Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, teacher, lunged himself into the Kano State governorship race in 2003, assembled a handful of loyalists and traversed the states large landmass, taking on the incumbent and other candidates. And the rest is now history. In the last eight years under his administration, Kano State has not recorded any major upheaval. How did he achieve this task Presenting his blueprint as presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for the April 2011 elections, in Lagos recently, the Sardauna of Kano declared: It is called Societal Reorientation, A Daidaita Sahu in Hausa. In essence, we have been rebranding Kano since September 2004. And this rebranding his is promising for Nigeria if voted in as president, as recorded below:Reflection on state of the NationTHE tendency of our leaders to dedicate all their attention to physical development alone over the years, disregarding efforts at attitudinal change, has left us with wider roads, but narrower viewpoints; more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; bigger houses, but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; more experts, yet more problems; and more medicine, but less wellness.We planned more, but accomplished less. We learnt to rush, but not to wait to take our turn. We attempted to conquer outer space but not inner space. We built taller buildings but acquired shorter tempers, so much so that our apex law-making citizens could resort to exchanging blows while at work, instead of ideas.Of course, we cannot resolve these challenges all at once. No. But we have to begin. Credible leadershipFifty years of frustration among Nigerians has only continued to deepen. It does not have to remain that way. We have a choice to rekindle hope and confidence in our country; I believe we can tackle the challenges facing our country.I will rebrand Nigeria, as we have been rebranding Kano since September 2004. It is called Societal Reorientation, A Daidaita Sahu in Hausa.My administration will do everything possible to work toward the realization of our common aspiration for a better Nigeria.I will focus on ensuring security of life and property, making the right move to provide reliable electricity supply, attaining self-sufficiency in food production, and improving our schools to meet the standards of quality for which Nigerian education was renowned.Under my leadership, there will be no space for the expedient; we shall keep faith, persevere and muster the courage to do what is necessary in order to move our country forward. Macro-economic stabilityANPP Federal Government under my leadership will ensure macro-economic stability that will enhance low inflationary growth. The new policy framework will enforce fiscal and monetary discipline.It will be aimed at diversification and will ensure a stable local currency that will promote savings and attract investments into the economy.The government will focus its attention on the framework that will make the economy more productive by paying attention to the productive sectors; basic industries (cement, steel and petro-chemicals), agriculture and solid minerals development.The Central Bank of Nigeria will be fully supported to discharge its statutory functions as the pivotal economic institution of the country without any politicization of its professional disposition and autonomy. This will ensure that specific clear-cut targets and parameters on key policy issues such as inflation, interest rates and budget deficits are put in place.In other words, there must be synergy between the Central Bank, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the National Planning Commission and the Budget Office; thus, a situation whereby different data and policy pronouncements are flaunted will no longer be acceptable.The financial sector will be stimulated to provide the required credits for the nations real sector. Basic IndustriesCement, steel and petro-chemicals are referred to as basic industries because they provide the impetus for the development of other sectors of the economy. Cement is essential for construction sector (housing and roads). Steel is important for the entire manufacturing sector as the basis for the fabrication of machine tools and other necessary components.The petro-chemicals are essential for both the manufacturing and the agricultural sectors. Most of the OPEC countries have fully developed their petro-chemical sectors and Nigeria is one of the few countries still lagging behind.ANPP Federal Government will pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has addressed most of the enabling issues for smooth operations across all chains of the oil and gas activities.It shall also aggressively pursue human capital development to address the much-needed competence and standard required in the oil and gas industry.Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentThe agricultural sector is the largest employer of labour in the country and therefore, it deserves special attention for this role and its contribution to the economy. The objectives of the agricultural programme shall be to: Ensure self-sufficiency in food production and food security. Provide raw materials for local agro-allied industries. Diversify the production of export crops to increase foreign exchange earnings. Improve rural and farm infrastructure for storage, processing and marketing of farm product. Increase rural employment and improve agricultural production skills and techniques.ANPP Federal Government will, in the first four years, provide the enabling environment for private sector participation in commercial agriculture and will implement the following programmes across the relevant agricultural zones in collaboration with State Governments and international agencies: Massive cultivation of rice, maize, guinea corn, millet, cowpeas and cassava and other essential food crops. Supply of fertilizers to farmers through their cooperatives and associations. Mechanization of farm operations by supporting farmers and their cooperative societies and associations to acquire farm implements. More capital investment in irrigation infrastructure in the arid zones of the country, to support additional cropping seasons in those areas. Expansion of agricultural research institutes, to make them more result-oriented. SecuritySecurity of life and property of citizens is one of the most important functions of the State; it is one of the purposes of its existence. One of the goals of an effective police system will be to maintain law and order through: Continuous surveillance of the state of public order; Anticipation of problems; Effective pre-emption; Counteraction or control of crises; Enforcement of laws.The following strategies and initiatives will be employed in order to achieve the above goal: Establishment of a proper police structure that is consistent with three-tier federal system to be achieved through constitutional arrangement. Enlargement, adequate equipping and supporting of the Police Force by increasing their number as well as their budgetary appropriation. Improving quality of service by raising recruitment standards, training and retraining of the Police Force, improved remuneration of the service and establishment of internal security system. Solid Minerals DevelopmentAn ANPP Federal Government policy objective in this sector shall: Encourage comprehensive exploitation of our mineral resources. Provide the necessary framework for private sector investments and guarantees.For the attainment of these objectives, the following strategies will be pursued: Establishment of incentive packages and other infrastructure for investors in this sector. Intensive geological efforts to ease exploitation of mineral resources and detailed information on such resources will be made available to all interested investors. Privatisation in the mining sector as well as joint venture agreements will be pursued.I am confident that given what we accomplished in Kano, where I have been governor for about eight years now, that when a government is open, adopts a participatory approach to governance and carries the citizens along, a lot can be achieved.I intend to carry the people along and to earnestly confront the challenges facing our country, if elected president. That way I am confident our country will progress more.
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