He lamented that the Nigerian system is broken, saying that across all tiers of government, the quality of delivery of public goods and service is abysmal.
Hayatu-Deen, who gave the charge during his expression of interest to contest the office of President under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, yesterday, said the nation has been facing a monumental crisis.
He said it is time for Nigerians to go for an unusual kind of leader equipped with the type of skills, character and experience to navigate the people out of the stormy waters to a better place reflective of the nation’s rich potential for greatness.
He said: “I believe I am that person who can provide such uncommon leadership with clarity, conviction and dynamism. Second, my interactions and travels all round this beautiful land of ours, across Africa and around the globe has given me a powerful insight into the DNA of the Nigerian people.”
“We are one of the most energetic, dynamic and entrepreneurial people on earth. Given an enabling environment of good public service delivery systems, liberated from red tape and abrasive rent seeking culture, the Nigerian people can perform economic miracles.
“I have for long believed that no human organisation or nation state can advance on the scale of human progress if the leadership does not have certain core beliefs and high-minded principles that taps into the DNA of the people to bring out the very best of their imagination and skills. Azikiwe, Balewa, Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello are etched in our memory as iconic figures because they had core beliefs, which they waxed into a strong philosophy to govern effectively in the public interest.”
He harps on fiscal prudence in the management of public funds and efficacy of execution of public works programmes, noting that with significant portion of the country’s income dedicated to development projects will have significant impact on people’s lives.
“This will be achieved by reorganising the institutions of government to make them more compact, efficient and market friendly and motivate them to deliver superior performance.
“Vigorous action will be taken to create a climate conducive to a friendly business environment by implementing bold reforms aimed at boosting investor confidence, expand the frontiers of privatization, deregulation and liberalisation, significantly reduce the cost of doing business and implement measures to engender the vast expansion of small and medium scale businesses to take their rightful place as major generators of national output and employment.”
