James Emejo

Media Mogul, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu, yesterday officially declared his interest to contest the 2023 presidential election, promising to find lasting solutions to the worsening insecurity and corruption bedeviling the country.

He said he would be seeking election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in order to make a difference in governance, adding that no one currently appears to have solutions to the challenges confronting the country.

He said: “I am running because I believe something is about to happen in Nigeria. I am running because I believe that Nigeria cannot sustain the internal combustion going on in Nigeria. I am running because I believe that #EndSARS was a child’s play compared to what is about to happen in Nigeria. When that happens, Nigerians would realise that we need a leadership.”

Kachikwu, who is the Chairman of Roots Television Nigeria, during a virtual broadcast, titled: “My Opening Argument”, also vowed to initiate public service reforms, eliminate corruption and win the war against terrorism.

He vowed to eliminate corruption by ensuring that Nigerian workers are paid better salaries, build modern cities and ensure that all nook and crannies of the country have better amenities, world class health facilities, accessible and affordable internet services.

He also said he would put an end to incessant and unprofitable borrowings by the states and federal governments.

“We must resist the wicked urge to take on sovereign debts that benefit a few but are repaid by all. We can no longer borrow to build bridges and highways that lead nowhere when the internet is the highway of the future. Borrowings must satisfy the criteria of commercial viability while providing much needed basic amenities,” Kachikwu  said.

He also promised to ensure gender equality, welfare for teachers, support technology-driven education and the healthcare system to stop medical and education tourism abroad.

Kachikwu also said that if elected president, he would redirect the vast energies of youths to productive ventures including trading with their technological skills rather than engaging in online scams.

He promised to collaborate with state governments to invest in power generation, build broadband internet infrastructure and limit states and private sector to distribution activities only.

Among other things, he promised to institute a national policy on merit adding:“Every component part of Nigeria is blessed with those who have the talents and abilities to pilot the affairs of Nigeria and we must create the enabling environment for these people to emerge in government and governance. Nigeria will no longer be associated with mediocrity as we will invest in our citizens, our greatest asset.”

He promised a bottom-up approach to agriculture, pledging to elevate millions of farmers to agripreneurs as well as transition farming to agribusiness.

“We will secure our farmlands and protect our men and women from those who seek to do them harm. Our farms will no longer be known as killing fields but the food factory of Africa, providing millions of good paying jobs for the middle class,” he added.

He assured that the war against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping will be won as the problems will be confronted headlong and destroyed.

He said: “This war will be fought on our terms. We will arm all the willing and able to rid our nation of foreign invaders. We will take the fight to their camps as we arrest and prosecute their sponsors. “For too long our people have cried. Men and women are being butchered; orphans and widows created by the minute by a war sustained by the greedy who profit from defense contracts and the bloodthirsty, who seek to destroy our way of life.”

He also promised to make internet broadband available and affordable and boost investment in power and telecoms infrastructure; prioritise the generation and distribution of electricity as well as bar public servants from foreign medical treatment and education for children.

According to him, “There is no rocket science to generating power, neither is there magic in distributing power. Our debilitating challenges are man-made and we must use an iron fist in crushing those whose decades of evil practice in our public service space have led us to the brink. We will treat those who sabotage our nation and way of life as saboteurs.”

He said: “We can’t have different rules for different criminals. If you do the crime, you do the time. If given the privilege to lead you my first executive interface with the National Assembly will include a bill, I have dubbed the Nigerian Patriot Act.

“It is a bill of equality and fairness. It is a bill that says we are all in this together. It is a bill that ensures that public servants cannot use the privileges they cannot provide to the common man.”