I will Rescue Nigerians from Hopelessness, Poverty – Moghalu

I will Rescue Nigerians from Hopelessness, Poverty – Moghalu

AREWA AGENDA – Having contested and lost in the 2019 presidential elections, which brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power for the second term, the former presidential candidate of Young People’s Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, yesterday declared his interest to contest again in the 2023 presidential election.

He said he offered himself to contest the election in order to save Nigerians from hopelessness and poverty.

Moghalu, who declared his interest at the Morning Show of Arise News television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said his inability to win in 2019 would not deter him from contesting again as president in 2023, because of his desire to offer himself to Nigerians to bring about the quality leadership that Nigerians truly deserve.

He said he would campaign with a four-point agenda and ensure the implementation of all four agenda in the first four years if elected as president.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deputy governor listed the four-point agenda to include ‘Security, War Against Poverty, Accelerated Development and Good Governance’, which he tagged ‘SWAG 2023’.

He said he would create accelerated development in the areas of education, and healthcare reforms as well as good governance that would encompass inclusive governance, transparent governance, accountable governance and effective governance.

According to him, “My vision for Nigeria in four years is to implement my four-point agenda known as SWAG 4×4, which means four detailed and encompassing agenda in just four years.”

Moghalu, who decried the poor state of the Nigerian economy, said the situation of the country had grown into a deplorable state that needs true leadership to salvage.

He said: “Since 2019, the government of President Buhari has not performed; the government has divided Nigerians as never before experienced; it has left Nigerians poorer than they had ever been, and it has brought unprecedented insecurity to the country.

“The government may have performed in the area of infrastructure, but what makes a country great is certainly not about building railway infrastructure, but about giving hope to the people. What is the use of railway infrastructure to a man who cannot feed? So the government’s report card is weak because it has not performed in security, and has failed in fighting corruption, which it claimed to be fighting.”

Fielding questions as to the timing in declaring his interest to run for the 2023 presidential election, Moghalu said: “It is in the time of crisis and when the horizon looks dark and confusing, when the people are hopeless, that’s when true leadership emerges, and that is why I have declared my interest at this time. I am offering myself to Nigerians, representing a group of people who are increasingly despondent about the future of the country. I am offering myself to bring hope to a group of people who have become hopeless.”

Asked on which political party he intends to run since he has resigned from his former YPP party, he said: “I am only one face of a movement of Nigerians who are tired, hungry, angry and poor. As a movement, we are going to identify the political party of our choice and use that platform to contest for the presidential election, gubernatorial elections, legislative elections and other forms of elections in the country. It is not about me as a person to choose a political party, but as a movement, we will collectively choose party of our choice.”

Reacting to Buhari’s statement that he would deal with South-eastern agitators ‘in the language they would understand’, Moghalu, who described the statement as harsh, said Nigeria needs leadership with a vision and ability to unite Nigerians and bring everybody from all ethnic groups to a common purpose and density.

He explained that the situation in Nigeria has degenerated to what it is today because the country has not produced a leader that is able to unite the people even in their diverse cultures.

The former presidential candidate promised to unite all Nigerians irrespective of their religion and tradition if elected president of Nigeria in 2023.

By Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

Arewa Agenda is a publication of young writers and journalists from Northern Nigeria geared towards peaceful coexistence and national development through positive narratives.