Why I want to lead Nigeria: Tinubu [Complete text]

Before the election on Saturday, Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, wrote an open letter to Nigerians on Thursday.

At the extraordinary convention in June 2022, the former governor of Lagos and co-founder of the ruling party received the presidential ticket.

Despite concerns about his fitness and health, Tinubu ran for office and promised Nigerians a better life.

Before the election on Saturday, Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, wrote an open letter to Nigerians on Thursday.

At the extraordinary convention in June 2022, the former governor of Lagos and co-founder of the ruling party received the presidential ticket.

Despite concerns about his fitness and health, Tinubu ran for office and promised Nigerians a better life.

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The former senator praised the “enthusiastic masses” that came out to greet him and other APC officials in his letter on Thursday.

According to Tinubu, who interacts with people across the nation, the APC “enjoys immense goodwill among the vast majority of our people” despite its difficulties.

Here is the complete text:

“There are obvious reminders of the significant contribution the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has made to infrastructural development in all the states we have visited, including rural and urban roads and expressways, contemporary railroad tracks, as well as improved airport facilities, among others.

Millions of our poor and vulnerable citizens have benefited from the Buhari administration’s numerous social intervention programs. Regarding the sheer transfer of resources to the underprivileged segments of the population, not just in our nation but also throughout Africa, the sums distributed to these categories of our people are unprecedented.

“It is amazing and ironic that those in power for 16 years made much more money from oil than we did, yet failed to address either infrastructure or poverty in a way that was effective. They now have the audacity to criticize the APC government.

We were able to see for ourselves on our campaign trips that you, our people, are not being misled. Of course, we are aware of the difficulties our people face and the problems facing our nation. Better conceptualized and expressed policies could have been able to reduce some of these. The fact is that no human group can have a perfect government.

“Some of the issues have a global origin, such as the unexpected COVID-19 epidemic that caused economic disruptions across the globe or the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that has hampered the supply of food and fuel globally.

“It is evident to me that the Buhari government has made many commendable contributions in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, and poverty eradication. We must expand on these successes. There are some industries where we must change our methods and emphasize new priorities.

“It is evident that the Nigerian President’s office is not one of joy. Instead, it will call for the next President to work tirelessly and with the utmost focus, determination, and commitment.

“I solemnly swear that my Vice-President and I will give our all to work for the greatest happiness and well-being of the largest number of Nigerians.

“As the governors of our respective states, Senator Shettima and I have proven track records of excellence in public service. I led a team of gifted, hardworking, imaginative, intelligent, and purposeful individuals in Lagos, where I served as governor for eight remarkable years. We recalibrated governance and established new standards in good governance, which have since continued to drive the state’s growth and development.

“It wasn’t by accident that Lagos State has the fifth-largest economy in Africa. It is the result of persistent hard work and innovative management. We want to show that the energy and capability that transformed our states and brought wealth to all Nigerians can be demonstrated on a national scale.

Our administration will fight to bring prosperity to our nation and ensure that poverty is finally put to an end. To do this, we will redesign our security architecture to increase the ability of our armed forces and security organizations to ensure the safety of our citizens’ lives and property.

“This will allow our farmers to completely return to their farms, increasing food output and lowering food prices as a result. We will take action to raise farmer incomes and raise living standards in the rural areas that make up the majority of our population.

“We will use our innovation to significantly increase the nation’s potential to generate revenue so that we can appropriately fund and significantly raise the caliber of social services in a variety of sectors, including housing, healthcare, and education.

We are adamant about putting an end to the ongoing strikes by unions at our public colleges. In order to entice many of the medical professionals who have emigrated to other countries to return home, we will ensure that the facilities and welfare programs in our health sector are on par with the best in the world. One of our top priorities will be to ensure adequate and continuous power.

This would greatly increase job opportunities for our teeming young and improve the performance of the industrial sector. We will implement a strong and healthy credit system so that more people can purchase the necessities of life, like as homes, automobiles, and household furnishings, and pay over time. That will have the immediate result of decreasing the incentive to use dishonest methods of acquiring riches.

“In order to combat corruption, we’ll also improve the welfare of the judiciary and encourage it to carry out its duties honorably. At the same time, we’ll increase the anti-graft agencies’ autonomy and give them the proper incentives to make them less susceptible to corrupt inducement.

“We firmly believe that no one of our countrymen should live in squalor because Nigeria is too endowed and lucky for that to happen. We are a talented and diligent people who are destined for greatness. We are committed to providing the visionary and innovative leadership necessary to help Nigeria realize its enormous potential.

We don’t fool ourselves into thinking we are supermen with the power to magically fix every issue facing our nation. But I solemnly promise to be determined to choose Nigeria’s best and brightest talent to assist in realizing our nation’s manifest destiny for the benefit of its citizens and the honor and pride of the black man.

“I urge you to vote for Kashim Shettima and me on the platform of the APC in huge numbers on Saturday to assist actualize this.”

APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will run on February 23, 2023