By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja
Presidential aspirant in the 2023 presidential election, Professor Kingsley Moghalu has lambasted the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, and Peoples Democratic Party PDP, over what he called leadership failure and for causing Nigerians untold hardships. He said the parties have created more woes for Nigerians since they had opportunities to rule over Nigeria, adding that life in Nigeria where citizens can not afford a loaf of bread is now unbearable. He said there is a steady decline in the standard of living in Nigeria.
“The era of politics without governance must end now.” He said.
He blamed the APC and PDP’s “visionless, incompetent leadership” fort the hardships being faced by the citizens, adding, “it is time for APC and PDP to go.”
Moghalu who spoke during a world press conference he tagged: ‘Nigeria on the Brink’, on Thursday, in Abuja, decried the multifaceted crises bedevilling Nigeria, saying, “Life in Nigeria is becoming increasingly unbearable for many Nigerians. Our country faces multiple crises, ranging from acute economic difficulties to deepening social decay and continuing insecurity. Rather than the situation getting better, it gets worse with each passing day”.
Moghalu who is joining the presidential race under the platform of African Democratic Congress ADC, lamented further, “Many fellow citizens can no longer afford a tuber of yam. Fish and other sources of protein, which are particularly essential for our children to grow mentally, have become too expensive for most families. With inflation at above 15%, most Nigerians see continuing decline in their standard of living”.
He said that in a matter of weeks, worse implosion would befall the APC and PDP, that the parties would not be able to manage. He added that the coming implosion would signal the end of the parties before the 2023 general elections. He said the development would retire old, traditional and recycled politicians.
Field questions about the strength of ADC to wrest power with the APC, the presidential aspirant said a Third Force group would emerge soon. “ADC is part of a coalition emerging as Third Force. We will be stronger as NLC, Students union will be part of the fusion. The APC and PDP will enter the elections more weaker”, he said.
Continuing, “there are politicians in APC and PDP who have signified to fund our campaigns because they are tired of the system they are part of , knowing that they have failed Nigerians.”
On zoning and power shift, he said it is a matter of equity, justice and fairness. As he puts it; “it is better understood by the saying; What is good for the Goose is good for the Gander”.
Moghalu said he was offering himself for president because, “I am prepared to win in 2023. I am offering myself as a nationalist on the basis of my track record and character. To be a president of Nigeria should not be based on political promotion.”
On vote buying, he said, “we will fight vote buying by launching a massive public education programme especially in the rural areas”.
He speaks further on the state of the nation saying: “Even those more fortunate have been jolted back to reality with the acute increases in the prices of diesel, now selling above N700 per litre, at a time that power supply has nosedived. Long queues have returned to our petrol stations.
“University students are back at home again, less than one month after they resumed after the last strike by the ASUU. The pressure the youth are facing has continued to grow, from harassment by the Police, to high youth unemployment rate of over 40%, forced migration, and social vices and crimes.
“The government that was voted in in 2015 to end years of terror fellow citizens in the northeast of the country had been subjected to, has watched as insecurity has increased in its forms and geography. Thus, governed spaces have been shrinking while ungoverned spaces have been expanding. The Police, because of inadequate number strength, training, equipment and internal accountability have been unable to curtail crimes. Instead, some bad eggs in the Force brutalize our youth, giving rise to the EndSARS protest, and perpetrate systemic dysfunction in the system.
The awkward and very painful situation that Nigerians are facing is caused by absence of leadership. “Despite the pains that the overwhelming majority of the citizens are facing, and as the 2023 general elections are now less than 12 months away, our traditional politicians have focused on the only thing they do, which is politicking, but without knowing how to do it best to promote national cohesion and progress. And so, while the country is overheating – and by the grace of God we will avoid it burning – our incompetent leaders fiddle.
“However, I am convinced that we can overcome these challenges as a country and as a people. It is the reason that I have offered myself for consideration to Nigerians as president. I did this in 2019. I have again offered myself for the Office of President in 2023, as, currently, a presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)”.
In attendance of the event were Director General, Kingsley Moghalu for Nigeria, Professor Yusuf Dankofa and other executives of the directorate.
