Tinubu, Atiku, Obi test popularity in Kaduna

Nigerians have taken note and are watching to see how the most popular presidential candidates will deliver on their campaign promises after the 2023 general elections, Daily Trust Saturday reports.

Presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party have all laid out their programmes for the country when, and if, elected president in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

• Witness: How Apostle Suleman escaped gun attack
• After strike: Universities battle to recover lost time

While Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC promised to address Almajiranchi and out of school children in the North, the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, pledged to revive the textile industries in the North while Peter Obi of the Labour Party said he would cultivate the vast lands in the North to feed Nigeria and Africa.

Last week, Kaduna State – the political headquarters of Northern Nigeria, was the centre of political activities when leading presidential candidates with their supporters stormed the Arewa capital in a test of popularity for the nation’s number one position.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu made seven promises; to bring back security, accelerate economic development, complete Mambilla, Zungeru and AKK projects, make the North the hub of agricultural business in sub-Saharan Africa, boast solid mineral exploration in the North, explore and invest in oil and gas, and address the problem of Almajiranchi and out of school children.

Atiku Abubakar made four promises; to bring back security, bring in more jobs and industries, revive Kaduna Textile and complete the Kaduna-Kano, Kaduna-Abuja and Kaduna-Jos Road projects.

Peter Obi made six promises; to deal with insecurity in the country, unify the country, boost the economy, address the problem of out of school children in the north, cultivate the vast land in the north to feed Nigeria and Africa, and to fight corruption.

Interestingly, all three candidates promised to tackle insecurity, revive industries and address Almajirchi and out of school children, the three issues of grave concern to the northern region.

It would, however, be recalled that the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, received some bashings from the public over his response to a comment on why he thinks the North should vote for him in 2023 saying, “An average northerner does not need a Yoruba or Igbo president who is a pan-Nigerian.”

His position did not go down well with members of the public and even the six northern groups as they clarified that the interaction was not to endorse a candidate but to give the people the benefit to hear firsthand what the candidates had to offer the north.

Appearing before the northern elders, under the umbrella of Arewa Joint Committee for an interactive session which was part of a wider interaction with selected presidential candidates to discuss their plans for the region ahead of the general elections, Tinubu who shared his blueprint for Nigeria’s development, promised to ensure the country remains indivisible, achieves greatness together as one. He said his administration will, just like he did upon assumption of office as Lagos State governor; bring out workable policies to ensure that insecurity is nipped in the bud in the North and across the country. 

He promised to get the needed funds to complete both the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station and Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Natural Gas Pipeline (AKK) if elected president in 2023. 

“When completed, the 3,050 MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station will be the largest power-generating installation in the country, and one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Africa while the AKKP is a pipeline planned to transport natural gas from Ajaokuta, in Kogi State to Kano, in Kano State, through several states and urban centres, as part of the Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline.”

The former Lagos State governor also hinted at extending the school feeding programme to students of the Almajiri system as well as offering incentives to their teachers as part of ways to address the challenge of out-of-school children in the North.

While maintaining that education is the greatest weapon against poverty, Tinubu promised to collaborate with state governments to address the challenge of out-of-school children in the country, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) put at 20 million. 

At the Arewa forum, Obi promised that if elected president in 2023, he will positively change the narrative of the country and the northern region.

According to him, Nigeria is not bereft of ideas but institutional weaknesses and lack of political will has affected genuine change that would have bettered the lives of average Nigerians.

On the insecurity ravaging the country, he said, “Once jobs are created and youths are gainfully engaged and made productive, insecurity would be reduced to the barest minimum and will no longer be lucrative,” adding that “security agencies will be adequately equipped to handle all forms of insecurity in the country.”

Meanwhile, Atiku vowed to revive the dead manufacturing industries in Nigeria and the Kaduna textile firms to create jobs and boost the economy of the country.

He, however, said that one of the key issues affecting the performance of MSMEs in the country is the shortage of finance, which he said his administration will tackle with the creation of an Economic Stimulus Fund with an initial investment capacity of approximately $10 billion to prioritize support to MSMEs across the economic sector.

To reduce poverty, he said, he would enhance a minimum of two million micro enterprises’ access to credit annually, paying special attention to non-farm micro-enterprises in the rural communities, institute microcredit schemes for two million home-based income-generating activities directed to poor women and increase in basic skills and vocational training for an estimated one million marginalised and vulnerable populations annually.

Daily Trust Saturday, however, learnt that to further hold politicians accountable, the Centre for Communication and Social Impact in collaboration with the Legal Awareness for Nigerien Women (LAWN) organized a media parley to campaign for inclusive participation of women and youth in politics and government where they sought to get commitment from candidate’s vying for various political positions on including women and youth in governance.

The parley, which had 12 candidates participating, ensured those candidates signed commitments that will better the lives of women and youths in the political processes.

Sources who spoke to our correspondent said Nigerians need to begin to hold leaders accountable and seek the needed change that will move the country.

According to the Acting Executive Director, LANW, Hannatu Ahuwan, “We will monitor their activities and we appeal to their conscience. We hope that it awakens their consciousness to do what they have promised.”

Going beyond the campaigns, she said, “Whoever wins the elections will follow up on promises they made during their campaigns because some of the things we were asking them were their plans for women and youth.

“We will ask some of the youth to follow-up on that person to remind them of their promises to include women and youth in nation building. Depending on the office, we will follow-up on how they will begin to either initiate programmes or legislation that will show that they are actualizing those promises they made.” 

A public commentator, Abdul-Aeez Kadir, said “We should ensure that we write down the promises in a book and publish them so that the candidates will continuously be reminded of what they said.

“The candidates talked about insecurity, agriculture, which is the mainstay of the economy and reviving textiles. Politicians are known for their promises, but I believe compiling the promises in a document form, publishing and circulating it widely will be a way to ensure that they are continuously reminded of the promises they made.

“And when the winner assumes office, we will keep reminding him of the promises he made and the document will be presented to the person so that they are being reminded of what they should deliver on.

“Nigerians should make it a habit of reminding the president of the promises he made, and not just the legislatures, I think any minister coming from the north should be reminded that this is the promise his principal made to the region.

“It should become a condition for that candidate not getting a second term, but of course, it is a bargain chip that if utilized properly, the president will have no option but to implement because politicians are known for not fulfilling promises.”