As the February 16 Presidential election inches closer, Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has called on Nigerians to vote out analog leaders without the capacity to process data, saying data processing challenge is one of the problems hindering development in the country.
Sowore stated this while
fielding questions at a Presidential interactive session in Abuja tagged
“The People’s Debate.” Organised by a Civil Society Organization,
Enough is Enough, EIE in collaboration with Television Continent, TVC,
the debate featured five other candidates made up of Kingsley Moghaluof
the Young Progressive Party, YPP; Donald Duke of the Social Democratic
Party, SDP, Tope Fasua of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party, ANRP; Fela
Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria, ANN and Sani Yabagi Yusuf of
the Action Democratic Party, ADP.
“There is data everywhere but
our analog leaders don’t know how to process data. My government will
right the wrongs,” he said even as he called on Nigerians to support his
quest for the highest office.
He bemoaned the long years of
political decay saying since independence in 1960, the national leaders
have not done what was expected of them.
He said: “For 58 years
now, some wicked political jackals took over the affairs of this nation.
Today, we have a country where people are sad.”
On his part,
Moghalu pledged to announce his cabinet within 48 hours of his
inauguration stressing that for the first time, ministerial designates
would have portfolio attached to them, to enable Senators to drill them
appropriately.
Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN, tasked Nigerians not to make the mistake of 2015,
stating that more than anything else, the electorate should deemphasise
the fault lines that have brought the nation down on its knees.
Many
nations that once faced similar developmental challenges like Nigeria,
he said have moved on, adding that 2019 offers a unique opportunity to
change the narrative.
“Too many Nigerians still don’t have the
basic necessities of life. Malaysia, Singapore, China were once backward
but they have moved on. In 2015, it was anyone but Jonathan; let 2019
not be anyone but Buhari. It is time to elect a capable leader to
harness the creative potentials of Nigerians,” he noted.
He also blamed the nation’s slow pace of development to what he called a lack of economic philosophy.
“Nigeria
has no clear economic philosophy and without one, we can’t move forward
as a nation. Is Nigeria a capitalist nation? If yes, what makes
capitalism work for the common man on the street. I will work for the
abolition of the land use act as a constitutional issue,” he added.
For Duke, access to capital is key even as he lamented the high-interest rate in the country in the past few years.
Durotoye, on joblessness in the country, blamed those who have been in power since the return to democratic governance in 1999.
His words: “Unemployment in Nigeria is man-made and it was created by those who have held power in the past 20 years.”
Yabagi
while fielding question on how he would tackle restiveness if elected
said the welfare of the people would be prioritised.
According to
him, “We will address the issue of stomach infrastructure because it is
very important. The missing link between Nigeria and greatness is
leadership. We have a goldmine but it is being stolen. Corruption is the
issue, if you can address it, investment will come into the country,”
he stressed.
As it happened a few weeks ago, the candidates of
the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, President Muhammadu Buhari, and Atiku Abubakar respectively were
absent at the debate; a development Durotoye jokingly linked to their
unpreparedness to face the tough questions.
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