…But what are Nigerians getting?
In the run up to the 2019 general elections, two major candidates in the presidential race, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, have both unveiled their policy documents detailing the plans they have for Nigeria and its citizens.
Following several consultations and closed-door meetings, both candidates decided to clue Nigerians in on their different plans for restructuring the country and moving forward if they win the presidential election scheduled for next year.
Kicking things off on Sunday November 19, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption in a campaign document he tagged “The Next Level.”
Speaking on the need to eradicate corruption he stated: “Corruption is an existential threat to Nigeria. Despite the gains we have made in closing the gates, we know that there is still much ground to be covered to stop systemic corruption…”
His Next Level plan also touched on unemployment, infrastructure, agriculture, oil & gas sector development the fight against insurgency and education. On his plan to tackle unemployment, which he noted has hindered economic growth, he said: “The Next Level focuses on job creation across sectors. From an enlargement of the N-Power programme to investing in technology and creative sector jobs to agriculture and revolutionising access to credit for entrepreneurs and artisans, there is scope for over 15 million jobs.”
While focusing on his mandate for the next four years, if re-elected, the two-part document also shed some light on the achievements of his administration so far, especially in infrastructure and combating insecurity in the country.
Additionally, President Buhari called on voters to push forward in the fight against corruption and prevent a return to the past in terms of poor governance and misappropriation saying: “The next four years will be quite significant for our country. Nigeria is faced with a choice to keep on building a new Nigeria or go back to its tainted past, which favoured the [opportune] few.”
Coming forward with a campaign plan hinged on economic growth through privatisation and job creation, PDP presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, presented his plan titled: “Let’s Get Nigeria Working Again.”
The 63-paged policy document showed his commitment to increasing privatisation with emphasis on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He also expressed intentions to cut down corporate income tax to drive investment as he hopes to increase FDI to 2.5% of GDP, to achieve his long-term goal of a $900 billion GDP by 2025.
Atiku’s plan is built on four main pillars: job provision, infrastructure, poverty eradication, and human capital development.
Using privatisation and improving the efficiency of the oil & gas sector, he hopes to create over one million jobs from the sector alone.
Other items in Atiku’s plan include, building 5,000 kilometres of roads, and 5,000 kilometres of modern railway.
Speaking on why change is needed, Atiku declared: “The most important question in this election is: are you better off than you were four years ago, are you richer or poorer? That is why our primary focus is to get Nigeria working again.”
While expressing his intent to target and focus on the youth, Atiku also added that he had a good grasp of most of the challenges facing Nigerians daily. He further reiterated a commitment to learn from the past, consolidate on the successes of previous regimes and work effectively with Nigerians to build the future.
With the election set for February 2019, these policies couldn’t have come at a better time to provide clarity for Nigerian voters on what they stand to gain from both sides of the coin.
However, the pertinent question remains: How plausible are these policies or are they just empty campaign promises?
