PROTOCOLS: The President & Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces, General Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, our amiable First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Aisha Buhari, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, The APC Chairman, Distinguished Senator Abdullahi Adamu, our very own delegates from every local government of our nation Nigeria, Invited Guests & Observers both local and foreign, Gentlemen of the Press, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
Please permit me to stand on the well-established existing protocol.
MAY I RESPECTFULLY ASK YOU TO MAINTAIN COMPLETE SILENCE WHERE EVER YOU ARE FOR A MOMENT FOR THE VICTIMS OF COLD BLOOD MURDER ACROSS THE LAND ESPECIALLY THOSE MURDERED LAST SUNDAY AT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OWO, ONDO STATE. MAY THEIR SOUL REST IN PEACE.
GOD FORBID THAT WE LEAD WITHOUT BEING COMPASSIONATE AND SENSITIVE TO THE PAINS OF OUR CITIZENS.
Ladies and Gentlemen and our dear delegates, History is lived forward and it is written in retrospect.
And those who do not learn from history will repeat the blunders of history till they become history.
Thank God that I have a living witness in this arena tonight.
11 years ago on January 15, 2011, I received a call from the then General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) inviting me to be his running mate in the 2011 presidential elections on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the predecessors of our great party, the All Progressives Congress. (APC).
In convincing me to accept his invitation despite my initial hesitation, our leader, now President Muhammadu Buhari, said to me that he chose me because having examined my records and trajectory, he was convinced that should the need arise, he could confidently hand Nigeria to my care, assured that I could hold the nation together.
THE TIME IS NOW AND THE HOUR HAS COME. TONIGHT, I AM NOT HERE TO STEP DOWN.
BY THE GRACE OF GOD I AM HERE TO STEP UP WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE DELEGATES AS THE 16TH PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Dear Delegates as we converge in our nation’s capital to collectively take a historic step towards the realization of a nation that works.
I recall again with nostalgic feelings, the very day APC was born in this same Eagle Square, Abuja, on February 06, 2013. It was my unique privilege to move the motion for the merger of the then legacy parties that today constitute the All Progressives Congress.
From that day till now, I had participated in different measures and ways to move our nation forward both behind the scenes and right in the open through the different platforms and fora that Almighty God has graced me with.
Today, I am offering myself to close the distance between the Nigerian reality and every Nigerian Dream.
I will by God’s grace, unlock the power of public policy to accelerate the transformation of our nation.
I will infuse our young people with a surge of hope for what is possible. I will lead the most inter-generational administration in our nation.
I will roll my sleeves up and work to solve Nigeria’s most intractable problems
in order to build a cutting-edge nation at the forefront of innovation.
I will by God’s grace create a new dynamic of belonging in which everyone has a seat and a say.
Dear Delegates, if and when you give me the mandate to be your flag bearer and to lead our party to a predictable victory in the 2023 National election, I
promise here and now before you all, my commitment to the realization of a
New Nigeria for every Nigerian.
As President, my administration will deliver on 4 mandates, namely: Peace, Progress, Prosperity and Possibilities.
*The Peace Mandate will achieve our Policy Thrust on Nationhood, Leadership, Governance and National Security. Without Peace, there cannot be increase or progress in any domain.
**Through The Progress Mandate: we will cater to Human Development Sectors including Education, Healthcare as well as Family and Social Development.
***The Prosperity Mandate will cater to our policy thrust on Vibrant Economic Management & Infrastructure Delivery.
Through the Prosperity Mandate, we will rebuild Nigeria’s economy around 6 competitive geo-economic zones and industrialize Nigeria around the hub-and- spoke model of industrialization.
This will see the emergence of industrial cities in each geo-economic zone made of several industrial clusters.****
This will lead to massive job creation in each zone and in every region for the vast army of job seekers and by so doing crime rate will drop across the length and breadth of our nation.
****The Possibilities Mandate will cater to our policy thrust in Science, Technology and Innovation; Foreign Policy Sustainability and Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Sports.
To further achieve the Possibilities Mandate, we will establish regional Science, Technology and Innovation Parks in each of the six geo-economic zones.
In addition, we will institute an endowment fund and work with the Private Sector to turn our Arts, Culture, Entertainment, Tourism and Sports (ACETS) into our National Assets.
To finance the Nigerian Geo-economic Development Plan (N-aGDP) I will be the Marketer-in-Chief of Nigeria’s economic potential.
***** I will lead Nigeria with the conviction that a clear-cut National vision can
unleash enormous wealth for our nation.
A bankable National business model, creatively and passionately communicated, can alter the flow of wealth in the direction of our nation.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I WAS ASKED RECENTLY WHAT IS MY BIG IDEA FOR A NEW NIGERIA?
Dear Delegates, my BIG IDEA for a new Nigeria is the cutting-edge philosophy of governance.
If I am elected President, together with highly competent Nigerians from across Nigeria and the diaspora, I will make Nigeria a cutting-edge nation.
A nation in which government is nimble and agile, proximal in impact, technology-facilitated, knowledge-driven, wisdom governed, service-oriented and Glocal in outlook.
Making Nigeria a cutting-edge nation is the cornerstone of my plan to guarantee a “New Nigerian for every Nigerian.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
In the course of our screening and as I met people and some of our delegates, I was asked two major questions:
#1. What plan have we put in place to visit the delegates in every state of the nation as some of the aspirants have done crisscrossing the nation?
#2. And what is my experience in government amid other aspirants some of whom have been Vice Presidents, two-term governors, two-term senators, ministers of the federal republic and senate presidents?
MY GENUINE ANSWER TO THE FIRST QUESTION IS HOW EFFECTIVE IS GOING AROUND MEETING THE CROWD AND INDUCING THEM WITH MONEY AS WE HAVE READ IN THE NEWSPAPERS?
Dear delegate, a destructive means cannot bring about a constructive end. If you vote for those who buy your vote with dollar rain, you have given them the power to rob you with their pens for the next 4 years.
You cannot put cats in charge of your fried meat and complain later that they
have swallowed your fried meat.
PART OF BUILDING A CUTTING-EDGE NATION IS LEVERAGING ON TECHNOLOGY.
MANY OF THE DELEGATES WILL TESTIFY THAT WE HAVE REACHED THEM THROUGH BULK SMS, ROBOT CALL IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES & GRAPHICAL DISPLAYS FOR THOSE WITH ANDROID PHONES.
IN ADDITION, RIGHT HERE THE DELEGATES ALSO HAVE A PERSONAL LETTER WRITTEN AND SIGNED BY ME TO EACH DELEGATE IN WHICH WE INDICATE THE DIFFERENCE WE WILL MAKE IN GOVERNMENT.
HOW ABOUT EXPERIENCE?
This is the Moment of Truth.
Dear Delegates: MANY EXPERIENCED PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT US TO THE SORRY STATE OUR NATION IS RIGHT NOW.
There is no doubt that experience counts but if you care to know experience alone may not help in moments of national calamities, crises or danger.
For example, if one compares the experience of Goliath and that of David, the shepherd boy, it is very easy to conclude that David was a novice and did not have the experience to face Goliath in battle. But experience failed Goliath that day. (See 1 Samuel 17:31-51.)
As I mentioned earlier, our nation is in serious crisis today because our elected or appointed officials have used their experience to benefit themselves, their families and their cronies at the expense of the larger society.
Consequently, to reverse this trend, we do not need to elect novices and but we must look for more than just experience to reverse this evil trend.
What is needed in this hour in the governance of our nation with its multi- dimensional problems is far beyond experience.
It will require a genius to steer the ship of our state in the midst of serious storms that we face.
Elbert Hubbard defined the word “Genius” as
“The ability to act rightly without precedent—the power to do the right thing
for the first time.”
My name is TUNDE BAKARE and by God’s Grace, I am endowed with these qualities. Please go ahead and vote for TUNDE BAKARE tonight in order to make Nigeria the Peace, Progress, Prosperity and Possibilities Capital of the world.
Thank you for listening. God bless you, God bless our party APC, and GOD Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
May God Almighty raise for us geniuses at all levels of government who will
not only do things right but always do the right things. Amen.
APC: PROGRESS.
Tunde Bakare
