The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerians

  • Tinubu to Nigerians: let’s get rid of corruption

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Tuesday stressed the needs for all Nigerians to remove the cancer of corruption.

    He said the country deserves a leader like President Muhammadu Buhari for the nation’s economy to grow like other advanced countries of the world.

    Tinubu, who spoke at the MKO Abiola Democracy Park in Akure, the capital of Ondo state at the APC campaign rally for the re-election of Buhari, assured the APC would create an enabling environment for businesses to strive and promote industry, commerce and agriculture, which he identified as the strength of the economy of any nation.

    According to Tinubu, the PDP has admitted failure even before the election by their allegation that APC and Buhari were planning to rig the February 16 general elections.

    He said: “The PDP claimed that APC was planning to rig election. How can you rig an election that has not been conducted?

    “This is a clear fact that the PDP was preparing for failure. The PDP has admitted its loss of the election even before the election is conducted.”

    The APC stalwart urged Yoruba people to support Buhari and vote massively for the APC in the coming elections, saying the present administration has executed many laudable projects in South West region, which must be reciprocated with massive votes.

    Also, the national chairman of the party, Adams Osiomhole said the PDP ruined the nation’s economy in its 16 years of administration, stressing the current economic problems were caused by the opposition party.

    He said both Obasanjo and Jonathan did not remember the poor when they were in government while Buhari places the poor above the rich through his people-oriented programmes.

    He said the PDP believed that the government should be used as an avenue to enrich individuals, hence the claim by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar that he will privatise the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Osiomhole alleged that the PDP used the machinery of government to empower some individuals when the party was in government, while the present administration has served the interest of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, tribe or ethnic nationality.

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu assured Buhari and the leadership of the APC that he would deliver the state for the party

    He said: “In 2015 when the state was not under the control of the

    APC we won, how much more now that we are in control of the state?

    “President Buhari should go and sleep as he is winning the election by the grace of God.”

  • Nigerians need peaceful polls

    SIR: Last week Tuesday,the National security adviser to the President, General Mohammed Mungono (rtd) hosted a security meeting with the 36 states governors. The meeting was centred on the security for the forthcoming general elections. He briefed the meeting of plans by some unnamed groups to unleash violence in the forthcoming election.

    Since the inception of democratic rule, the country is yet to get her elections right. Election in Nigeria is a do or die affair (apology to Olusegun Obasanjo). Our politicians have failed to play the game according to the rules. Notwithstanding the peace accord signed by the candidates contesting for different positions, foul and uncouth languages are still being used during campaign rallies. These have become a matter of great concern.

    Why do politicians fail to embrace issue-based campaigns as practiced in most democratic countries? Must a candidate attack his opponent before he sells his programmes to the electorates?

    Now that the national security adviser has raised an alarm of likely political violence in the forthcoming elections,what is the way out? If we could recall in the build up to 2015 general elections,there were rumours or speculations that the country would boil. It took the Abdulsalam Abubakar’s peace and reconciliation committee’s efforts to prevail on the contenders to accept the outcome or result of the election. In the end, the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat and congratulated Buhari who won the election. That single and sincere action exhibited by Jonathan nipped in the bud, the fear of violence that might have trailed the outcome. Our politicians should be blamed for the security breach before, during and after elections. They have taken elections as the last battle of their survival. They hire jobless youths to foment trouble during elections. To win election by hook or crook is their first agenda. These desperate and selfish politicians can do anything to scuttle the polls so long the result will not go in their favour.

    Security of lives and properties is the primary responsibility of any government. The ambition of few individuals should not be allowed to override the security and welfare of Nigerians. Our security agencies should work round the clock to man violence-prone areas; identify the culprits and their sponsors. What Nigerians needs is another cycle of peaceful elections.

     

    • Ibrahim Mustapha,

    Pambegua,Kaduna State.

  • UN: 35,000 displaced Nigerians are in Cameroon

    Thirty five thousand Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast are now safe in neighboring Cameroon, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

    Thousands fled Rann, Borno State, to Cameroon last month after the insurgents repeatedly attacked the town.

    The UNHCR,in a statement yesterday said the people were  now safe although it expressed worries over those who attempted to return to Rann.

    “For now, the 35,000 Nigerian refugees are safe in Cameroon, although many are once again putting themselves at risk by returning to Rann on foot, to collect a few personal possessions which were not looted or burnt,” it said.

    “The outlawed terrorist group has been active in this impoverished corner of northeast Nigeria for over a decade. Thousands of people not just in Nigeria but over the border in Cameroon and Chad, have been killed, many summarily executed.

    “The livelihoods of tens of thousands of others have been destroyed in the insurgency, as regional governments struggle to put an end to the ongoing violence.

    “The refugees left Rann following the recent withdrawal of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which came to secure the city after an attack on January 14.

    “The MNJTF was set up by the affected countries – Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Benin – to counter Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups which are gaining ground across the Lake Chad region.”

    Allegra Baiocchi, the UN resident coordinator who visited Goura in Cameroon on Friday, also said the people who fled to Cameroon had no choice, as this is where they need to be now if they want to stay alive.

    Geert de Casteele, another top official of the commission, added that the response from humanitarian workers here has been impressive in what is an extremely challenging environment. He said there is need to scale up the response, keeping in mind the local population and that is the next step they hope to achieve with increased funding.

    In January, the UN, in coordination with the government and aid partners, announced its 2019 humanitarian response plan which focuses on the whole of the country, including areas affected by Boko Haram.

    There had been concerns, however, about the possible forceful ejection of the Nigerian refugees in Cameroon as the country had threatened many times.

     

  • Nigerians shall have free, fair, credible elections – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has allayed the fears of Nigerians and assured of its readiness to conduct free, fair and transparent elections, beginning with the Presidential election on Feb 16, 2019.

    Speaking with media executives on the preparations ahead of the coming Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, in Lagos, yesterday, the National Electoral Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, said a total of 84,004,084 million Nigerians have been registered to participate in this year’s election which will feature 91 registered political parties.

    According to him, the elections would take place in 1,558 constituencies and 774 local government areas, and results collation in 8,809 registration areas/wards, in 119,973 polling units and 57, 023 voting points nationwide.

    Okoye said a total of 73 candidates had been cleared to contest the presidential election, while the governorship election will be contested by a total of 1,068 candidates in 29 states of the federation. The 109 senate seats will be contested by 1,904 candidates, while 4, 680 candidates will jostle for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

    The 991 state constituency elections will have 14,583 contestants, while 806 candidates would be jostling for the 68 area council seats in the Federal Capital Territory.

    Okoye said INEC will be recruiting 17,618 senior academic staff of the various federal universities in Nigeria, to serve as collation and returning officers, as the commission, he said, have decided to have two collation officers or each of the 8,809 centres to facilitate timely collation of results.

    These returning officers, according to Okoye, would be assisted by 814,453 ad-hoc staff, made up of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and in some cases final year students in federal universities, who are currently being trained across all the states of the federation.

    For logistics, the commission, Okoye disclosed has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transport Workers Union, whose members are going to be deployed nationwide to deploy and retrieve election personnel and materials on the days of elections. He added that all the vehicles to be involved in the exercise across the states would be certified by the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), and all would have tracking devise installed by the commission to ensure the safety of all personnel and electoral materials.

    The National Commissioner said Nigerians who are yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards have up to Feb 8, to do so at the local government offices of the commission nationwide, adding that all uncollected PVCs would thereafter be withdrawn for safekeeping pending the conclusion of the two strands of elections in the electoral calendar this year.

    Okoye said; “All the state offices and local government offices of the commission have taken delivery of the non-sensitive materials for the conduct of the elections, while the various branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria are presently receiving sensitive materials for the conduct of the elections.”

    He said the commission has accredited a total of 116 domestic and 28 foreign election observers for the 2019 elections, while the commission’s chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on January 12, 2019, have signed the regulations and guidelines for the election.

    Okoye disclosed that among other innovations, the commission has enhanced the smart card readers, eliminated the use of incident forms, and has introduced the use of Braille jackets, magnifying glasses and assistive posters for persons living with disability, while it is also working on appropriate framework for internally displaced persons voting.

     

  • How Nigerians perceive themselves

    Great Britain as an unrepentant colonial power joined together about 250 disparate nationalities to form a country called Nigeria which officially came into existence on January 1, 1914. It was a masterstroke by Lord Lugard brought about by the amalgamation of the British possessions of northern protectorate, the colony and the protectorate of southern Nigeria. The British colonialists did this amalgamation for their economic interests without consulting the leaders of these different nationalists, which had and still have seemingly unbridgeable cultural, religious, social and political differences. As to be expected, this forced union led to searing tension, acrimony, wrangling and suspicion among the people in the new country, which were invariably fuelled by the colonialists through their subtle ‘divide and rule’ colonial policy.

    As the people of the new country interacted with one another,  and competed fiercely for the few opportunities opened to them under the oppressive colonial  administration, they developed prejudices for each other and in the process developed derogatory names for people outside their nationalities.

    The suspicion engendered among the different nationalities in Nigeria and the derogatory name calling that ensued from this was very rife during the colonial era when Nigerians were interacting politically for the first time. This situation was well manifested in Lagos, the then centre of political activities in the country. The Yoruba and Igbo political elites were at each other’s throat. The Igbo through their mouthpiece, the West African Pilot owned by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe referred to Yoruba as a ‘decadent race’, while the Yoruba elites used the Daily Service to portray the Igbo people as selfish group of people (I Before Others). The coming of the people from the northern part of the country into the political limelight in the country was greeted by Mbonu Ojike in West African Pilot with a provocative headline, ‘The Malams are coming’.

    It is usual all over the world for nationalities lumped together in the same country to be suspicious of one another, and to refer to themselves with derogatory names and so this situation is not unique to our fractious country. For example, the English people refer to the Welsh people as ‘Taffy’ and the Irish as ‘Paddy’ or ‘Mick’. The English people also derogatorily refer to the Scottish people as ‘Jock’. The uneasiness among the different nationalities in the United Kingdom manifested itself every time in the constant agitations of the Scottish people to have a country of their own and the age long agitation of the IRA to have Northern Ireland joined to the Republic of Ireland. The French and the English people have a history of mutual antagonism. The French people refer to the English people as ‘Perfidious Albion’ while the English people refer to the French people as ‘Frogs’ which is a subtle reference to the use of frog legs as a delicacy in French cuisine.  The Australians as retaliation for the way the British government dumped their delinquent forefathers into the then desolate Australia, refer to the English people derogatorily up till now as ‘pommies’.

    Comedians all over the world sometimes use the differences between people to produce rib cracking jokes for the entertainment of their audiences, and Nigerian comedians are no exception although some of their jokes could be off beat and nauseating like the jokes cracked by a comedian at the end of year carnival organized by the Cross River State government recently. This particular comedian cracked jokes which jolted me and gave me food for thought about the present unsavoury condition and perception of the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria. The comedian was good as a jester and at that event worked his audience into a frenzy and in one of his jokes he asked his audience to identify which nationality in Nigeria was noted for each of the following occupations, computer expert, electronic expert, importer and exporter, agbero, (motor park tout), omo onile (people extort money from land developers  by force)  and rent collector. As he was calling these so-called occupations one by one, the audience without prompting assigned the first three occupations to the Igbo people while the audience roared with glee to assign the last three occupations to the Yoruba people.

    I have no apology to give to anybody to say that as a Yoruba man I was not happy about this general characterization of the Yoruba people as people who are known for making easy money. I support the view that we should be able to laugh at ourselves in order to lessen the tension of daily living in Nigeria, but I think we should do this within reason so that we do not offend the sensibility of people outside our tribal enclave. It is a well known fact in the history of Nigeria that for many years, the Yoruba people of the Southwest led the country in the spheres of education, political awareness, industrial development, and commerce. They reached this position as a result of their early contact with White Missionaries and European mercantilism. Added to this, was the unprecedented giant strides made by the Action Group government of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the old Western Region in the field of education, health, social services, infrastructural development and commerce in the fifties. Unfortunately, that momentum was slowed down under the different unpatriotic military regimes which forced on the country, an unholy centralized form of government that stifled development and initiatives of people in the component parts of the federation. It is a matter of regret and political tragedy that this stifling system is still our mode of governance even though we are no longer in a military regime.

    Many people nowadays feel that the Yoruba people of Southwest are no longer as pushful and result-oriented as their immediate fore-bearers. That is why the late Chinua Achebe in his book titled “The Trouble With Nigeria” could enthuse that  ‘the huge historical and geographical head-start by the Yoruba over the Igbo was wiped out in one fantastic burst of energy in 20 years between 1930 and 1950’. That is why an ethnically biased journalist could refer to the Yoruba people as ‘educated moron’. And that is why a barely literate jester could attribute menial and unproductive occupations to the Yoruba people.

    I see the present situation in Yoruba land which was gloomily painted by the late General Adeyinka Adebayo before his death as a challenge to the present political leaders in that region. Fortunately, this is an election season when politicians promise heaven and earth to the people. They should know that the Southwest needs repair and the people of that region want to know from them the blueprint they have for the repair. Enough of empty promises. We need to rekindle the spirit of hard work and regional development as we had during the time of the legendary Chief Obafemi Awolowo.  Fortunately, the region has an integrated body known as The Development Agenda For Western Nigeria (DAWN) which was formed in 2010 by the governments of all the states in the old Western State. This body should be given enough muscle so that it could be the veritable vehicle for the needed development and orientation of the people of that region. The perception of an average Yoruba person as an agbero or Omo onile in the mind of other people in Nigeria should be changed. An average Yoruba person, like other Nigerians, work hard to make his or her living despite the perennial searing economic doldrum in the country.

     

    • Prof. Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.

  • 162 Nigerians deported from Libya

    ONE hundred and sixty two Nigerians stranded  in Libya yesterday arrived in Lagos .

    They were returned home under an assistance programme facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    The returnees, comprising 100 females, including four pregnant women and 62 males, arrived at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos in the early hours of yesterday aboard Libyan Airlines.

    NEMA’s Coordinator , Lagos Territorial Office, Idris Muhammed, who received the returnees, said their profiling “shows that they were 82 adult females, 13 female children and five female infants”.

    He said there were “50 adult males, four male children, 13 male infants with two minors with medical case”.

    The NEMA coordinator urged the returnees to be agents of positive change and take up the challenge against irregular migrations by telling whoever wants to embark on such dangerous journeys to desist.

    “Migration is protected by international and national statutes for movement of people through proper regularisation of papers that would protect and save you against risks of irregular migrations.”

    Muhammed stated that NEMA hosted a team from European Union (EU) on monitoring and evaluation of the special EU intervention on assisted voluntary return of migrants.

    NEMA interfaced with them on the ways of improving the present European Assisted Voluntary Returnees projects being run by IOM.

    He said gaps were identified, especially on logistics, which are causing nightmares to stakeholders and the returnees.

    He said the rescheduling of aircraft charter flights would be improved upon.

    The exercise, which began in April, 2017, is expected to end by April, 2020 and about 8,808 returnees have so far been repatriated back to Nigeria from the North African country.

  • Keyamo: why Nigerians must vote for Buhari

    The Director of Strategic Communications, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, said Nigerians must vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in next month’s election because he has delivered on his promises.

    Keyamo, who spoke at the launch of APC’s Next Level in Ghana, said the Buhari administration had surpassed expectations, as it awarded N58 billion contract for the dualisation of the Calabar-Itu Road, as well as the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    In a statement, Keyamo also listed the ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge, the implementation of school feeding programme across Nigeria, employment of cooks and food suppliers, feeding millions of children daily, among others, as some of the achievements of President Buhari.

    Read also: It was difficult working with ex-IGP Idris, says minister

    He said under the PMB’s N-power, millions of unemployed graduates were paid N30,000 each every month, in addition to the prosecution of corrupt government officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The launch was chaired by the APC Ghana Chapter Chairman, Mr. Charles Micheletti, who urged Nigerians to re-elect President Buhari.

    At the event was the Personal Assistant to the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Alhaji Yayah Ibrahim, among others.

     

  • Court remands 3 over armed robbery in Kaduna

    A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday, ordered the remand of three men in Prison over alleged armed robbery, unlawful possession of firearms and criminal conspiracy.

    The pleas of the accused, Amos Samuel, 32, Moses Kenneth, 25, and Friday Daniel, 35, were not taken.

    The Magistrate, Mrs Zainab Mohammed said the accused should remain behind bars pending the advice of the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    Mohammed adjourned the case until Feb. 11.

    The Prosecutor, Insp. Sunday Baba, told the court that the offences were committed on Jan. 5, at about 5 p.m along Zaria Road, Kaduna State.

    Read Also: Kaduna APC leaders assure Buhari of over 90% votes

    Baba alleged that the accused were responsible for the various robbery faced by motorists plying the Zaria Road in Kaduna State.

    He said the accused were armed with dangerous weapons like cutlasses, knives, axe, charms and four clubs with nails when they were caught.

    The prosecutor added that during police operation, a locally made pistol was also recovered from the accused.
    He said the offences contravened Section 6 (a) and 27 (1) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 2004.

  • Angry Nigerians storm embassies over alliance with thieving elites

     

    Nigerians on Monday stormed the United States Embassy to register their grievances over the interferences of the country in the nation’s domestic affairs.
     The massive crowd drawn from various groups and organizations totaling over 10,000 heads threatened that next time they will be forced to shut down the embassy if that is what is required to take back the country.
    The protest letter was delivered at a rally  at  embassy of the United States of America, Abuja on behalf of concerned citizens .
    Recall that the United had last week condemned the suspension of embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen over issue bodering on  corruption.
    Speaking at the well attended rally, Princess Ajibola urged the countries to support the Nigerian government war against corruption .
    She said, “The recent happenings in the country with regards to the Judicial arm of government has indeed caused Nigeria untold embarrassment especially with the admittance of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen that he forgot to declare some aspects of his assets as mandated by the law.
    “It is such a despicable act for the number one law officer in the country to act in such a manner. The implication of this is that the hopes of the common man on the street have been dashed because the Judiciary which is supposed to the hope of the masses has indeed turned to the nemesis of the masses.
    “The rot is the judicial system is such that would take the grace of God for sanity to return to the judiciary in Nigeria due to the level of corruption in the system that has resulted in money induced judgments from the magistrate court up to the Supreme Court.
    “In Nigeria, judges live above their means and see themselves as mini-gods. They give judgments to the highest bidder in most instances not minding the consequences of the actions. The judiciary in Nigeria also sabotages the war against corruption by issuing injunctions to shield corrupt persons from facing the wrath of the law.
    “It became typical of Nigerian courts to delay proceedings and convictions of suspects brought before it for prosecution and later handed them soft judgments after monies must have exchanged hands.
    “In Nigeria today, judges live flamboyant lifestyles that one wonders if they are not supposed to serve as role models in the society.
    “For long Nigerians have yearned for that leader who would confront the all-powerful judiciary in the country and God in his wisdom and mercies sent us President Muhammadu Buhari.
    “We wish to state that President Muhammadu has the total support of Nigerians in the fight against corruption in the judiciary. We are solidly behind him now and always because if we do not join hands to fight corruption, we might wake up one day and realize that we do not have any country again.
    “The action of President Muhammadu Buhari against the Chief Justice of Nigeria is an action for reclaiming the soul of Nigeria back from the fold of the devil and returning it to the masses who labour on a daily basis for their daily bread.
    “We can boast to high heavens that the majority of Nigerians are in support of this bold move that previous governments have shy from because they too also are beneficiaries of the rot in the judiciary.
    “God will bless President Muhammadu Buhari for toeing the path of the just in tackling the rot in the judiciary. And how else can we show our appreciation? The only way we can to show our gratitude is to continue to support him all the way.
    “Make no mistakes, the action of President Muhammadu Buhari is just, moral, constitutional and in the overall interest of the generality of Nigerians. But they are still crying wolf where none exist.
    “They are saying President Muhammadu Buhari suspended the Chief Justice because he is not a northerner. Some also say it was because he is not a Muslim. But Nigerians say it was because he betrayed the trust of the public bestowed on him by failing to declare his assets, which in a way proceed from corrupt acts.
    “Going by the wages and income of judicial officers in Nigeria, there is no way the Chief Justice of Nigeria would have in his accounts millions of dollars. That is impossible. We know that such monies could only be proceeds of corrupt acts ass evident in the manner of deposits.
    “If that is not the case how can the most senior ranking judicial officer in the country claim that he forgot that he has accounts that run into millions of dollars? Nigerians are not fools to believe such childish story.
    “We are by this medium letting the world know that Nigerians are 100% in support of the action of our president. If our president does not do it for his country, is it America or Britain that would do it for us?
    “If our president acts in the best interest of the country, is that not a good thing? Are we supposed to crucify him or support him? Or are we to pretend that all is well in the judiciary while the fat cats continue to grow fatter and the citizens’ leaner?
    “The time has come for the liberation of Nigeria, and there is no going back because it’s forward ever and backward never.
    “Nigeria and indeed Nigerians owe President Muhammadu Buhari a lot of gratitude for this bold step. We encourage him to continue his good deeds towards freeing Nigeria from the claws of the cankerworm called corruption.”

  • Atiku to Buhari: 90m Nigerians living in extreme poverty

    Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of having nothing to show for steering the ship of the nation for about four years. He said 90 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty under his watch.

    Atiku took on the President over his remarks at the kick-off of his presidential campaign in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on December 28, where he declared that he had fulfilled his promises to Nigerians.

    The former vice president,  reminded the President that a day before he made the declaration, it was revealed that the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty had increased from 87 million to 90 million in just four months.

    In a statement yesterday by his media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, the PDP presidential candidate said going by rising poverty rate, the whole country will be in extreme poverty if Nigerians make the mistake of re-electing Buhari.

    The statement said: “Except the President made a vow to impoverish Nigerians, it is hard to see how he could have fulfilled his promises with such pervasive poverty and hunger in the land.

    “This is even as the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics revealed a week to the President’s unfortunate statement that unemployment had doubled from the 14 per cent  he met it in May 2015 to 23.1 per cent in December of 2018.

    “But the most blatant insult from the President was his assertion at Uyo that ‘we have defeated Boko Haram’. It was most insensitive of the President to have said such on a day that foreign and domestic media reported the entrapment of our gallant troops by Boko Haram/ISWAP in Baga, with as many as 700 hundred reported missing.

    “Even more indicting is the statement from the US based  International Strategic Studies Association, which revealed that the Boko Haram insurgency was lingering due to the massive corruption around  President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “How would those soldiers feel, how would their families feel, how would their colleagues in the barracks feel when they are facing a life and death situation and their commander-in-chief is impervious to reality?”

    “And, for the umpteenth time, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to come clean on the faceless people behind Keystone Bank and Etisalat. Nigerians deserve to know how people who used to beg for N2000 transport money, as revealed by Buhari’s right hand man, Buba Galadima, are now suddenly wealthy enough to acquire multi billion dollar investments.

    “Finally, we cannot wait for the presidential debate where Atiku Abubakar will talk about his plans to reduce the unemployment rate from 23.1 per cent under Buhari to single digits, because Atiku means jobs and Buhari means extreme poverty.