Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday flayed the Federal Government over the insecurity and economic crisis confronting the nation, stating that Nigeria possessed all the negative indices that qualified it as a failed state.
The two candidates unanimously agreed that 2023 is Nigeria’s decisive year, noting that the election is critical to the country’s existence.
Atiku and Obi spoke at the ongoing 62nd Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Lagos.
Also at the event was the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Kashim Shettima, who represented his principal, Bola Tinubu.
He urged Nigerians to vote for their joint ticket because of their achievements as governors in Lagos and Borno states.
Governors Solomon Lalong and Godwin Obaseki of Plateau and Edo states, respectively, equally attended the conference.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and a popular author, Chimamanda Adichie and other speakers advocated the reform of the Nigerian judiciary in order to position the country on the path of transformational change.
In his remarks, Atiku observed that the country is more disunited today than it had ever been since democracy took root in 1999, noting that Nigeria had never found itself in such a very critical situation in its history.
Speaking on the theme: ’Bold transitions in the 21st century as far as our country is concerned,’ he submitted that Nigeria had all the negative indices, adding that the nation had never experienced the current level of poverty, insecurity and unemployment.
He stated, “Since the return of democracy in 1998/99, Nigeria has never found itself in such a very very critical point in our history.
“Today, we have had all the negative indices. Today, we are all disunited in the nation. We have never experienced this level of poverty. We have never experienced this state of insecurity. We have never experienced this level of unemployment. We have recognised all these negative development in our history.”
He added that the important thing was to tackle the challenges.
“This is where history and experience beckon to us that we don’t get it wrong at this point in time. If we get it wrong, I don’t know when we will get it right,’’ he noted.
An online newspaper, The Cable reported that ex-vice-president revealed that he would hand over the federal universities to states if he was elected president.
According to the report, Atiku said his administration’s reform would involve creating an enabling environment for foreign and local investors.
The reforms, he further explained, would include healthcare and education ‘’because the government alone cannot bring about development.’’
He stated, ‘’One of the fundamental reforms I have in my policy document is to encourage the private sector as far as the development of the country is concerned — both foreign and local. It is very essential because the federal government does not have the resources to do all the things that they want to do,” he said.
Powers devolution
Shedding more light on his plans, he stated, “The only way is to make sure that a conducive environment is available for the local and foreign investors to participate in the development of our country, whether it is infrastructure, education and healthcare.
Atiku Abubakar
“I had an argument with a university professor from Federal University, Lokoja. He said he read in my policy document that I intend to devolve, in other words, to return education to the states. How dare I do that?
‘’I said: ‘Mr professor, do you realise that the first set of our universities belongs to the regional governments?’ He said, ‘yes’. I said ‘who are the successors of the regional government?’ He said: ‘the states’.
“I said the children you send to America or England; who owns those universities? Mostly, the private sector. So, why is it that you think we cannot do it here? We don’t have the money.”
Atiku posted on his Twitter page on Monday, that he was at the NBA conference to give lawyers insights into his bold policy which he said embodies unity, security, economy, education and devolution of power to states and local governments.
The Labour Party presidential candidate, Obi in his remarks said ‘’the election will not be about tribe, religion, connection, entitlement, but it must be about competence capacity and commitment to deliver.”
Obi said that Nigeria needs urgent transition from being a highly insecure country to a secured one and from a disunited country to a united one.
He added, “Nigeria has qualified to be a failed state. We have the two or three biggest characteristics of a failed state. One is when you are no longer in charge of your territory.
“Today, we are among the top terrorised countries in the world; we are among the top kidnapping countries in the world. Banditry has taken over part of the country and Nigerians are being killed.”
He called on Nigerians to elect the candidate with the capacity to rescue the nation from its current mess.
“Nigeria is in a mess. We got here simply because of the accumulative effects of bad leadership. The coming election is not about tribe or religion but about character and competence. We need a bold transition from a highly insecure state to a highly secured state,’’ he noted.
The APC running mate, Shettima pointed out that his principal would replicate at the federal level the feats he recorded in Lagos when he was the governor.
Shettima said they would hit the ground running if elected into office in 2023.
In his speech entitled, ‘Democratic Transitions In 21st Century Nigeria: 2023 and Beyond,’’ the APC vice-presidential candidate stressed that Tinubu is the man to beat because of his skill-set.
“I aligned with the APC candidate because of his competence and performance,’’ he affirmed.
