By Nasir Kura
Former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has declared to run for the office of the governor.
The event which held at Chida hotel in Utako, Abuja, witnessed a massive turnout by his supporters putting the trademark red cap from across the country.
The venue, which was filled to capacity was announced after he was denied access to Abuja’s Eagle Square after earlier approval by the authorities.
The facility managers of the Abuja International Conference Centre & Eagles Square, had in a letter on Monday said their reason for denying him the venue was to avoid disruption of “work flow” at the federal secretariat, a major hub of civil servants.
However, the massive turnout crippled a lot of economic activities around the Utako district of Abuja.
Prominent amongst those at the event were former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion; national chairman of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), Buba Galadima; former Kano State deputy governor who recently resigned, Hafiz Abubakar, and Members of the National Assembly loyal to Kwankwaso.
“Today, I declare that I am going to vie for the office of President Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party,” the Senator representing Kano Central said.
“I stand on my honour to offer a paradigm shift in leadership. There is no gainsaying that all is not well with the polity. It is also clear that the same mindset that created and escalated the problems cannot be used in resolving the ongoing crises in our nation,” he added.
He promised challenges in the area of security, economy, and infrastructure.
Other areas he listed are agribusiness, healthcare delivery, international relations, youth and women empowerment, national unity, cohesion and restructuring.
“I intend to offer positive change. Change has again become inevitable. To live is to witness changes because change is an inseparable part of living. Come May 2019, the narrative of helplessness, buck- passing, division, poverty, insecurity, and hopelessness must change to turn to a new dawn of confidence in building a one well restructured Nigeria.
“I assure you that while I do not have the prophetic power to predict the future, we certainly have in us the ability to create the future that we want.
“On this day, as I stand before you, I offer you a value-based leadership anchored on our national ethics as outlined in Chapter 2 of Section 23 of our Constitution.
“We will provide a leadership where everybody is free and equal; where Nigerians see themselves as Nigerians first and as Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Ibibio, Fulani, etc second; where citizens are self-assured and self-assertive; where they are confident and competent; where they want to do what is right no matter whose ox is gored. I want to lead a Nigeria where people are educated and exposed beyond the confines of their tribe, religion, linguistic group or place of birth.
“I want to lead a Nigeria where citizens respect their leaders, and leaders lead and forge a team to promote and protect the interest of all Nigerians.
“I want to lead a Nigeria where all are comfortable anywhere and on any positive issue can compete fairly with their peers without favour or discrimination. That is the kind of Nigeria we envision. We will abandon the failed relics of the past. We have all it takes to make Nigeria good and relevant for all,” he noted.
