South-East is close to my heart, Atiku tells region’s PDP stakeholders

From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki

The Former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP Presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that the people of the South-East region is very close to his heart, noting that “any government that wants to revive our economy and provide opportunities for our people must carry the South East along.”

Atiku who spoke on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ meeting with Leaders and Stakeholders of the South East Zone of the PDP held in Enugu, described the people of the zone as the key contributor to economic activities in Nigeria.

“As you know, the South East is close to my heart. You have supported me through thick and thin and I will always remember that. Your sons and daughters have played very positive roles in the development of our country, They were key personnel who played important roles in the PDP government in which I served as Vice President. And they have continued to excel in other roles across the world.

“You are a key contributor to economic activities in this country and a government that wants to revive our economy and provide opportunities for our people must carry the South East along. I am a business man and I know that businesses need supporting environment to thrive and when they thrive the country thrives. I do not see the provision of infrastructure in any part of the country as a favour to that part. If anything, it is a favour to the country because we are one country, one economy.

“A bridge across the River Niger or a coal power plant in Enugu is a favour to the Nigerian economy because they will contribute to growth in economic activities not just in the south east but across the country.   We do not require identity cards from people and goods crossing a bridge, and electric power does not carry ethnic or religious currents when they pass low or high tension cables.  When you understand the importance of infrastructure for economic development, jobs and wealth creation your focus would be to provide as much infrastructure as is needed in every part of the country rather than treat it as favours to be bestowed on those you like and denied to those you dislike,” Atiku said.

While explaining the import of the meeting, Mr Atiku said: “this very important visit is part of my consultations with the leaders of our various zones to thank them for their support, to listen to them regarding the issues specific to their zones both in terms of preparations for the campaigns but also governance after the elections.

According to him, “Our country is in very bad shape and rescuing it requires proper preparations and attention to details, not just in terms of general issues affecting the whole country but also issues specific to each zone and the states therein.

He further added: “We must be prepared to hit the ground running from Day One, if Nigerians give us their mandate.

He pledged to unify, restructure Nigeria and improve security and human capital development.

“When I was campaigning for the privilege of being your Presidential Candidate in the forthcoming election I outlined five priorities: reunify the country, improve security, fix the economy; restructure the federation; and improve human capital development. These are the areas that I believe would have the most impact on all other aspects of our development and our quality of life as citizens and as a country.

“Our country is more divided today than it has ever been and it is our responsibility to reunify though equity justice and fairness. That way we can all pull in one direction to develop our country and improve our people’s lives. This will require giving every segment of this country a sense of belonging, not just by meeting constitutional requirements on federal character but through government policies, programmes and projects, and our body language and utterances as leaders.

“We need to provide efficient and effective government that secures the lives and properties of our people. Without security, life itself is meaningless, economic and other legitimate activities become impaired and investors would only flee. That is why security will be a top priority for a government that I lead. We will recruit, train and adequately equip and reward more police and other security personnel.

“We shall devolve policing powers so states that so desire can establish state police to help to secure their states.  I have been calling for this for several years and we now seem to have reached a national consensus on it. Part of our task is to separate genuine political grievances from mere criminality. Political grievance will be addressed through the political process while criminality will be dealt through law enforcement.

“However, we will address the root causes of insecurity including the lack of opportunities, collapse of education, climate change and its impact on agriculture and animal husbandry, and lack of modernization of same. We shall modernize our agriculture including animal husbandry to help to reduce the persistent clashes between farmers and nomadic herders which have increasingly become violent.”

“Since the late 1960s we have had a faulty federal structure that concentrates too much power and resources at the Centre, thereby turning the federating states into appendages or parastatals of the federal government. A PDP government that I lead will work with the legislatures to restructure our federal system and devolve more powers to the states with corresponding resources. That way states will be better able to set their own development priorities while the federal government focuses on setting and maintaining standards.  A federal system that does not encourage the federating units to compete among themselves in order to be better is a faulty one. This restructuring is not a favour to any section or group of sections of the country. Our country needs it badly in order to survive and thrive.

“Our economy also needs major reforms if it’s to grow and provide jobs and opportunities for our young people. We must involve the private sector more in economic activities and investment, including in the provision of infrastructure. We shall stop fiscal support for non-performing government enterprises and also end the fuel subsidies which have become a cesspool of corruption.

“Support for the private sector as well as the medium and small scale enterprises will unleash our people’s creative energies as well as attract investments from outside our shores.  Millions of jobs will be created. We did this before. In the government in which I served as Vice President you saw Nigerians returning from abroad to invest and seek other opportunities in the country. Under the APC that trend has since reversed. People cannot wait to run away from Nigeria.

“Another critical priority area for me is human capital development. We shall provide good quality education and skills that would enable our young people to compete in the modern economy that is knowledge-based and driven by technology and innovation. We shall also provide good quality health care system that focuses on preventive care. We shall, therefore, make massive investments in these critical areas. A well-educated and healthy workforce is critical for economic development and wealth creation in today’s world.”

On how the South-East would benefit from his administration if elected, Mr Atiku, said: “My dear friends, this agenda will benefit the southeast. A Nigeria that truly works will work for all its zones.  We must tackle the feeling of marginalization which is providing an excuse for the separatist agitations in this zone.

“National unity will benefit the people of this zone who need a wider platform to operate on.  Restructuring that devolves powers from the federal government and gives states the power to set their priorities is better for this zone than what we currently have and have had since the late 1960s. I believe that you should not pull back one of your child that appears to be doing better at some point so that your other children would catch up. Rather you encourage the one(s) lagging behind to emulate that one so they can all do better. Holding the faster one back would result in all of them falling behind and handing victory to children who are not from your family. 

“Also, insecurity pervades the South East now as much as other zones and without security people cannot go about their normal businesses. I am aware of how the economy of this zone and the livelihoods of its people are being destroyed by the Monday sit-at-home being imposed by a small misguided youth from this zone.

“It is difficult to understand how you liberate a people by destroying their economy. This has to stop and we shall address all political grievances not just by words but by deeds. The provision of Infrastructure is provisioning is critical for businesses and economic growth in the region, including necessary linkages across the country. Improved education is critical for this zone and the country. So is good quality health care.”