Opiosko: No, he spoke from the mouth.

Ab2019: TIME FOR CHANGE

Speech by Atiku Abubakar, GCON, former Vice President,

Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the occasion of his

Declaration of Intent to seek the Nomination of the All

Congress (APC) to

Presidential Election, at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.24

I welcome you all to this special gathering. I feel truly

honoured by your presence. That you could attend this

event despite the security and healthcare challenges

facing this country at the moment is all the more

gratifying. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We are all here because we believe that our country can

be made better. We want to see Nigeria develop, prosper

and become the pride of Africa and the Black race. We

are here because we know that change must come and

that change will come because of you.

As I move around this country interacting with regular

Nigerians, I listen to their concerns about unfulfilled

frustrations

Yet I still

determination and hope on their faces.

In spite of the many challenges we face, it is quite

remarkable that our people have refused to give up on

inspiring that amidst

growing anxiety over the future of our country, our

refused to succumb

hopelessness. This never-say-die attitude gives

immense hope and it is one of the reasons why I can

never give up on Nigeria.

The glaring mismatch between our potentials and our

achievements has become for many a frustrating puzzle;

for others it is a topic for national debate; and yet for

doomsday

is

it

progressive and open-minded Nigerian, I consider it a

golden opportunity and a bittersweet chance to display

our courage, rekindle our innovative instinct, showcase

our character and turn the Nigerian dream into reality.

The future of Nigeria is represented here. Nigerians of

my generation, who work tireless to earn a living, striving

to make Nigeria a better place for themselves and their

families, and who are entitled to retire in comfort, are

here. Our youth are represented here. (Please join me in

giving three gbozaas for our youth: Gbozaa! Gbozaa!

Gbozaa!). You, the youth – endowed with fresh ideas,

bubbling energy and a passionate desire for change –

you are the hope of this nation.

can’t talk of a future with hope and confidence.

That is why the 2015 election is about you. It is about

how to ensure that you live safe and secured lives. It is

about making sure that you feed well, receive quality and

affordable education and training, secure good jobs,

support your own families and contribute positively to

country.

our

of

responsible government

citizens. This is what our generation owes upcoming

generations. This is what we must do to guarantee our

country’s future. This is what democracy promises. This

is what our party, the All Progressive Congress (APC),

Our party, the APC, at its inception in July 2013, offered a

great hope for many Nigerians as a potent alternative to

the ruling PDP. We have in our fold selfless leaders who

cherish democratic principles and practice and who

demonstrated their patriotism

Regardless of the loud and lavish political propaganda,

impunity and unjust

sanctions

and

patronage

let me assure

remains strong and capable of fulfilling the nation’s

thirst for change. And we shall do so united across

regions, religions and generations.

I am particularly proud that our party has adopted the

innovative Modified Open Primaries in selecting its flag

bearers at all levels. This will ensure the emergence of

candidates whose mandate will be informed

popular will of the members of our party.

Some people have argued for a generational shift to

younger leaders without much experience.

believe that it is the responsibility of my generation to

offer our political shoulders to the new generation to

improve their vision

horizon. It is this trans-generational collaboration and

partnership that represents the best model to create the

future that we desire and deserve. This is a well-tested

model; the future of this nation should never again be

subjected to leadership experimentation or learning on

similar to the story of many

generation. I was born in a southern Adamawa village to

a nomadic trader and his wife who was a farmer. I grew

up as a shepherd and a farm boy. I was the only child of

my parents. My father had to be imprisoned by Local

Council authorities before he could allow me to go to

At 11, I lost my father and my whole world fell apart. With

the help of my mother, other relatives and friends of my

myself up from this

despair. I faced the future with uncommon confidence,

hope and faith in God. I am where I am today because I

did not give up. I struggled to acquire a good education

because the opportunity was made available.

people never had a chance and their potentials were

never discovered and their contributions to national

development thus curtailed. I worry today that too many

of our young people who could have improved their lives

nation have

opportunities to do so.

In the 20 years that I spent in the Nigerian public service,

I built a solid reputation for myself as a diligent, honest,

innovative staff.

accomplished and fulfilled public servant. That is what

every Nigerian who had diligently served this country

not dehumanization,

politically active in

imagination was captured by a leader, Late Shehu Musa

Yar’Adua, who started with persistent determination and

diligence to construct bridges of understanding and love

divides

ethno-religious

society. He convinced all of us who were bold to defy the

status quo to participate in his noble passion. We were

convinced that it was the only way to preserve our

and establish a

national development.

death, we have continued with renewed vigour to pursue

My politics have always been guided by the enduring

values of fairness and justice, honesty of purpose, the

pursuit of excellence, selflessness and the love for my

country. These values also characterize my conduct in

As Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, I worked

closely with my boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo,

who is also a passionate defender of Nigerian unity. We

our country into

years

following

professionalized our armed forces; we embarked on

economic reforms

Economic Team, which I had the honour to chair. We

focused on macro-economic stability and transforming

critical areas such as banking, insurance, oil and gas,

telecommunication, pension and the Civil Service. We

created novel institutions that should lay the foundation

for good governance and accountability such as the

Bureau of Procurement (Due Process), Economic and

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), SERVICOM, whose

Golden rule is “Serve others as you would like to be

served.” Sadly, most of these institutions are now mere

shadows of themselves.

We also paid off nearly all of our foreign debt which was

crippling the country; we stabilized the exchange rate of

the naira as well as interest rates, and reduced inflation.

What needed to follow was for these macro-economic

gains to be further translated into improved welfare for

With the reforms in the telecommunications sector we

increased the number of functioning telephone lines

from 200,000 at the inception of our administration to

over 70 million by the time we left. Our reforms also led

in the market capitalization

Nigerian Stock Exchange from N400 billion to over N8

trillion by 2007 and to nearly N13 trillion by 2008.

We also handed over well-articulated master Plans for

the development of multi-modal transportation system,

the

for

contract

We also commenced the implementation of

the Gas to Power Master Plan, with a target of 26,000

megawatts of electricity expected to be delivered by

This is the story of the service of an administration,

proud to have been

achievements were made possible because of the vision,

dedication of

leadership is what it takes to make good things happen.

Did we resolve all of Nigeria’s challenges? Of course not!

But no one would say that there was leadership vacuum

or a lack of commitment, plan and execution.

We know the story today. Rather than continuing to pay

our borrowing

increasing even though the price of oil has consistently

been above $100 per barrel since the inception of the

current administration. The percentage of our budget

that is implemented has diminished significantly since

capital projects are poorly cash-backed.

A number of major manufacturers have divested from

Nigeria and relocated to neighbouring countries while

those that remain operate at far below their installed

poor

to

mainly

environment for doing business, and our ranking in

world competitiveness index have worsened. Therefore,

job opportunities for our teeming youth have become

harder to come by. We recall with sadness the avoidable

deaths of job seekers during the poorly organized so-

called Immigration Service recruitment exam just last

Up to this moment no

accountable for those needless deaths.

our

development,

mortality, and poverty and illiteracy levels continue to be

embarrassingly high. Thus, while countries such as

Ghana, Gabon and Botswana are classified by the UNDP

as being at the Medium Human Development Level,

grouped with those

Development Level.

This situation reinforces the urgent need for change. We

cannot continue down this path of national decline.

Resentment, disillusionment and hopelessness are the

emotions on which insecurity and disharmony thrive.

Our country is more divided today than at any other time

since the civil war. There is a disturbing rise in ethnic

nationalism and religious bigotry. This is promoting

social tension and mutual distrust amongst the people

of Nigeria. All over the country, there are daily breaches

of security resulting in loss of lives and properties.

and

kidnappings

continue to ravage many parts of the country. A bunch

of extremist insurgents are hoisting strange flags on

large areas of our territory that they claim to have

Unspeakable horrors

against our people

elements in the name of religion and other causes.

responsibility

a

the on-going

Nigerians. Unfortunately what we have is a serious

governance deficit. To put it bluntly, our country seems

to be on auto pilot with no one in charge.

We need a strong, dynamic, decisive, competent and

visionary leadership that can halt the current drift of the

ship of state, fight corruption, create jobs, rebuild our

social

provide

insecurity in a decisive, robust multi-pronged way. This

is the change we want and deserve and this is the

change the APC is primed to offer. And that is why I am a

proud member of this platform for change.

To fix Nigeria, an APC government will promote a new

socio-political order which will compel the leadership to

always balance power and authority with service and

I have been asked why I am always seeking to become

the president of this country. My passion for governance

is that of a man who wants to do more because there is

so much more to be done in fixing Nigeria. This passion

continues to grow as long as this government is not

really doing the fixing. I have what it takes to bring

people together and turn things around for the better.

Therefore, I want to play a leading role in the trans-

generational efforts to save this country and improve the

With the support of the millions of Nigerians desirous of

change and the hard work by all of us, the APC shall

form the next government of this great nation.

I have, therefore, decided that I will, along with other

respected leaders of our party, seek nomination as a

candidate of the APC to contest the Presidential election

I want to lead a government that will invest in its people

because people constitute the wealth of any nation. I

want to lead a government that will create “A Nigeria for

All”. A Nigeria that is not about North or South, Christian

or Muslim, but about a better tomorrow where every

secure, act with

assurance of the fulfilment of his or her aspirations.

government that will

a

governance with

nepotism, where

dedication are adequately rewarded.

I want to assemble the best brains in the land and

provide the political will and commitment so that jointly,

and with the cooperation of all of you, build a Nigeria of

Nigeria must rise to retake its leadership place in Africa and earn the respect of other nations. This places on us the responsibility of stewardship. It is the consciousness

responsibility

political adventures; and it is this call to serve that I have come to answer once again.

Nigeria must and will be great.

prayers, we will change this country for good. We will

create a country that will truly be the pride of the black

race. We will create a new Nigeria for all Nigerians.

Thank you and God bless Nigeria.

RagaMufeen: waste of money

godunia:
We know ourselves don't worry about us.pir case is like the case of someone standing between the devil and d deep smelling sea.choice have to be made and whichever way it goes it's a disaster yet there are manageable disasters.thats why u see us act d way we do.its either d opposition comes up with someone better or I hate to say GEJ 2019