TheNewsGuru

Tag: Kingsley Moghalu

  • Photos: Presidential aspirant, Kingsley Moghalu visits Wole Soyinka, tours Awo’s Mausoleum

    Professor Kingsley Moghalu, the presidential aspirant of the Young Progressive Party, visited Nigeria’s literary giant, Wole Soyinka in Lagos on Monday, 20 August, 2018, as he took the opportunity to share his vision for the country.

    Supported by his campaign spokesman, Jide Akintunde, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, discussed the purpose of his candidacy with the activist and author.

    Professor Kingsley Moghalu also toured Awo’s Mausoleum in Ikenne, Ogun State, where he was received by the former diplomat and youngest daughter of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu.

  • 2019: How I will lead Nigerians if elected president – Kingsley Moghalu

    Professor Kingsley Moghalu has said he will continue to hold town hall meetings to engage directly with the Nigerian people, including at the grassroots, even after he becomes President in 2019. He said he will not only be sending a representative.

    He made this known during a seminar he conducted on “The Nexus between Youth Civic Participation and National Development” on August 2, 2018 at the Julius Berger Hall, University of Lagos, to engage students and volunteers for his “To Build A Nation” (TBAN) movement.

    Moghalu made a case for inclusive participation in the political affairs of the country, as he said, “Politics matters! It decides who decides your destiny. The government of the day decides the state of healthcare, provision of jobs, and security of the lives of citizens and property.”

    The presidential aspirant on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), stated that it is “the collective task of all citizens to rescue Nigeria from political tyrants in 2019.” Furthermore, he added that 2019 is not just an election but an historic choice — “a choice between recycled politicians and inclusive government of newbreed, visionary leaders and young people.”

    Earlier in the day, the former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria gave a remarkable charge that saw the audience respond in uproarious applause at the National Young Leaders Summit 2018 in honour of Comrade Ahmed Ojikutu’s 40th birthday celebrations.

    Speaking on the current on-going mass defections, Moghalu said “politicians are going into a political grazing reserve and we will lock the door behind them. Their movements are not done with the interest of the common man but for selfish reasons.”

    The former United Nations (UN) official said the youths will decide the destiny of Nigeria come 2019. He said the instruments to effect that change is the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and voting carefully.

  • 2019: Kingsley Moghalu declares for YPP

    Presidential aspirant, Kingsley Moghalu, has on Thursday announced he will be contesting the 2019 presidential elections under the Young Progressive Party (YPP).

    Making the announcement, the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said, “It is time to change the narrative of our politics”.

    Read full statement:

    Having announced my aspiration to contest for election to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on February 28, 2018, and faced in recent months with invitations from various political parties as potential platforms to contest the 2019 election for that high office, I thought carefully before making a choice.

    I thought about why I have joined politics — the imperative of a radically new political leadership for Nigeria, one with a vision and the capacity to build a new and different future for our country. That meant almost automatically that I would not be part of the old order of failed and recycled politicians that have run our country aground with poverty, insecurity and corruption as our national legacy.

    I also considered what I bring to this quest: love and passion for our country and its suffering masses, my leadership track record in nation-building as a senior official of the United Nations for 17 years, in economic management and economic thought as a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and as Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA, and my extensive experience and vast networks in international diplomacy and global business.

    I therefore decided that I want to be part of a peaceful, democratic revolution that will usher in a new leadership and political order in our country.

    Would the party I would join share my vision of leadership as one of service and accountability? Would it be focused on the youth and our future while inclusive in its membership? Would it be nation-wide in its spread and appeal as opposed to an ethnic or sectional focus? And would the party, from the standpoint of electoral strategy, be a viable platform with a structure to prosecute the struggle for a New Nigeria that is focused on the future and not the past?

    Once I was done with thinking all this through, I knew I was ready — I knew I had to choose the Young Progressive Party. Because it answered my questions in the affirmative. The rest was detail, consultation, and a wide-ranging accumulation of data and information across the country and across a series of hard-nosed operatives, thinkers and doers.

    The Young Progressive Party is a great dare, a tantalizing promise, a notice of evacuation to Nigeria’s recycled political class.

    I weighed the case against casting my lot with this party. I heard some cynicism: ‘it hasn’t been done before’. And then I heard this: ‘Politicians will not take you seriously’.

    As they will undoubtedly come to see, the cynics are on the wrong side of history. I want to be part of that army that proves our hopes right and our fears wrong. Great leaders often take their countries and their followers along uncharted waters. They arrive at successful transformations made possible by the will to BELIEVE in possibilities. That belief has to be backed by the courage to act on their convictions.

    So I am here today to announce that in response to the parties of the past, in response to umbrellas that block out the light of hope, and brooms that sweep away truth and replace them with lies, in response to the parties of tired old tricks and tired old systems and tired old men, I and millions across Nigeria will choose the Young Progressive Party — YPP — the party of today and tomorrow.

    This is, importantly, an organizational choice. The Young Progressive Party has over the past year set up full and final structures — extensive offices, with an extensive pool of party officials, operatives, volunteers across the country. This is a grassroots-oriented party. Matched with our historic network and cell leaders across Nigeria in every one of the 6 geo-political zones of the country, this is a union made in possibilities.

    There is also the symbolism, and there is no more powerful symbol of the kind of campaign that we have chosen to run. Rather than cast my lot with those who have brought Nigeria to its knees, I choose to make a bold statement: I choose to cast my lot with the youth of Nigeria. Not just by words, but by action.

    Ladies and gentlemen of our beloved country, our time has finally come.

    Our excuses have finally met their match in action, our dreams have finally found expression, our energies have finally found a machine.

    The time has come for you to stop complaining about Nigeria from your office canteen. The time has come for you to stop complaining about Nigeria from the comfort of your school hostel. The time has come for you. If you have been looking for a platform party with the machinery to disgrace those who believe Nigeria belongs to them, the Kingsley Moghalu Support Organization (KIMSO) and the Volunteers of our To Build a Nation (TBAN) Movement, together with the Young Progressive Party is the full and final answer to your question.

    I need you. I need every single Nigerian of voting age to join this party. I need you who are tired of the way Nigeria is run to pick up a form and join this party. And then if you want to run for office — and you should, if you have the capacity — then I also need you to pick up a form and contest for office. We need those who want to shake up the House of Representatives, to shake up the House of Assembly and shake up our Local Government councils across Nigeria to join us now, and to work with us to execute our plans.

    I chose this party because I want to inspire Nigerians to look to the future and not to the past. Without your help though, without your active involvement — without you choosing this very minute to go to www.yppnigeria.com.ng or a party location near you, pick up a form that you can fill in just 10 minutes, and join this party, then it will not happen.

    This is not about me. This is not about the Young Progressive Party. This is not about my colleagues. This is not even about the presidency. This is about you. This is about changing the way politics is done in this country. This is about transforming the kinds of candidates and elections we have in this country. This is about dramatically increasing the quality of the hands and minds that stand for election and become your leaders.

    Today, I have made a stand for Nigeria and for its future. And today I wait for you — to put your action where your mouth is. Now.

    Not tomorrow. Not next time. Not later, fellow Nigerian, now.

    Join me in the difficult work that stands ahead of us as we seek to contend with and then remake the political realities of this country and the path that we must take to show Nigerians that it is possible. It can be done.

    Let’s get to work.

     

  • Kingsley Moghalu for President – Femi Aribisala

    In just a few months, Nigerians go once again to the polls to choose our next president. This is the opportunity we have to determine our destiny. It is a civic duty that comes only once every four years. Therefore, it must be entered into like a marriage; soberly and with full presence of mind.

    Of those who have expressed interest in seeking our vote, one man stands head and shoulders above the rest. That man is Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu.

    Moghalu has what it takes to be Nigeria’s next president. He is experienced, but not antediluvian. He is young but not naïve. He is not a lackey of the old guard but not abhorrent to them. He has both a national and an international pedigree. Moreover, he is a visionary, very intelligent and highly driven. He is our very own Emmanuel Macron, a man destined to change the course of Nigeria’s political landscape.

    With Moghalu’s election as president, certain problems that have bedeviled us of recent will be things of the past. With President Moghalu, there will be no more apologetics for the murderous onslaughts of Fulani herdsmen. As a matter of fact, one of his cardinal policies is to increase the Nigeria Police from its measly 350,000 strength to 1.5 million.

    With President Moghalu, there will be no more agitation for the dismemberment of Nigeria. Instead, his very election will heal our wounds and calm frayed nerves. What he proposes is a return to “true federalism.” Says Moghalu: “The political and constitutional structure of Nigeria affects its economic management, in our case in a very negative manner because the potential productivity of the country’s component regions and states is suppressed by the rent-seeking politics to control absolute power at the center and dispense patronage. This is part of why constitutional restructuring for a true federalism is essential.”

    With President Moghalu, politics will not overshadow policy. Quoting John F. Kennedy, Moghalu insists: “Politics is too important to be left to the politicians.” He says: “It is time to act on the reality that Nigeria will not achieve economic development and transformation on the current trajectory of its politics. The present political leadership class simply does not have the skills and the background that are fit for purpose. Technocratically competent and visionary political leaders are what it will take to reposition the Nigerian economy for sustainable growth and transformation.”

    Kingsley Moghalu first came on my radar when Financial Nigeria flew him to London in 2012 to deliver the keynote address at the Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF). Then, he presented a lucid paper entitled: “Prospects of Financial Stability in Nigeria and the Links to Economic Transformation.” A year later, I had the distinct privilege of being asked to review his book: “Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s Last Frontier Can Prosper and Matter;” a book that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala describes as “a tour de force on Africa’s transformation.”

    As I observed at the time, Moghalu’s Africa is quintessentially African. It is not borrowed. It is not a copycat. It is not stolen. It is not reliant on European blueprints or leftovers. It is endogenously African.

    His siren is an African version of Obama’s “yes we can.” Yes, we can transform our economies within a generation. Yes, we can do it without undue reliance on foreign aid. Yes, we can create our own endogenous technology without relying on the pipe-dream of technology transfers. Yes, we can renovate, innovate, and modernize by forming a nexus between politics and economics.

    But now, Moghalu’s focus is firmly trained on Nigeria. In a new book, launched just this February 2018, entitled: “Build, Innovate and Grow (BIG): My Vision for Nigeria;” Moghalu presents a blueprint for his bid for the presidency. This new book is quite simply a masterpiece of innovative ideas and policy prescriptions designed to renovate, re-build and grow our economy and polity.

    What you get from Moghalu is not politics but policy. That is why he needs to stay well away from the PDP and the APC; odd-jobbers mired in politics without policy. Listen very carefully to the cacophonies emerging from these two major national parties at this crunch moment in our history, and you will discover that there is no policy debate whatsoever; just a bitter and vicious struggle for power and patronage that, in the APC especially, even results in killings and assassinations.

    We have had enough of this. The time is long overdue for the likes of Kingsley Moghalu to engineer a hostile takeover of Nigerian politics at the ballot box. We need to forge a new departure. What we need are men and women like Kingsley Mogahalu up and down the ballot in order to build a new Nigerian political class, a new Nigerian political culture and a new Nigerian political future.

    The Nigerian electorate must come of age. We cannot continue in the failed tradition of electing leaders who don’t have a clue what government entails in 21st century Nigeria. We need to admit that the failure of government in democratic Nigeria is a failure of the electorate. We have failed to put the right people into power. We have failed to apply wisdom in the voting booth. Instead, we have opted for the stolen-monied, the charlatan, the snake-oil salesmen, the smooth-talking babalawos, and the wise-cracking ethnic jingoists.

    It is past time for something different; something avant-garde; something forward-looking; something innovative and imaginative. We need something not mired in the age-old ethnic diatribes, something with a new vision and perspective, something that harnesses the latent potentials of Nigeria into our very own Unbound Prometheus. Says Moghalu: “We must create a rising tide that lifts all boats, not just those of relatives and tribesmen and women.”

    Our motto today should be out with the old: in with the young. Out with the politicians: in with the technocrats. Out with the primordial: in with the cutting-edge. Out with the ethnocentric and tribalistic: in with the inclusive and nationalistic.

    Look around the world we are in today, the old is making way for the new. Look at the success-stories of the African continent and you will find men and women like Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Ameena Gurib-Fakim of Mauritius. These are the beautiful ones the likes of whom are not yet born on the Nigerian political landscape. Look farther afield and you find dynamic men like Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Emmanuel Macron of France. That is the way of the world today that still remains anathema in Nigeria to our detriment.

    Not anymore! Says Moghalu: “An economy cannot be managed to progress that is beyond the vision, capacity and competence of the political leadership, regardless of how many brilliant technical economists abound in a country. If the political leadership lacks vision, is venal and focused on other priorities, sound technocrats can’t achieve very much. Their full potential contribution will be suppressed by political decisions above them, usually taken in caucuses at night in places that are not offices.”

    What this means is that Nigeria needs to leap-frog into the 21st century. Our persistence in recycling old cargoes must come to an end. We cannot afford to continue to elect abject failures in the hope that somehow, they will one day succeed. We can no longer afford to elect as president politicians who are sick and ailing. We don’t need famous men who specialize in doing nothing. This is the jet age and Nigeria is lagging too far behind. We must run much faster if we are ever to stand the chance of catching up. We have no business with “go-slow.”

    Since our gerontocratic oligarchs have refused to go into voluntary retirement, let us throw them all a send-off party in the 2019 election. Let us elect a completely new slate of leadership more in tune with the yearnings of our 200 million population. With the Asian tigers already on the move, let us release the Nigerian cheetahs and the lions from the reservation. It time to renovate, innovate and be motivated. This giant called Nigeria must be woken up from its 60-year slumber.

    With Moghalu, Nigeria will have a president bursting with ideas. Hear him: “The fundamental solutions to our crisis of economic growth and development lie in leadership. Not the politics-as-usual of the past, but a new kind of politics of ideas. It will take this kind of politics to produce the vision and political will to undertake the necessary economic and institutional reforms.”

    “It will take this kind of politics to educate and mobilize ordinary Nigerians to new ways of economic transformation and their enlightened, collective self-interest in supporting the creation of a new economic paradigm that dramatically cuts down joblessness and poverty. It takes knowledge, which is the true wealth of nations, to even know where to begin, how to proceed, and the direction in which we should be headed.”

    When was the last time you heard a speech by a Nigerian leader that was inspirational? My wife heard Moghalu speaking about his vision for Nigeria for the very first time and was mesmerized. “The man is impressive,” she concluded. This should come as no surprise. Moghalu has the pedigree and experience to bring a new dynamism to Nigerian leadership.

    Over the years, he has been involved in academia, economic policy, banking and finance, entrepreneurship, and law and diplomacy. Among other things, he was a Professor of International Business and Public Policy at the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA.

    He was also Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009-2014, where he led in the execution of extensive reforms in the Nigerian banking system. Before these, he worked at the United Nations for 17 years, rising to the position of Director.

    They thought George Weah could not win, but he is now the President of Liberia. They thought Emmanuel Macron did not have a chance, but he wiped the slate clean and became president of France with a brand-new slate of legislators.

    If you are one of those doubting Thomases who thinks competent, honest and industrious men like Moghalu don’t stand a chance in Nigerian politics, just wait and see. As he continues to crisscross the country, holding town hall meetings, engaging the man-in-the-street and laying the foundation for a veritable political revolution, don’t be surprised when in February 2019, after the first run-off election in Nigeria’s political history, Kingsley Moghalu emerges as the new president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • New breed political forces hold Nigeria intervention summit; Soyinka, Ezekwesili, Utomi, Duke, others in attendance

    Nigeria Intervention Movement (NiM), a Rainbow Coalition of new breed political forces and movements; mobilising towards paradigm shift within Nigeria’s political configuration, has announce that its grand national summit scheduled to hold on Wednesday in Abuja has received a major boost.

    NiM said the grand national summit received the major boost at the weekend from eminent national leaders and front line political activists invited to intervene in the political future of Nigeria at the summit.

    According to a statement issued by Mallam Naseer Kura on behalf of the Summit Organising Committee on Sunday in Abuja, the historic event has received nod from Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, eminent Jurist, Prof Ben Nwabueze SAN, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman (Rtd), Colonel Abubarkar Umar Dangiwa, Mr Donald Duke, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Waba Senator Shehu Sanni, Dr Olu Agunloye among other senior citizens and leaders of thought across the six geo political zones, who have agreed to address the country at the Grand National Summit.

    According to Kura, the Summit Spokesperson, key among those who are still being expected to send in their address to the summit Secretariat on Sunday are Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Gen TY Danjuma, Dr Paul Unongo, Chief Edwin Clark, among other leaders of thought already invited to address the Nation at the historic national convergence, which is designed to bring together both old and new generation of political leaders in Nigeria, for the first time, towards finding an appropriate political road map for Nigeria’s troubled democracy, while facilitating a grand political coalition of fresh breed political leaders ahead of the 2019 elections.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, these elders and leaders, given their experience in the political affairs of the country as well as their past roles in the life of the country, at one point or the other, have been invited to address Nigeria’s past, in order to provide a veritable political compass for emerging fresh breed leaders in navigating the future for the country.

    “The grand summit, which starts at 10am on Wednesday, promises to be a very fertile ground to breed national understanding and reconciliation is also conceived as a serious intervention to re set the future of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy which presently skewed against the majority of Nigerians, as many young emerging political leaders will be provided the rare opportunity to interact and share their aspirations with the invited political veterans at the national confab.

    “Some of the burning issues rocking the political fabric of country to be agreed and sorted, once and for all, at the summit, holding at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja is; Inclusive democratic review of the Nigerian Constitution, Referendum, equitable political structure for Nigeria, popular democratic system of government suitable for the country, Sovereignty of the Nigerian Peoples, Peoples’ Right to self determination, 2019 general elections and the options for masses, among others,” the statement read.

    The event which will be co-chaired by Dr Olisa Agbakoba SAN & Dr Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa is expected to come out with communiqué on the future of Nigeria with the theme: birthing an equitable and prosperous democratic Nigeria at a special interactive session with media Editors on Thursday.

    Some of the young aspiring leaders who are invited to the Summit include, political aspirants like, Mr Fela Durotoye, Mr Kingsley Moghalu, Dr Chris Nwaokobia, Mallam Adamu Dauda, Mr Jaye Gaskia, Mr Omoyele Sowore, Ms Toyosi Akerele, Mr Abayomi Mighty, among other 35 young leaders aspiring to lead the country in various capacities.

     

  • #MoghaluDeclares: Kingsley Moghalu declares for president [FULL SPEECH]

    Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has officially declared to contest the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2019 general elections.

    Moghalu made his declaration for the Presidency today at the World Press Conference, Musa Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Abuja.

    Read his full speech:

    With love for our country and a fierce commitment to a vision of rapid progress for our more than 180 million citizens, and following wide-ranging consultations, I offer myself to serve you as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as from May 29, 2019. I therefore intend to be a candidate in the 2019 presidential election. I seek the opportunity to offer our country visionary, purposeful, competent leadership to build our future.

    Nearly 60 years ago, our Founding Fathers Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Chief Obafemi Awolowo envisioned a great country that would take its pride of place in the world based on the talents of its citizens and a constitutional federation that would ensure justice, equity, and economic productivity.

    Their vision and hopes have yet to materialize — military rule, oil booms and busts, and the successive leadership failures of our civilian political class have combined to rob us of what seemed our destiny at independence.

    I am standing here today saying that it is time we shatter the downward spiral to nowhere.

    I am here today, standing with the 110 missing girls of Dapchi and their grieving family, and with the traumatized young women of Chibok, those with us and those still in captivity.

    I am here today standing with 180 million Nigerians, in addition to thousands of businesses struggling to share a measly 4000MW of electricity.

    I am here today standing with the 100 million Nigerians experiencing crushing poverty, living on less than 300 naira a day.

    I am here today because 33 million of our able men and women are unemployed or underemployed, nearly 15 million children are out of school, and only 60% of Nigerians are literate.

    I am here today because our hospitals are understaffed and mismanaged death traps, and women are still subject to horrific prejudices and devastating early marriages.

    I am taking this stand, here and now, because Nigeria today is divided by ethnic and religious conflicts, made worse by corruption. The government has failed in its very first duty of securing our lives as citizens, and we have lost our place in the world. The time has come for us to fix this.

    We are collectively exhausted by these politicians who continually fall in and out of alliances with each other and care nothing for the ordinary Nigerian. They aggravate our fears in the hope that we will continue to keep them in power even though offer nothing new.

    IT IS TIME for a radical change in the political leadership of Nigeria.

    IT IS TIME for a visionary, competent and inclusive leadership that truly cares about our country.

    IT IS TIME for a leadership equipped with the skills, intellect and competence to wage a decisive war against poverty and unemployment.

    IT IS TIME for a Nigeria in which our youth can fulfill their full potential and our daughters can aspire to any opportunity they desire.

    IT IS TIME for a 21st century leader to lead us into a new and different future.

    What we need now is a REAL movement of the people, by the people and, most importantly FOR the people of Nigeria to move our country forward and break with our troubled past. I offer myself as part of that movement.

    We are a nation of great people; as seen by the way Nigerians abroad are thriving. We hear the stories of those who leave home with little more than a hope and a prayer, change the world abroad.

    Nigerians have smarts, ingenuity, drive, relentlessness, vision, and sheer force of will. We must be able to harness our strengths and make them work for us here at home.

    My fellow Nigerians, to quote the immortal words of the late US president John F. Kennedy, “politics is too important to be left to the politicians.”

    We must ask our government hard questions about the promises they made about our security, about power, about civil aviation, about healthcare, about women’s rights.

    The world is changing: time and tide have in several countries swept away old orders and brought in new, more dynamic ones. Nigeria must not remain stuck in its past. We, you and I, can do it for our country too.

    We need to modernize, and quickly. For instance we know that women in leadership and in government can accelerate growth for any economy, yet only 6% of our legislature are women. There are many, many competent, smart women who are more than ready to dig in and work together to rescue this country. We must draw them out and ensure that their voices are heard.

    We must stop recycling failed politicians and regenerate our leadership ranks with competent and experienced young men or women. Youth who have prepared themselves with the relevant qualifications must take over the mantle of leadership because this struggle is about the future of Nigeria, not its past.

    The battle to reorient Nigeria into a strong, capable country requires competence, capacity, and character. And as a citizen who aspires to be President I possess all three.

    If it is about competence: my work as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria who played a leadership role in rescuing and stabilizing the Nigerian banking system after the global financial crisis speaks for itself.

    If it is about capacity, my work in the United Nations reconstructing countries torn by civil war or reforming the internal workings of the world body is there for everyone to see.

    If it is about character, well, talk to my colleagues, mentors, friends, and of course my family and listen to what they have to say. Strong, knowledgeable guidance is needed as Nigeria navigates these difficult waters, and I offer myself for service with a solid track record of leadership.

    I’m not here to tell you that there are quick, easy solutions to our nation’s problems. Far from it. Decades of economic and leadership mismanagement cannot be undone in a few short weeks or months. Things will be difficult and painful choices will have to be collectively made.

    What I am here to tell you is that:

    TOGETHER, we can choose a NEW path.

    TOGETHER, we can set a BOLD agenda.

    TOGETHER, we can deliver for ourselves a DIFFERENT outcome.

    Nigeria will achieve greatness.

    I have not announced today the party platform on which I intend to contest for the presidency. My focus for now is the people of Nigeria and not on party platforms that have in the past been mere vehicles for capturing political power.

    While I have been approached by a number of political parties, the movement that I am part of will decide which one we will join. That decision will be based on commonality of vision and the IMPERATIVE of a generational shift in leadership, and we will announce this decision in the coming weeks.

    Based on such a decision, we shall seek to build a formidable coalition of parties for the presidential election that together will represent a clear and credible alternative to the failed political leadership class that has enthroned corruption and incompetence in the governance of our country.

    It is important that we begin to focus more closely on the individuals seeking elective office in our country and their qualifications in terms of character, competence, capacity, and track record.

    We have traditionally focused of platforms and structures that, though a necessary part of the democratic process, in our national experience have mainly delivered the wrong candidates. Naturally, those candidates have gone on to be failed leaders. It is good candidates that will create credible political parties. Visionless parties cannot produce the best candidates.

    THE POLICY AGENDA

    My vision for our country is set out in my new book BIG (Build, Innovate, Grow) which was released two days ago. In summary, however, the agenda of a government under my leadership includes the following:

    Leadership and Governance

    · Compose a world-class, “first eleven” team based on merit and inclusive governance to drive government policy. We will be ready on Day One. The appointment of all senior officials of the Presidency will be announced within 48 hours. My government will enthrone evidence-based public policy, strategy and risk management as tools of effective and modern governance.

    · Establish and propagate through the educational system a foundational philosophical worldview for the Nigerian state, around which all Nigerians will unite in a common purpose

    Nation-building

    · Lead a consultative political process, in cooperation with the National Assembly, to achieve a constitutional restructuring of Nigeria and return our country to true federalism for stability and prosperity by 2021.

    · Implement a 50:50 gender parity policy in all political appointments — nearly double the ratio recommended by the National Gender Policy of 2008.

    · Establish and implement a Diaspora engagement and return policy and strategy as a new, fundamental component of our national quest for development as has been the case in China, India and Israel. My government will build the Diaspora

    Commission approved by the National Assembly into an effective, world-class institution to accomplish this important agenda.

    · Fundamental overhaul of the Nigerian Police Force that will emphasize training, equipment, and boosting the strength of the Force by recruiting at least 1.5 million policemen and women, up from the grossly inadequate present force strength of 350,000.

    Economy

    · Establish an innovation-led economy, with intellectual property and commercialization of local innovation as its bedrock.

    · Establish a Venture Capital Fund with a minimum of N500 billion as a public-private partnership to invest in the creation of new businesses by presently unemployed youth in Nigeria; the new businesses created with support from this fund will in turn create new jobs. The fund will be managed by private sector partners while the Federal Government of Nigeria will be a core investor.

    · Reform energy policy to create an enabling environment for Nigerian households to be powered by renewable energy while industrial zones are served by gas and hydro-powered energy.

    · Fundamental reform of Nigeria’s healthcare system to assure quality healthcare for Nigerian citizens and remove the need for medical tourism abroad. Healthcare will have 15 per cent of Nigeria’s budget in line with the Abuja Declaration of the African Union in 2001. A world-class hospital will be established in each of the six geopolitical zones at a federal university teaching hospital.

    · Fundamental reform of Nigeria’s education system to create skills and human capital that will drive Nigeria’s industrialization and job creation. Education will be allocated 20 per cent of the federal government budget, with a progressive increase to 30 per cent over eight years.

    CONCLUSION

    I am here today because I want what is best for my country.

    We have no godfathers. We are just ordinary Nigerians who want a future that is very different from the sad reality of broken promises and unfulfilled national potential that has been the lot of the Nigerian people for far too long.

    But we know that, with your support we can bring about real progress in our country. To accomplish this, however, every citizen aged 18 years and above must obtain his or her Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and vote in the 2019 elections.

    Fellow Nigerians, this movement of the people, the REAL coalition of everyone and not a select few, belongs to you. Because it truly belongs to you, it will be accountable to you, the people. For this reason, we need to crowdsource our intellect and resources to move this country forward. To support the movement, go to www.tobuildanation.com

    We must refuse to allow the political elite to continue to intimidate us with the idea that no one can displace them. They boast they will outspend us and more.

    But we say to them: Nigerians will not be taken for a ride yet again. The time to sit on the fence is past, ladies and gentlemen.

    I’d like to end my speech by thanking my family. My lovely and ever supportive wife, who always challenges me to be the best man I can be. Thank you, dearest. To my sons and daughter, continue to be the amazing, talented people you are. I am so proud of you.

    Nigeria, we can do this. Let’s get to work!