Nigerians Don't Need A Religious Fanatic - Atiku Counsels Buhari

APC chieftain and presidential aspirant Atiku
Abubakar has counseled co-aspirant,
Muhammadu Buhari on the qualities Nigerians
expect from political leaders in the 2015 contest.
In a statement issued to welcome Buhari to the
race for their Party’s presidential flag in Abuja,
yesterday, Atiku told his colleague that to qualify
to fly APC’s flag, such an aspirant must be
someone who is a unifier, bridge-builder and not
someone who bears ethno-religious bias.
Atiku Abubakar said, “I believe that the next
president of our country, who by the grace of God
will be produced by our great party, must be
someone who is a unifier, bridge-builder and not
someone who bears ethno-religious bias. Above
all, he must embody a vision of a Nigeria for all.”
According to the statement titled: “Atiku
Welcomes Buhari, Says He’s Committed To Free
And Fair Presidential Primary”, Atiku said the task
of rescuing Nigeria is a duty leaders of the APC
are committed to and, “the more individuals are
ready to be part of the mission to rescue the
country, the better.”
“Nigeria has floundered for far too long. Our
people are yearning for a change and we must
listen to them before they lose faith in the ability
of their leaders to revive the country.
“You will recall that in my declaration speech
penultimate week, I did mention that my priority,
if given the chance to run and serve as the
President of Nigeria is addressing the issues of
jobs creation and providing decent employment
for Nigerians, especially the youths.
“I believe that it is only when we can provide
decent jobs for our young people, that we can
have a hope for the decent future for our country.
“It is also not in doubt that of recent, successive
administrations have failed woefully in building
the infrastructure that can promote a healthy
economy: our education system is in shambles,
public health system is in virtual comatose, we
have very poor network of roads totally at
variance with the wealth of a country that is the
seventh oil producer in the world.
“I believe that the country has failed in these
areas because of the excessive centralisation of
functions and resources to the government at the
centre. The government that the APC plans to
lead in the next few months, by the grace of God,
will be fully committed to devolution of powers
and resources to the state governments in line
with the manifesto of our great party. I also plan
to march this resolve with a full commitment to
ensuring transparency in all sectors of our
national life.
“I am equally disturbed about the way our people
have been divided along ethnic and religious lines
and how we are steadily and dangerously losing a
sense of community where every Nigerian can live
together without mutual suspicion.
“I believe that the next president of our country,
who by the grace of God will be produced by our
great party, must be someone who is a unifier,
bridge-builder and not someone who bears
ethno-religious bias. Above all, he must embody
a vision of a Nigeria for all.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we both share a
common concern about rescuing our country from
the deadly grip of the PDP and it is on this note
that I do warmly welcome him on board in this
very important national rescue mission. I look
forward to meeting him in an open, free and fair
contest for the ticket.”