In the current struggle to clinch the All
Progressives Congress (APC) presidential
ticket for the 2015 general elections, too
many odds seem to be balancing in favour
of former Vice President Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar who indeed has gone ahead of
the park in being the first to declare his
interest, collect the nomination form and
even submit the required document when
others are still struggling to take a
decision.
While other frontline aspirants like General
Muhammadu Buhari, Imo State Governor
Rochas Okorocha , Kano state Governor
Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and
Sam Ndah Isaiah seems undecided on how
to frontally attack the Presidential ticket,
Atiku looks more than prepared for the
2015 race if the steps he has taken so far
is counted in his favour.
Interestingly while former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar declared his intention to
vie for the ticket in September at the Shehu
Musa Yaradua Centre in Abuja, former
Military Head of State General Muhamadu
Buhari took the centre stage at the Eagle
Square also in Abuja on Wednesday
October 15., Another strong contender and
Governor of Kano state Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso also confirmed his intention.
The former Vice President under President
Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku however, went
ahead of the pack to document a policy
position as the main thrust of his
campaign and what will set them apart as
the transformation agenda.
The most proposed solutions simply
outline what his team need do to address
unmet needs and which agency, currently
believed should be in charge of its
implementation and also facilitate
implementation, this is to ensure continuity
with the current administration’s more
sensible initiatives, and solutions will be
aligned with existing instruments and
institutions.
Interestingly, it is believed that too many
Nigerians live in fear of violent crime,
communal clashes, and savage acts of
terrorism. Most feel betrayed by corrupt
and self-serving politicians. Indifferent, ill-
equipped, and often brutal security forces
and a weak legal and judicial system fuel
public distrust of the state and feed into the
widely held belief that institutions don’t
really matter.
The needs of young children, the elderly, or
persons with disabilities barely register in
national development efforts. Even groups
like women and the youth that fall under
the purview of dedicated ministries receive
little tangible support. Disinterest in the
weakest is symptomatic of an increasingly
unresponsive and detached government
that conducts its affair with high level of
impunity.
The issue of ethno-religious tensions and
disputes over titles and entitlements have
eroded social cohesion, undermining
democratic consolidation and – more
recently – threatening national unity and
security. Today, Nigeria and Nigerians
suffer from terrorist attacks in the north, an
insurgency in the Delta, communal
violence in the middle belt, cult wars in the
south, and kidnappings, armed robberies,
and common acts of thuggery throughout
the country, hence the debate in Abeokuta
is expected to exhaustively discuss the
issue accordingly. However, abundant
resource rents and a skewed revenue
allocation model mean that the distant and
insulated federal government does not
have to earn citizens’ trust and that state
and local governments lack the resources
to meet citizens’ needs. Instead of
investing in state capacity, the fortunate
few rely on expensive self-help systems
that give them access to the amenities
other citizens can only dream of, such as
safe and secure housing, reliable water and
electricity supplies, mobility, effective
health care, a real education and personal
protection.
In urban areas, one third of the population
lives below the poverty line, though
perhaps as many as two thirds do not
have enough to meet their basic household
needs, including food, energy, housing,
drinking water, sanitation, health care,
education, and social security. Even those
who get by are more likely to be harassed
than helped by public officials, most
overpay the erratic basic services they
receive, and those who complain are
unlikely to get judicial redress. In many of
the most densely populated areas and
satellite towns, urban dwellers face
constant threats to their property and lives,
and many doubt that citizenship extends
far beyond the right to hand-outs in
exchange for the promise to vote for those
who provide them.
Again, it is believed that access to justice
is a right of all citizens but this is
becoming more and more expensive. With
the level of poverty and financial distress
that many Nigerians face, legal aid could
be the only hope for many who
unfortunately might have a matter before
the courts. The realities however are that
majority of our people do not have the
financial capacity to successfully sustain a
legal action in court either as plaintiff or
defendant/accused. This is more, when
viewed against the fact that majority of our
citizens have forgotten that rights go with
obligations. While the government carries
out unparalleled act of impunity, ‘civil
disobedience’ holds sway amongst the
ordinary member of society.
Despite Nigeria’s impressive growth rate in
the past decades, one of the big challenges
facing the country today is the high rate of
unemployment. The non-inclusiveness of
the impressive growth that the country has
experienced makes the current level of
unemployment unacceptable and
scandalous.
In essence, too many of our young people,
including graduates of tertiary education,
are unemployed. Many of those who have
jobs are underemployed and are engaged
in jobs that pay very little and require very
little of skills that they have acquired in
school. This is painful for these young
people and their families and is wasteful
for our society.
Ironically, every successive government
had embarked on policies they believed
could substantially reduce unemployment
but with little result to show for it. There
was: The attempt to link capital
expenditure to job creation. This failed to
yield the desired results. A National Action
Plan on Employment Creation (NAPEC),
pivoted by the Federal Ministry of Labour
and Productivity in collaboration with the
International Labour Organisation’s (ILO)
Decent Work Agenda (DWA). Central to the
Decent Work Country Programs I (DWCPI
2005-2009) and DWCP II (2010-2015) are
the strategic objectives of employment
generation, social protection, social
dialogue and rights at work in key sectors
of the economy accompanied by regulatory
environment to stimulate the private sector
to complement government effort in job
creation. To date, this is yet to flag up
special job-creation solution for Nigeria.
Rapid population growth as well as years
of neglect and inadequate planning has
meant that resources have not been
effectively allocated to match the
population growth. The country is
confronted with a crisis situation where
young people are completing higher
education year in, year out without any
jobs to go into. Even those who are not
privileged to have the benefit of formal
tertiary education are stuck in the rut of
disguised unemployment in the informal
sectors of the economy. Indeed, youth
unemployment has reached a level where
some commentators have advocated for it
to be declared a national emergency.
The socio-economic consequences of
unemployment are grave. The rising levels
of poverty exhibited in the large number of
hawkers on our city streets and highways,
crimes of different kind and engagement in
other social vices portray unpleasant
signals.
Currently majority of the people are
disillusioned, unskilled and unemployable.
We need to invest in the desired
infrastructure to support job creation such
as power, roads, bridges, schools, ports
and other transportation systems. We will
pay more attention to agriculture and the
excessive reliance on oil which is heavily
capital-intensive and employs little relative
to its dominance in government revenues.
Significant reduction in the rate of
unemployment from 25% to Zambia’s 14%,
(2013) one of the lowest in Africa. Ghana’s
rate stands at 3.6% in 2013. Significant
reduction in youth unemployment from
54% to the national rate of 23.9%
When weighed against all the other
aspirants the former Vice President may
not be enmeshed in the financial quagmire
that seems to be the greatest challenge of
General Muhammudu Buhari still
struggling to convince his backers for
funds to prosecute his primaries.
•Awume wrote in from Lokoja



http://dailyindependentnig.com/2014/12/apc-presidential-odds-buhari/

Another story for the dogs








Since its abt APC











It will get to the FP



















As for me and my family, itz sunday Rice over Politics

odd under him rather

What's this?

Rochas or we are not voting. Rochas is the man Nigeria need

for me if we can get assurance from atiku .....he will not thief our cas then i feel he is better than all aspirant but in APC and PDP
.
.but am sick and tired of coruppt nigeria and thats y i will vote for buhari to clean the system for four years
...then hand over to someone young and smart to move us forward