NIGERIA IN 2015

Dear Nigerians, After three years of challenging governance, higher taxes, depression, and more spending, Nigeria desperately needs return to corporate governance: limited government, lower taxes and balanced budgets. There is the need to fix not only our nation’s economic deficit, but also our deficit of trust and unity. Nigerian and indeed Nigerians are now more divided than ever, and for our nation to move forward together with new leadership and unite, the leadership must first unite, then the followers; who indeed are members of the geopolitical zones which make up our country Nigeria.

Today i campaign to build a better and brighter Nigeria, one void of political self
aggrandizement, autocracy, moral decadence, private and public sector labour exploitation, child abuse/trafficking/labour, strikes, imbalance in our educational systems structure, energy crises, bribery at major points of service delivery, poor service delivery, poor candidature representation to say a few. I will continue to fight for a tax code that unleashes opportunity rather than stifles it; an energy policy that ends our addiction to foreign oil; representative house term limits; education reform that prepares our kids for the coming Centuries; and financial reform that protects taxpayers from future bailouts.

Over the last six months, I have seen the best of Nigeria. I’ve seen it in the spirit of our entrepreneurs, the courage of our veterans, and the unyielding optimism of our young people. I saw it in Kano, meeting with dissidents who had been tortured, killed, looted, robbed, sidelined and beaten, but who drew strength from our nation's values -- our unity, peace, and strength. What should make a candidate we vote for attractive should be the essential values that drive their candidacy: honor and old-fashioned decency and pragmatism.

Their goal should be to rebuild trust in government, which means abandoning the invective and reestablishing the political center. I don’t expect candidates to engage in meaningless hyperbole or apologize for their occasional moderate positions. I look forward to candidates who will draw from ideas that are doable and not so outlandishly stupid that they create a lot of political infighting and finger-pointing and never, ever in a thousand years are going to get done. I don’t expect them to spout ridiculous superlatives about the existential threat the incumbent poses to our nation; Goodluck Jonathan simply has failed to lead or has led in the wrong direction, they argue. Why on earth would we want a candidate to say anything worse about his opponent? Explain why he’s wrong, and why you’re right, and let the voters choose.

We need a president who can work within our poisonous political environment to solve our nation’s problems, not simply score partisan points not as if they ever do. Someone who understands that negotiation is essential in a representative democracy, and that there are good ideas across the political spectrum. Someone who has a well-defined set of core values but is not so rigid that he ignores new information and new conditions. Someone who has shown himself to be honest and trustworthy and competent. Someone whose positions are well-reasoned and based on the world as it is rather than as he pretends it to be. Someone who will minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs, one with the temperament and judgment and experience to be taken seriously as the commander in chief and leader of the Nigeria we look forward to. I believe that at this time Nigerians can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office - from the state’s governors to house of assembly representatives and the Presidency rather than collect stipends and look away as they number unseen ballot tickets in a bid to lead by propaganda. We need youths who will not accept Kobo’s yet loose Naira’s.

We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” through cohorts, cabals and religiously affiliated intuitions raised with underground structures to undo the seat of governance of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law. These are my priorities so Nigerians can be confident that we have a democratic government which is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people who are better and ready to serve this most exceptional nation. I will never stop fighting for Nigeria, and I will continue to put her welfare first, ahead of any partisan or special interest.

I am unshaken in my belief that with the right leadership, we can move forward together, and ensure that Nigeria’s light shines bright for generations and generations to come. God bless you, and God bless Nigeria.

Let’s unite to restore this country!
Mmanti Umoh
NATION BUILDER