——Allays Fears About His Original Degree Certificate, Assures His Tinubu Ancestry Unassailable
Presenting his campaign agenda before a global audience, the foremost presidential candidate in Nigeria and revered national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, shifts global attention to teamship spirit of experts while discussing his plans on metrics of development during his appearance at Chatham House, London on Monday.
It was at the Chatham House appearance that he showcased his preference for intellectual division of Labour based on arrears of comparative advantage amongst people that had worked with, are still working with or close to him. A major reason he delegated the answering of some questions to notable figures including Dele Alake, Wale Edun, Nasir El-Rufai, Ben Ayade amongst others.
Chatham House is a globally admired and reputable platform for intellectual engagements on different issues of contemporary interests to people around the world. This is the second time the former Lagos governor will be on the leveraging platform having done so in 2011.
Tinubu seized the global stage to allay fears about his original College degree certificate which he said the reissued one is now in his custody. He also allayed fears about his Tinubu ancestry declaring that anyone in doubt can call for DNA.
More importantly, Tinubu shared his thoughts and plans on a broad range of issues including security, economy and foreign policy ahead of the fast-approaching general elections.
In his address titled: “Nigeria’s 2023 elections: Security, Economy And Foreign Policy Imperatives,” Tinubu acknowledged Nigeria’s role in Africa as a big brother which has continued to be a beacon of hope to the continent and the ECOWAS sub-region through its now rooted democratic ideals, having run an unbroken democracy for over two decades.
Tinubu promised that when he becomes Nigeria’s president, his administration will continue to provide quality leadership to the sub-region, to ensure democratic ideal are solidly formed in nations of the ECOWAS region.
Tinubu assured that as President, Nigeria will epitomise democratic values in its jurisdiction during elections and anywhere in Africa by ensuring that democratic ideals are embraced and imbibed while all forms of electoral violence rejected, allowing only the will of the people to prevail at all times.
According to Tinubu, “Every election, wherever it is held, is important to the people or entity directly concerned. It is also important to the global democracy community as well. Equally, there are also countries whose elections, on account of their weight and influence, carry wider implications way beyond their immediate geographical boundaries. Nigeria is one of such countries.
“I stand firmly against all forms of electoral violence and intimidation. Having spent most of my career in the political opposition, I have long fought against electoral malpractice and any attempts to extinguish the legitimate choice of voters. I will continue to do so.
“And I urge all my fellow contestants in this election to do the same. Let the sovereign will of the people decide the path of our nation. And let this election be determined by voters making their choice freely rather than the domineering intimidation of the troublesome few.
“For one, as Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s largest economy, it is generally acknowledged that the fortunes of the African continent and indeed the Black race is tied directly to the health of Nigeria.
“Also the Nigerian elections of 2023 are coming up at a time when the country’s immediate geographical neighbourhood of West and Central Africa is undergoing serious political turmoil that has manifested itself in the incursion of the military to power in a number of countries. In spite of the legitimate concerns being expressed by observers, Nigerians are resolutely committed to democracy, regardless of their political differences.
“Nigeria shares direct land borders with four sister African countries with whose peoples Nigerians also share historical and cultural affinities,” Tinubu said.
“This effectively means that the relationship between Nigeria and its immediate neighbours is much more than just a geographical expression.
“To be fully secure at home, Nigeria has always believed it must be the brothers’ keeper. It was out of this understanding that Africa’s premier regional economic community, ECOWAS, was established in 1975. Uniquely, ECOWAS had embedded in its mandate, the promotion of regional economic integration as a good in its own right and in addition undertook sub-regional peace and security.
“I am convinced, as I am sure most of us are, that the broad principles that enabled successive Nigerian governments to interface development and security, and establish an organic link between national security and economic development with regional peace and prosperity is both impeccable and remains relevant. It is an approach which I commit myself to upholding and advancing.”
As observed by Theliberationnews, the event was streamed by various platforms across the globe with the in-house audience intermittently offering thunderous applause in admiration of his eloquence, articulateness and quality of his ideas.
On issue of security, which has continued to be a challenge at home despite the remarkable progress achieved by the current APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu promised to tackle the situation the country is facing heads on, so that Nigeria can also effectively provide security supports for its neighbouring nations.
He noted, “The challenges which have manifested themselves with regard to our national and regional development and security trajectories are very well-known to all of us here: radical extremist violence, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, human trafficking, trafficking in weapons, trafficking in drugs, climate change and resource driven conflicts etc.
Mostly manifesting initially as national problems, these challenges evolved over time into trans-border and multinational challenges.
“We see the thousands of people who have been internally displaced at home or forced into refugee camps abroad. With farming activities disrupted, we have seen shortages of basic food items and food price inflation that are further undermining human security.
“To respond meaningfully to the discontents and to redress the many dislocations arising from them, we must begin by reminding ourselves of that old dictum: Foreign policy is but a continuation of domestic policy.
“As a first step, we must recalibrate domestic policy in order to revamp the foundation on which our quest to pursue human security rests.”
Tinubu reiterated that effective energy generation and distribution will help build the economy of the nation, promising to improve the framework already in place to boost the generation and distribution of energy across the country.
He added that the nation under his leadership would place emphasis on the use of technology to improve the agricultural sector for better production and contribution to the nation’s economy.
There were also members of APC National Working Committee including the Woman Leader,Betty Edu and her deputy, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim, as well as former deputy governor of Lagos, Chief Femi Pedro, former Lagos Commissioner for Information Mr Dele Alake, his former Finance counterpart, Mr. Olawale Edun, Senator Tokunbo Abiru and Senator Fatai Buhari.
Others at the event included Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, former deputy governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Adesegun, Hadiza Bala-Usman and Alhaji Mutiu Are, Lagos APC chieftain.
After the lecture, Tinubu had an interactive session with the APC UK chapter members.
