Presidential candidates of three major parties in next month’s general election yesterday locked horns in Abuja at the first presidential debate organised by NN24TV, a cable television station.
They are Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Positive Change (CPC); Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
President Goodluck Jonathan, also a candidate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was absent at the debate moderated by Kadaria Ahmed, Editor of Next.
The debate dwelt on sundry topical issues, such as the Niger Delta, power crisis, corruption, health care delivery, education, the controversial zoning issue and, more importantly, why the individual candidates think they are the best for the number one job in the country.
On the Niger Delta region, Ribadu declared that Niger Delta is a national problem and as such, he would evolve a Marshal Plan that would tackle once and for all the problem the region has come to represent in the country.
In his words: "The problem of the Niger Delta is also the problem of Nigeria. We have seen what the government is doing, creating obstacles, patronages outfit and taking care of very few people.
"The ACN and my administration will come up with a Marshal Plan, a plan that will address the totality of the problems affecting the region."
In his own submission, Buhari canvassed a system that will deal with the problem according to constitutional provisions.
"All the three tiers of government must come together to critically examine the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta and deal with it according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," he said.
Shekarau, who is also the Kano State Governor, saw the problem as emanating from restive youths’ loss of confidence in government.
"The problem of the Niger Delta is the total loss of confidence. And, of course, we are dealing with militants. We have to address the issue of loss of confidence."
On education, Ribadu asserted that there are problems confronting the sector. He identified bad and poor infrastructure, mass failure and very high cost of education as some of the problems that his government will deal with to restore the lost glory of the sector.
Shekarau admitted that there are problems facing the sector and he proffered two solutions, namely, putting in place good infrastructure and training the trainer.
However, Buhari seemed not to believe there are problems with the educational sector.
The former Head of State was emphatic in his submission that he would ask for explanation on how the PDP government since 1999 has spent about $16 billion on the power sector and yet there is no power in the country.
"Look at how much we have spent on power, between $12 and $16 billion from 1999 till date. PDP must account for the money, because nothing is happening. We are still revolving around 4,000 mega watts. …We have to find out what happened, where we are coming from".
Ribadu pleaded that the time for the blame game was over and that Nigeria must move quickly to explore the possibility of diversification of the source of power, like coal, thermal and gas, as well as solar sources.
"The time has come to stop the blame game. Yes, we must ask for account, but there are other options that we must explore to solve the power problem. We must take into account all the three important aspects of generation, transmission and distribution. Then we must explore other sources: coal, solar, thermal, hydro and others."
He also stated that as things are today, nobody knows who is in charge of power and that there is a need to streamline the controlling authorities.
Shekarau said his government would decentralise the provision of power and work through the private sector to give Nigerians light. The Governor of Kano State, Shekarau, said his government would cut down on the existing over bloated agencies of government, which serves as a conduit pipe to waste the nation’s scarce resources. He described the EFCC and the ICPC as "glorified policing stations" which have no basis to exist were the Nigeria Police Force well funded.
On corruption, Buhari said indiscipline and corruption are the basic problems of Nigeria. He vowed to be accountable and make everyone elected on the platform of the CPC accountable to Nigerians.
"The bottom line of Nigeria’s problem is indiscipline and corruption. I promise to be accountable to Nigerians and make all people elected on the platform of the CPC, from councillor to the president, accountable to Nigerians. And public treasury must remain a trust that nobody can tamper with and get away with it," he said.
Ribadu blamed the system and process for the ugly development saying, Nigerians are innately good and hardworking people.
"The system and processes make Nigerians corrupt. Nigerians are fundamentally good people. But, because of poor, incompetent mismanagement by those at the helms of affairs of our country, they become corrupt."
For Shekarau, corruption and indiscipline have two bye products that must be dealt with. "Corruption and indiscipline have two bye-products: leadership and the process. You must institutionalise the process of doing the right things willingly at all times."
The three candidates who are from the northern part of the country were unanimous in their view that zoning is not a relevant and significant issue anymore in Nigerian politics.
On why they should be voted into power, Ribadu stated that he represents the yearnings of Nigerians. He pointed out that he is both young and experienced, having worked in the past 25 years in at the federal level. He declared confidently that he is a candidate with national and international experience and exposure. Buhari in his submission said he is a trustworthy person who had held public offices before without a single stain.
Mallam Shekarau said the leader Nigerians need now must live above board, and he challenged them to decide that between them and their God.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to participate in the presidential debate being organised by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON). In a statement yesterday, Niboro said Jonathan had accepted the invitation by the organisers who are doing it in collaboration with the Newspapers Proprietors Asociation of Nigeria (NPAN).
The President explained that "After a thorough examination, a collective decision was taken to retain the body that had organised presidential debate since 1999 and has performed creditably well and so, no need to discard the platform and template for another."
The debate is slated for March 29 and will be broadcast live on the network service of the African Independent Television (AIT), Channels TV, Silverbird TV, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Radio Nigeria and other public and private broadcasting stations.
The statement said: "President Jonathan looks forward to seizing the opportunity of the debate to further present his case for the renewal of his mandate to Nigerian voters."
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