The Canada Chapter of the Progressive Alliance Forum (PAF) has assured national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tirunbu of the readiness of its members to work with others to actualize his presidential dream.
The Forum made their decision known in a letter to the former Governor of Lagos State, stressing that it has noted that, ahead of his formal declaration of interest in the 2023 race, Nigerians from various walks of life have expressed their support for his candidacy for the Number One office.
In the letter to Tinubu, signed by Prof. Murtala J. Balogun and Ibraheem Haruna, the Forum assured that like the rest of their compatriots, “the Forum members fully acknowledge the Jagaban’s contributions to the evolution of Nigeria’s democracy, and the transformation of the APC from its humble beginnings to its current position as a governing party that enjoys the spontaneous and overwhelming support of Nigerians from all walks of life.
“The Forum hopes that if elected, the Asiwaju would bring his wealth of knowledge and experience to accelerate the pace of national reconciliation, stabilization, and sustainable development. As President of Africa’s most populous nation, the Asiwaju would also continue to do what he is best known for– mentoring current and future leaders.”
While not doubting the Jagaban’s capacity to lead Nigeria from an era of civil strife to one of stability and sustainable development, the Forum underscored the enormity of the challenges that whoever is elected President cannot shy away from. The lurch to anarchy is, according to the Forum, the most obvious of these challenges.
“Already, lawless elements (such as kidnappers, bandits, and ISWA-Boko Haram bands of terrorists) have virtually declared war on Nigeria, roaming freely in nearly all the states of the Federation,” stressing that “no presidential candidate who hopes to triumph at the polls can afford to ignore this ugly reality. No candidate that craves a successful tenure can afford to wait until he is elected before coming up with a viable counterinsurgency and national stabilization strategy”.
In readiness for the upcoming challenges, the Forum urged the Tinubu “to start in earnest to constitute think tanks and working groups on counterinsurgency. The outcome of the effort will be the preparation of a roadmap to peace and national integration.” The Forum further advised whoever succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari to give serious consideration to the devolution of powers to state and local governments, as well as the transfer of the resources that the two tiers of government would need to maintain public order in their areas of jurisdiction.
The Forum recognized that no significant breakthroughs in the war on insecurity was possible until the corruption monster in the country is caged. “If the Jagaban decides to run for the office of president,” the Forum noted, “he needs to start thinking in earnest about how to confront the corruption challenge boldly.” The Forum acknowledged the measures taken by the Buhari Administration to bring transparency to the conduct of government business, pointing out that for the first time, portals have been created allowing the average citizen to monitor budget allocations to MDAs. “Even the question of who gets what government contract is no longer shrouded in secrecy. The Treasury Single Account has also vastly curtailed the practice of lodging public funds in private, interest-yielding, accounts. In general, however, corruption still poses a clear and present danger not only to the life and property of ordinary citizens, but also to our country’s survival as a sovereign, indivisible, and prosperous nation. Impunity and exceptionalism particularly create the impression that bad behavior carries no consequence.
The economy is another subject that should, according to the Forum, receive the undivided attention of the incoming Administration. “Apart from instituting measures to diversify the economy and lessen the dependence on oil and on a narrow range of primary commodities, the next President must find a golden mean between total reliance on the hyper-active state and complete capitulation to unhinged, exclusively profit-seeking, market forces. Like the state of which it is part, the economy is not sustainable unless it works for all. As it so happens, the cumulative insurgency, as well as the accompanying social and humanitarian challenges facing Nigeria cannot be tackled by the private sector acting alone. These challenges call for the release of the productive, entrepreneurial development, and capital accumulation energies of the state.
“Even on the off chance that a state chooses to be indolent, it cannot abdicate its responsibility for the maintenance of law and order. Accordingly, whether active or inactive, the state must show more than passing interest in the performance of institutions statutorily mandated to carry out the critical law enforcement and justice dispensation functions. At the very least, instead of harassing law-abiding citizens, the police must see it as its inescapable duty to secure life and property. The courts must, for their part, cease ‘administering justice’, but must, instead, begin to dispense justice fairly and expeditiously.”
The Forum acknowledged that none of the goals set out for the incoming President is attainable “without a merit-based, professionally competent, outcome-oriented, and ethically upright public service.” Therefore, whoever takes over as President in 2023 must turn his searchlight on happenings in the civil service and other state agencies, it stressed, saying that “the civil service, for one, needs to be rescued from the corrosive impact of systematic politicization, corruption, and institutional decay. The first step in this direction will entail commissioning agency governance diagnostics studies allowing state officials, to collaborate with the service beneficiaries, and other civic actors to identify the maladies preventing each agency from serving the citizens equally, promptly, courteously, and without waiting for extra-official gratifications.
PAF said further that “considering the role of public administration in the design and implementation of change, the Asiwaju is strongly advised to place the institution’s rehabilitation at the top of his policy agenda. Among the issues that he will need to address are the mode of recruitment into the public service, the training and retraining of public officials, the revitalization of training institutions, the design and roll-out of Ministerial Performance and Ethical Accountability Contracts, and the re-engineering of public service processes.
“The revitalization of public administration processes must, by logical deduction, proceed pari passu with the enunciation of a new Governance Doctrine. The Doctrine places the ordinary citizen first in all government endeavors. With special emphasis on inclusiveness and on the constant enhancement of the identity-value of the Nigerian citizenship, the Doctrine will target issues of concern to the average citizen, notably, merit, competence, and equitable access to jobs and services. Suffice it to say that the Doctrine leaves intact the federal character provisions of the Constitution, but has no room for the spoils system, talk less of allocation of ‘job slots’ to privileged members of society. The Doctrine’s goal is a state that works for ALL, and leaves none behind.
The PAF, according to the statement, “is a group established by Nigerians in Canada with a view to working with compatriots at home to advance the cause of good governance and sustainable development in their country. Its membership cuts across various states and geo-political zones. Among the Forum’s members are Professor M. J. Balogun, former Special Adviser to the President of the United Nations General Assembly and Focal Point for the enunciation of a new Governance Doctrine; Mr. Ibraheem Haruna, the Forum’s Global Director; Alhaji Najeem Adekunle, Global Director; Nonye Ike Otuonye, Global Director of Women Affairs; Alhaji Yakubu Aminu, National Director; Olaoluwa Aremo, National Youth Director; Kabiru Abbati Dankanti, Assistant National Youth Director; Hajia Mutiat Sanusi, National Women Leader; Taofeek Ishola, National Finance Director, Muhammed Ibn Staki, National Director of Mobilization and Membership Registration; Prince Emmanuel Omadivi, National Director of Media & Publicity, Ade Adesokan, Assistant Director of Media & Publicity and, Otunba Adewale Oshinowo, Patron.”
