The presidential candidate of Labour Party Mr Peter Obi was a guest at the Harvard University where he had a conversation on Prospects of Transformative Governance in Nigeria.
Here are highlights of his speech at the event:
We will offer a new brand of transformative and purposeful leadership. The overall goal of my administration shall be to streamline governance, make it more responsive, transformative, effective, less transactional, and therefore efficient and cost-effective.
Thinking through 2023 and beyond, we must think seriously about a leadership that is imbued with competence, capacity, credibility and commitment. Accordingly, we will pursue intangible assets of good governance, rule of law, security of lives and properties;
We will ensure that we have these assets in place and stress asset optimization. We will strike a strategic balance that allows us to promote and protect national interest, while meeting our ECOWAS obligations.
We will rebuild Nigeria’s military power, promote economic growth, and enhance its technological prowess with a view to improving Nigeria’s diplomatic influence in sub-regional, regional and global affairs.
Restoring leadership will require that we reassert proactively, Nigeria’s leadership role in African affairs through constructive engagement, peacekeeping duties, and using existing sub-regional and regional forums as well as bilateral platforms for dialogue on current and emerging challenges. We will continue to enhance our sphere of influence via peacekeeping, and trade and investment initiatives.
We shall ensure that in moving Nigeria forward, no state or community will be left behind. Pursuant to its statutory responsibility to protect, our Government will promote equity in power and resource sharing.
The federating units will enjoy discernible autonomy. Resources will also be shared equitably. A higher derivation paid to oil or solid minerals producing states will not be tantamount to other states not receiving federal allocations that should keep them viable.
We must transcend the rhetoric that bedevils a robust debate on some of these national questions. We will respect the principles of federal character, affirmative action and gender balance; but no longer at the expense of merit.
We will tweak the security architecture, which will entail reform of the security sector and governance. We will Restructure, Re-equip and Reorient the Nigerian Police: This will include 3 level policing- Federal, state and community.
We will build a Compact, Robust and Ready Mobile Police Force with Rapid Response Deployment capabilities; and Legislate the Establishment of State Police based on Community policing. We will raise the population to police officer ratio to a higher level.
A properly manned, equipped and technologically driven security system with particular emphasis on re-focusing the military on external threats and border protection and police on internal security threats and law enforcement; swift prosecution of criminals, bandits and terrorists; enhanced coordination among security agencies; and upholding the rule of law.
Integrate the activities of the National Intelligence and Security Agencies by establishing a Central Reporting Intelligence loop under the authority the Minister of National & Homeland Security.
Establish a National Command and Control Coordination Center for the efficient management of actionable intelligence, resource allocation and force deployment. Membership should consist of representatives of all security agencies on a need to know basis.
The oil theft is not petty pilfering. It is organized crime by a syndicate that involves a certain degree of sophisticated intelligence and logistical arrangement. We must admit that oil theft is happening because there is domestic and external collusion.
The government and the people have the collective responsibility to protect national assets. On my watch those responsibilities will be accorded high priority. Foreign and National Security policy initiatives, might in the long term entail rebuilding, repositioning and sustaining ECOMOG, as the arrowhead of a West African Security partnership.
This is to counter terrorist threats and international subversion of the sovereignty of the West African region of which Nigeria must re-establish her place as a regional power.
