Executive Governor of Sokoto State,
The National Chairman of Caretaker Committee ANPP,
ANPP National Headquarters,
Plot 274, Sanusi Dantata House,
Central Area, Behind Nicon Insurance Plaza,
Abuja.
Fax No. 060-236-110
Your Excellency,
Chief Akande’s interest to contest in the year 2003 Presidential Election on the platform of ANPP
Never in the history of our great country has service beckoned with such desperation to compatriots to offer a helping hand. Our nation by all indices of resources is endowed by nature to guarantee abundant life for all and the fulfilment of aspirations.
It would be redundant to enunciate the tortuous path, which we have all taken to get to the current democratic experiment. However, it is apt to give thanks to Almighty God whose benevolence and mercy have been poured on this nation. I am convinced that God is not finished with Nigeria yet. The locked opportunities shall be released soon.
In 1998, we started a party, called ALL Peoples Party, whose primary principle is “Justice for all“;. We collectively resolved to contest with the Alliance for Democracy the 1999 elections at the Presidential level, in the spirit of harmony and with clear vision of a better future for the country. The result of the elections has not submerged the party but rather raised our profile. Although, our political opponents won the presidency, we control a chunk of the legislature in some state assemblies and are a good second behind the ruling PDP at the federal level.
Our party has contributed immensely in entrenching democratic values and has worked with determination in conjunction with other parties to ensure that the engine of state runs smoothly. Clearly, the road has been strewn with thorns and our vision has not been 100% achieved.
The AD/APP alliance though opposed by some of our leaders nonetheless resulted in a successful transition from military rule to civilian rule. I strongly believe in one Nigeria and if the opportunity presents itself again, I will still support an ANPP/AD alliance, with the Presidential candidate coming from ANPP. We in the ANPP supported AD in the last presidential election, and consequently we should call AD to support ANPP this time around. It is payback time. Other parties with people of like minds should also join ANPP in this alliance so as to dislodge the PDP.
Now, it is about 3 1/2 years into this democratic experiment. We have been saddled with myriads of problems. We are yet to have true democracy. The nation has moved towards anarchy. Ethnic militias dominate the landscape. Communal violence, armed robberies, assassinations, carnage on our roads and general fiscal indiscipline continue to make us a laughing stock to the world. Economically, we have not attracted investors as our infrastructure continues to be a mirror of that obtained in the medieval past. We have, like the proverbial ostrich, buried our head in the sand while all around us goes haywire. The current government has diminished the importance of statehood by projecting the beggar status to our creditors.
There is no respect for the rule of law and no sanctity of contract. What we still have is a government with a semblance of military rule.
The religious dimension, which hitherto was private concern of people of different faiths, has now been made a public affair; thus polarizing our people and nation. In this regard, the visions of tolerance, freedom to live anywhere within the country and mutual trust have been hung upside down.
Overall, the morale of citizens has been destroyed and faith in the ability of politicians to make things work has wavered. We cannot ignore the current indifference to the yearnings and sensibilities of our people. To do so would be hurting the nose to spite the face. Our nation cannot go on catering for about 1-2% of the population while the rest wallow in frustration, disease and poverty.
All through my adult life I have travelled through the length and breath of Nigeria doing my work as a manager of men and resources. I know this country well enough. I have undertaken vital construction projects that were designed to meet the basic needs of our people. I have built dams, water and irrigation schemes, hydroelectric power projects, designed roads and constructed buildings all across this country. I have seen first hand and felt the passion of the Nigerian people for excellence, their wish for all the trappings of good governance, their quest for a stable polity and their longing for a society based on equality, fairness, peace, justice and equity.
My experience has also shown me the vast potentials that this country posses. In many cases there are already in place required infrastructures to explode some of our country‘s latent but infinite possibilities for abundance. I will give just one example here. I have a plan in the offing to turn parts of the country into food baskets not just for ourselves but also for the African continent.
In the Northern States, to be more specific, there is a dormant agricultural capacity as we speak which would be developed. What is more, the basic infrastructure for such, namely dams and irrigation schemes are already in place.
Provision of abundant food is core to my plan for Nigeria. And so too the security of life and property. In the last one year, I have assembled experts and my fellow countrymen and women drawn from all over the world who have been working with me on a blueprint that I shall soon enunciate as the panacea for getting Nigeria working again.
I have developed specific solutions and ideas to such problems as electric power generation, distribution and maintenance. I have devised means to reactivate the Nigerian economy and save it from its present state of morass. There are definite answers to the problems of education, health, police, debt burden, and so on. I have clear-cut vision on how to better manage our oil resources and at the same time spur a formidable ferment and growth of manufacturing while also unleashing a regime productivity in the country.
In due course I will be releasing details of my blueprint, which when implemented will alter for good the face of this country.
I want to bring in that new leadership that our people have never stopped yearning for. I want to offer those fresh ideas that are imperative for the country’s growth and development. Nigeria needs a person who can be trusted, who is credible, sincere and one who cares.
My resolve can be simply encapsulated in this rather basic expression: Time is ripe for a manager to run Nigeria. A manager of manpower and resources. A manager who has shown in his own private life and business that integrity is crucial, that results are the key for evaluating success. A manager who can demonstrate that under a free and fair atmosphere, adversity can be turned into advantage for the betterment of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, ethnic group, political creed, gender or other discriminating factors. A manager who would be a square peg in a square hole and one who would in turn put a round peg in a round hole.
A manager that is also a leader, who can administer and implement strategically, based on past results and who can therefore unleash a time of abundance and gain on the Nigerian nation. Nigeria more than ever before now needs a leader, a manager who can command respect of other world leaders, relate with them on the basis of respect and cordiality.
I have travelled across the nation and the world. I have met Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora: we have immensely talented citizens who believe in the future of this country and are contributing to the technological growth of the world economy. Most Nigerians abroad are willing to come home, only and only if there is security guaranteed to lives and property, and if there is a reasonable measure of moral and fiscal discipline amongst politicians and elected leaders. Also investors are ready and willing to come and do business in an enabling environment.
Given the current state of the nation and the ad hoc solutions which are often reactive and hence of no effect, I have come to the conclusion, due to my strong believe in one Nigeria, that I and others of like minds who have the love of the country at heart can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the country slide into anarchy, mistrust and fragmentation. I am cognisant of the fact that the actions and decisions taken now will have a profound influence on how the Nigerian society eventually pans out. I have therefore decided to look across the plains into the future in order to save posterity the hassle of the present.
Thus with great sense of service, I hereby announce my interest to run for the Presidency of Nigeria under the banner of the ANPP.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Chief (Dr.) Harry Ayoade Akande
cc: All ANPP Governors
All ANPP Senators
All ANPP Hon. Members of the House of Representatives
ANPP Elders
Guides
