The Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adebayo Adewole, has condemned the notion that the problem of Nigeria is a lack of manpower, saying what the country lacks is good and qualitative leadership that can harness the talents and resources in the country for its development.
Prince Adewole stated this on Thursday at a presidential parley organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State, and further averred that the country is blessed with manpower in all fields of human endeavours.
“The country is overwhelmed with manpower; there is no shortage of manpower.” What is wrong with Nigeria, or is the problem with Nigeria’s leadership? There are a lot of people who can do fantastically well if given the chance and opportunities. If I am elected, our party has over 500 competent people who can be brought on board to salvage the situation. There is enough manpower.
“Another question is: When a leader is recruiting, what is his purpose? If you are recruiting people to come and help you cover up, then you will not recruit independent-minded people. If you are recruiting people to help you recover your campaign fund, there will be no progress. Your motive must be right and in tandem with the reality on the ground.
“On the rule of law, all I will say is that I will be under the law, not above the law, while the cost of governance in Nigeria is not a problem but the cost of corruption.”
“Likewise, the subsidy is a fraud; nobody is consuming 7 million litres per day; a lot of these claims are bogus. You find a ship that has never entered Nigeria in the last seven years and people saying the ship is lifting fuel, you will find people making these kinds of claims. If you remove corruption, the cost will come down. And that is what we intend to do if elected.
He further mentioned that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy on cashless transactions cannot yield the desired result, adding that previous governments had embarked on the change of currency without much problem and wondering why Nigerians are going through the present hardship.
He averred that the manifesto of his party is not optional but has a constitutional mandate that is contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution, which is titled “fundamental objectives and principles of state policy.”
Prince Adewole narrated that the SDP will ensure that its government if elected, will conform with Chapter 2 of the Constitution, which also promotes social investment to promote and improve quality of life by providing social amenities.
Adewole lamented the decay of the country’s infrastructure and promised to rejuvenate it and put it to proper use, further emphasizing the urgent need for a departure from the past and present if we must grow as a nation.
“It is like our public institutions are weaker than before; efficiency is no longer there.” The summary is that everything we have built, including fantastic institutions like NIPSS and our universities, has been an apologetic defender of the status quo.
“The reason we haven’t achieved the basic milestones is that we interrogate and criticize those who want to change the status quo, and we also recruit people to join the status quo,” he said.
The presidential candidate advised the electorate to let their values reflect in the way they vote on February 25 this year and shun any indictment that would make them compromise.
“This is your chance to form the government; let your vote reflect in the way you vote.” It is good that you have your PVC, but you must have the sense to know what the issues are on the ground. “So that you don’t use your PCV to imprison yourself, you must be open-minded; forget about your tribe, religion, and other sentiments,” he advised.
