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Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa
By Samuel Torlumun
Convener of The New Nigeria Group, (NNG), and presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP,) Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa has reeled out his administrative blueprint on how to take Nigeria from a developing country to a first-world country.
During an interactive session with journalists Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Mazi Sam stated that his mission is to create a new Nigeria that will be a first world nation, and will work for all.
He envisages a Nigeria under his watch where equity reigns as both minority and majority groups will have a sense of belonging based on fairness and justice.
He further outlined four current challenges facing Nigeria, which according to him, tackling them would lift Nigeria to an industrialized nation.
The advocacy expert said if given the opportunity to salvage Nigeria come 2023, his administration with tackle holistically, poverty, corruption, injustice and insecurity.
Speaking on how to tackle insecurity, Mazi explained that holistic approach would be employed. He said insecurity in Nigeria must be tackled in the light of its causative factors like, job creation, investment into intelligence, sanitizing the justice system, among others.
“Insecurity in Nigeria is caused by several factors. And the way to stop it is to look at the causative factors and remove them.
“It is not just about treating symptoms….So when I become the President of Nigeria, I will first of all secure Nigeria by investing on intelligence, especially on the use of technology, which will help in intelligence gathering. While we do this, we will at the same time be reorienting our security forces, revamping, re-kiting, retraining and re-motivating them. In such a away that, they will be sure of working for a country that values them,” he stated.
Fundamentals to Mazi’s political philosophy is job creation. On this, he explained, it will enable the younger people not to be vulnerable for recruitment by miscreants.
“We will declare emergency against joblessness and poverty. And lastly, we will ensure that justice reigns in our country.
“I am going to be a President when my people are crying, I will also cry. When they are laughing, I will also laugh. I will be part of them, and feel what they are feeling. I can’t be run a country where 100 people are killed and not even a flag is run at half mask. I will declare mourning and gnashing of teeth.
“The primary job of the government is to protect the people, when it fails to do that at sustainable level, it has failed.” He posited.
Concerning corruption which he described as endemic. He argued that most Nigerians can’t distinguish between corruption and lack of it, and that the only corruption Nigerians see is the one others commit not the one they are committing.
Accordingly, Ohuabunwa identifies poverty as the major cause of corruption, and added that his administration will deal holistically with it as every adult must have a means of livelihood.
“We are going to change orientation of our education sector. Where people who go to school to research to memorize to come up with first class, can’t solve any single problem.
“In our new education reorientation, Nigerians will solve problems and learn to create wealth.
“Whatever your course of study is for A’ Level students, in the final year, you will develop a business plan, not a project.
“Government is going to establish Small Business Development Authority, (SBDA) in all the local governments. So after NYSC, they will look into the business plan and determine the investment opportunities or marketing potentials so that they can link you up with financial institutions for a debt”, he explained.
In addition, he said his government with index workers’ salaries in case of inflation or devaluation, as well as ensure unrelenting implementation of rule of law.
The Pharmacist is believed to have had what it takes to steer the ship of Nigeria. He is a successful entrepreneur and investor, who was the former chairman of Manufacturer Association of Nigeria, (MAN), President, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, (NECA), President, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, (NACC), as well as Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, (NESG) and Chairman of Organized Private Sector, (OPS). He was actively involved in the fashioning of Vision 2010 and 2020 documents.
Apart from his private sector’s excellence, he has actively involved in the public sector administration both at the state and federal levels, being chairman governing councils of state’s institutions as well as board members of federal establishments. Some of these include; Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI), National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS), National Manpower Board, (NMB), National Institute for Social and Economic Research, (NISER), Board of Pharmacists Council of Nigeria.
