Security and the economy took center stage on Sunday as the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi; the New Nigerian Peoples Party, Musa Kwankwaso and Kola Abiola of Peoples Redemption Party squared up at the Arise tv Presidential Town Hall Series on Security and Economy, in Abuja.
However, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his All Progressives Congress counterpart, Bola Tinubu, failed to show up at the debate organized by Arise TV in collaboration with the Centre for Development and Democracy at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Although Atiku was represented by his running mate, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Tinubu sent no representative.
But the supporters of the LP, the NNPP, and the PRP who were unhappy with Atiku’s absence heckled Okowa, stating that the event was meant for presidential candidates only.
Shouting “No representation by proxy,” the supporters prevented the program from kicking off on time as the organizers sought to pacify them.
Speaking on his plans to tackle insecurity in the country, Atiku harped on intelligence gathering and sharing among the security agencies.
Calling for the decentralization of the police, the PDP candidate stressed that the current policing system cannot secure the country.
He said, “We need to emphasize coordinated intelligence gathering and sharing. We need more boots on the ground to address insecurity in Nigeria. We need to evolve policing in Nigeria to ensure that people who have a better understanding of their areas, know how to secure their areas. One centralized police force is unable to meet the demands that we have.
“We need more boots on the ground. We need adequate welfare to ensure that our security agencies are better-taken care of. We also need to address unemployment, otherwise, more young people will be drawn to contribute to the insecurity. Technically, it is very important but the equipment is few. The men in boots must be well trained and paid.”
He highlighted the role of the private sector in the Nigerian project he hopes to lead if elected President of the country.
The PDP presidential running mate also spoke on how his principal would unite and lead the country on the path of development with the support of the private sector.
He added, “Atiku is a successful businessman and a person who runs very successful academic institutions. We have a document, ‘My covenant with Nigeria,’ a common document on behalf of himself, myself, and the PDP.
“The private sector has a role to play. To make progress, we must talk about the unity of this country. Until we are able to unite ourselves and realize that we must think and work together, we may not be able to go through the path that will lead us to new growth.”
On debt, Okowa recalled how former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his vice president, Atiku, obtained debt relief for Nigeria while in power.
Kwankwaso further pledged to improve national security by encouraging willing youth corps members to join the Armed Forces and other security agencies.
He said, “Some of us who are extended family members of the security in this country is very much worried and concerned, and sometimes even ashamed that today, in 2022, security agencies could not identify locations of terrorists, especially when everybody including the criminals is using telephones, and these telephones are not difficult to identify, and these are the problems.”
The former Kano State governor revealed that he was also angry with the system like every other Nigerian and “it is because of those reasons that some of us are angry to the extent of leaving the PDP and the APC because we feel there are better ways of doing things in this country.”
He added, “We believe the system has failed and that is why we have decided to go to New Nigeria Peoples Party, the unscathed party in this country.”
Responding to a question concerning the tribal bent of some candidates’ campaigns, Kwankwaso stated, “The Constitution of this country has taken care of that. Any presidential candidate that came out in defense of ethnicity, tribe, religion, region has lost the election even before the election.”
The former defense minister observed that for a candidate to win a presidential election, he or she must have won the most popular votes and win in two-thirds or 24 of the 36 states. “North cannot win elections on its own; South cannot win elections on its own,” he stressed.
Reacting to the opposition by members of the audience to Okowa, Kwankwaso noted that due to the busy schedule of some presidential candidates, there may be a need for their running mate to represent them at events, noting Atiku did well by sending his vice presidential candidate.
He said, “No candidate can boast of saying ‘I will attend all of them.’ Whichever group that is having this sort of thing should accept it. I think the man sitting here (pointing to Okowa) is better than the person who did not come or send any representative.”
The PRP candidate, Abiola, promised Nigerians that he would not bring the baggage of past administrations and recycled politicians into governance when elected.
While describing himself as a breath of fresh air with no record of holding public office in Nigeria, Abiola stated that he is the best man for the job.
He said, “We are coming to the federal level with a clean slate because we are not carrying the baggage of any administration or any party. We want to use that to turn Nigeria around and fight for the people.
“I never run for governor, state chairman or local government council. The point I am trying to make is that the leadership has tried over the years; so many recycled and different people every time. The leaders stay in one party or they jump parties.
“But for the first time, we have a candidate here in PRP that hasn’t been there or any party at all. Let us try a fresh hand to solve Nigeria’s problem. Now, security is an issue.