Mazi Sam Obuabunwa, the Convener of the New Nigeria Group (NNG), has pledged commitment to end insecurity and transform the country, if voted as a President of Nigeria in 2023.
Ohuabunwa made the pledge on Monday in Maiduguri during a campaign tour in the state under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The industrialist and former chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, lamented the wave of insecurity bedeviling parts of the country, noting that the negative impact had taken tolls on the livelihood of many Nigerians.
He said “the insecurity has turned many Nigerian women especially in the Northeast to widows, and nobody cares and nobody is looking after them”.
Ohuabunwa noted an incident where a pregnant woman was killed and baby forced out of her stomach by bandits, decrying such atrocities vented against Nigerians, due to the inability of the government to secure the country adequately.
He said his aspiration to contest for presidency in 2023 was to build a country that would care for all Nigerians.
He said that his vision was to make Nigeria become first among nations where all citizens live in harmony and are treated equally to achieve peace and prosperity.
“We plan to mobilise like-minded citizens to install an enlightened, visionary and committed leadership in Nigeria that will motivate the country to optimise its human and material resources to attain global competitiveness.
“We need to work hard and work smart to raise our productivity and be in the position to increase our Gross National Productivity in an effort to improve prosperity and drive down poverty,” he said.
He explained that graduates of universities would be taught how to acquire knowledge of solving problems and creating wealth to discourage them from depending on white collar jobs.
“We believe that our country has chronically under-performed and much of this was caused by leadership that lacked integrity and focus to perform.
“The new Nigeria we seek must be birthed by crop of Nigerians, who are principled; those with high moral and spiritual strength to stand up for what is right and righteous.
“We need to build a new nation where corruption is eschewed and all forms of criminality and malfeasance are punished.”
Ohuabunwa listed four challenges bedeviling the nation, including poverty, corruption, injustice and insecurity.
According to him, how to eradicate poverty is to ensure liberalisation of education by incorporating entrepreneurial skills, introduction of quality and universal healthcare, enhancing citizens economic empowerment as well as creation of enabling environment for business to thrive.
Others, he said, include deregulation and extensive private participation through liberal incentives and diversification of the economy.
Ohuabunwa pledged to create equal citizenship rights, ensure minimum quality of life for every Nigerian, remove any form of discrimination and marginalisation and enthrone a transparent and accountable governance system.
“Our country is divided because of injustice to virtually every section of the country. We believe this country can be united and reintegrated by a leadership that allows justice, equity and fair play to reign.
“Every child that is born in this country should have equal chance to achieve his or her full potential without discrimination as to his state of birth, ethnicity or religion.”
He said his dream was to build a nation where injustice to one is truly injustice to all and where justice is freely available to every citizen, assuring that no one would suffer for a crime he did not commit and no one who committed a crime would ever go scot-free.
He said his visit to the state was part of his nationwide consultations with stakeholders across the 36 states of the federation, in order to activate the New Nigerian Project.
He called on Nigerians to support the PDP in the 2023 presidential election.
Earlier, Alhaji Umar El-Gash, the Yobe Chairman of PDP, lamented that that Nigerians were battling with several challenges, including economy, security and poverty.
El-Gash noted that Ohuabunwa’s ability visiting the state, in spite of challenges of insecurity, to declare his intention showed that he was a man of courage and selfless commitment.
He said that the aspirant had also proved that he was a man that was prepared to lead the country, due to his vast experience, urging the populace to support the aspirant. NAN