  The PDP midwifed the longest period of sustained economic growth in our country, instituted fundamental reforms and new innovations, leading to an explosion in opportunity for our citizens in the telecoms, fintech, financial services and other cutting edge technology space.  It was the PDP that rebuilt Nigeria’s economy and turned it into the largest economy in Africa.  Along the way, we made mistakes as all humans do, even leading to some members breaking away from the party in 2015, but we have learnt from those mistakes and have come out stronger, more enlightened, and more determined to rebuild this beautiful nation of ours.

The APC is asking you to vote for them to renew this misery and destruction; to renew the violence, the wanton destruction, the killings and kidnappings; and to renew the harsh and brutal conditions that so many people in our country now live with, on a daily basis.

In contrast, the PDP, led by me, is asking for your vote to elect a government that will work to Recover Nigeria from the misery, insecurity and economic decline of the last eight years and bring into office a government that works for all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, tongue or religion, based on our founding principles of Unity, Justice and Progress.

I am running to be the President that will lead this Recovery effort and help build a nation that we can all be proud of.

Why Atiku Abubakar?

This country has been incredibly good to me.  For, where else can a young orphan from very humble beginnings in the remote town of Jada, Adamawa State, grow up into an accomplished man, now seeking election into the highest office in the land?

I am a product of a Nigeria that is now but a distant memory; a Nigeria we have taken from but cannot bequeath to our own children and grandchildren; a Nigeria that cared and provided for its citizens; a Nigeria that worked for every Nigerian. 

My beginnings were stark, humble and poor.  It is very reasonable to assume that, were I to be born in the Nigeria of today, I will be but a statistic –  one young child in the teeming millions of the very poor that will never escape the shackles of poverty and depravation that he was born into, and that has become the lot of millions of our fellow citizens today. 

I am one of the lucky ones to have been born in the Nigeria of our past.  From my early days at the Jada Primary School, Jada, to the Adamawa Provincial Secondary School, Yola, to the School of Hygiene, Kano, and then, to Ahmadu Bello University (“ABU”), Zaria, I was a child of Nigeria.  Nigeria gave me education.  Nigeria gave me every facility and opportunity for self development and progression and I was limited only by my own ability to dream and to achieve. 

But it did not end there.  After graduation, Nigeria also gave an enthralling and fulfilling career in the Customs and Excise Department from 1969, and gave me the opportunity of serving in Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Seme, Ibadan, and Lagos, places where I would meet and interact with Nigerians of all backgrounds, many of whom I formed lifelong bonds and associations with – not least, my first wife, Titi, a loving and devoted woman from Osun State.

I retired meritoriously from the Customs Service in 1989, having risen to the rank of Deputy Director of Customs, the second highest position in the service at the time.  Upon retirement, I went into private business and developed several enterprises with interests in education, oil services, agriculture, food and beverages, media, banking, insurance, and pharmaceuticals, amongst others.  Today, my various businesses employ thousands of Nigerians, directly and indirectly, and I am proud to say that we are the second largest employer of labour after the State Government in Adamawa State.

All these opportunities were provided to me by this country that has given me everything, a country that I love so much, and I would love the opportunity to give back to this country that has given me so much.  You will understand my deep pain and anguish, therefore, when I see our country so pauperized that it can no longer provide for its citizens.  Our people have been impoverished and their lives rendered desolate.  Tens of millions of our fellow citizens are out of work and can no longer provide for themselves or their families.  Insecurity is rife, killings and kidnappings are daily occurrences, and our farmsteads have been decimated such that many of our people can no longer feed their families, nor have any other productive means of livelihood.  Most depressing, around 22 million of our children are currently out of school and the world is passing them by as they remain unschooled and unable to acquire basic education or skills to improve themselves and enhance their existence.  I worry what would become of our nation when so many are being left behind.

It was not always like this!  And it should not remain so! 

There was once a Nigeria that catered to the needs of its citizens.  A Nigeria that took its young from the cradle, educated them, provided for them, and gave them economic opportunity till their grave.

This is the Nigeria that I was born into.  This is the Nigeria that I remember.  This is the Nigeria that I now seek office for; to help recover, to help rebuild, to help bring back to roaring life.  This is the Nigeria that I want to bequeath to the next generation.  This is the Nigeria that I so desperately dream of.

To undertake these tasks, the PDP has, graciously, granted me the ticket to lead the party in Saturday’s presidential elections, with the singular mandate to come and lead the efforts to cure the ills that currently plague our country and build the country of our dreams.

The PDP has selected me as their presidential candidate because they believe that I possess the characteristics and experience needed to lead the efforts to rebuild our country at this time, and the ability to execute the plans we have set out.  And I agree with them.

In addition to my educational credentials that I have highlighted above, I have also obtained a Masters Degree in International Relations from the Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England United Kingdom.

My interest in leadership began at the School of Hygiene in Kano, where I was elected President of the Students Union.  At ABU, I was elected Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Speaker of Parliament of the Institute of Administration, Kongo Campus, ABU Students Union.

I entered active politics in 1989 under the influence of soldier-turned-politician Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.  I have always been one of Nigeria’s loudest opponents of military rule, and I played a prominent role in the pro-democracy movements of the 1990’s.  I was elected into the National Constitutional Conference of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1994 to 1995.  My insistence on the exit of the military from governance led to an assassination attempt on my life during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.  Having survived that, my family and I were harassed and I was forced to flee into exile in 1995.   I continued to actively support the efforts to return our country to civilian rule from my bases outside Nigeria.

In 1999, I contested and won the election for Governor of Adamawa State but before I could be sworn in, I was nominated as the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.  I was, thereafter, elected Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sworn in on May 29, 1999.  I was re-elected for a second four year term as Vice President and sworn in on May 29, 2003.

As Vice President between 1999 and 2007, I was actively engaged at the highest level of governance and helped lead the efforts that culminated in the many successes recorded under that government including the successful privatisation of numerous loss making and unproductive State Owned Enterprises, paying off most of our national debt, massive institutional reforms in our governance and economic structure leading to a consistent year-on-year growth in our GDP and the rebuilding of a vibrant middle class, and the laying down of a sound foundation for future socio-economic growth.  Sadly, many of these huge gains have been frittered away.

Since leaving office as Vice President, I have remained the most vocal opposition voice in Nigeria. My frequent policy engagements with the government of the day on topical issues concerning the economy, restructuring, human rights, and education has helped shape public policy discourse, formulation and administration in Nigeria.

I am particularly passionate about education and I have made significant investments in providing education to our young children including up to tertiary level through the American University of Nigeria in Yola. This univeristy has risen in a short time from the empty fields of rural Nigeria to become the foremost private university in Nigeria, with a student population and faculty drawn from all parts of Africa. The university maintains a focus on sustainable development as Africa’s first “Development University,” and it is the only American-style university south of the Sahara and is already recognized as one of the leading universities of West Africa.

My family and I directly subsidise the activities of the American University of Nigeria. This affords both the children of the rich and the children of the poor access to world-class education.  Specially gifted children, regardless of their parental backgrounds, are also afforded the opportunity to better their future through this first-class university. Even the vulnerable, such as the Chibok girls who escaped Boko Haram captivity, have found accommodation in the university.

I have been privileged to be recognised by both Rotary International and the American National Peace Corps Association for matching my passion with my purse. In 2012, the American National Peace Corps Association honoured me with the Harris Woodford award and stated, in the citation read at that event:

“No private businessman in Africa has worked harder for democracy or contributed more to higher education than Atiku Abubakar,”

These are some of the credentials that stand me in the best stead to lead the next government.  I understand the root causes of the numerous problems that currently plague our nation and I have formulated and mapped out plans and programmes specifically tailored towards the rebuilding of our country, the revitalisation of our economy, and the rapid return of our people to living normal productive lives, once again.  A government led by me will be one better suited to the challenges of a twenty first century economy that works for everyone, and that is needed to bring development closer to our people.

My government will create the enabling environment that will give our people the opportunity to exploit and enjoy the resources that our great country has been blessed with.  We will remove the numerous barriers that have been erected in the path of growth and development, and that currently stifle the overall progress of this country.  In short, I will provide the right kind of leadership required, in partnership – not competition – with the federating states of the nation, and other constituent parts, to achieve peace, unity and rapid growth, in the shortest possible time.

I have put together a plan to address our problems and to arrest the drift of our nation as a whole, and reverse the course of the degradation of the lives of our citizens.  These plans have been laid out in my policy proposals titled “My Covenant With Nigerians”.

My plans for Nigeria and Nigerians are as follows:

1.   To restore Nigeria’s unity through equity, social justice, mutual collaboration, and consensus among our diverse peoples.

2.   To build a strong and effective democratic government where the safety and security of our people and their property is our primary and singularly most important responsibility.

3.   To establish a strong, resilient, inclusive and prosperous economy that generates opportunity, jobs and wealth, rebuilds a vibrant middle class, and lifts millions of our poor out of poverty.

4.   To encourage the adoption of a true federal system where all the federating units are equal, and has a fair and representative federal government that secures our borders, defends our people and ensures national unity, whilst allowing the federating units to develop and grow in line with priorities which they have set on their own.

5.   To redevelop, invest in, and strengthen our educational system in order to provide its recipients with the education and skills needed to compete in the new global order driven by innovation, science, and technology, as well as to live healthy, productive, and meaningful lives.

That is the end goal.  It is critically important and existential to us as a nation.  These are tasks that history beckons upon us all to grasp with both hands and undertake with vigour and zeal. 

However, to rescue and rebuild our country, we must first take over the mantle of government from the APC, the party that has driven us into this mess.  To do this, we must all be united in purpose and come together to vote on Saturday, 25th February 2023, and vote for the PDP, the party with the track record of delivering on its promises.

Every single person who loves this country, as I do, is needed for the arduous tasks that face us ahead as a nation, and this includes every citizen of our great country, whether you support the PDP or you do not.  The task of rebuilding our dear nation transcends and goes way beyond the restrictiveness of party loyalties.  It is my hope and prayer that every man and woman of goodwill will join hands with us to help rescue, recover, rebuild and reposition our beloved country, Nigeria for future generations.

The road to building the Nigeria of our dreams –  a Nigeria that works for every Nigerian – commences with your vote on Saturday 25th February, 2023.

Together, as One people, as One Nation, we can get this task done.

•Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa

Presidential Candidate, Peoples Democratic Party.