By Ayo Akinfe
With election day looming, here are 10 things all Nigerians should be asking of the presidential candidates. They should refuse to vote for anyone who cannot deliver at least seven of them.
[1] Security- A commitment to reduce by at least 80% the ongoing insurgency, kidnapping and banditry within a year
[2] A pledge to increase generated power to 40,000MW within four years. This power must also be distributed and transmitted
[3] A commitment to empower Nigeria’s 36 states economically. As things stand, they have very little autonomy
[4] An undertaking to grant local governments full autonomy
[5] A pledge to link all our 774 local governments into a national railway network
[6] As things stand, about 90% of federal government revenue comes from crude oil exports. A new government must pledge to cut this to at least 40% by 2027 by diversifying the economy
[7] Nigeria currently has a gross domestic product of about $400bn and and annual budget of $30bn. Those two figures need to stand at about $2trn and $200bn respectively for the country to be at ease with itself
[8] By 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation on earth after India and China. Our current meagre landmass of 923,768 km² is wholly inadequate for this expansion. A new government needs to initiate talks with our neighbours about expanding our landmass
[9] By 2027, there should be gender parity when it comes to political appointments and election into office. Shamefully, Nigeria does not even have one female governor at the moment
[10] By 2024, a bill must be passed banning the export of all primary products without at least 50% value addition
