By Chesa Chesa
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, on Friday formally joined the 2023 presidential race, assuring Nigerians that he is the man with the experience, vision and integrity who they can trust to build a nation the they and other Africans can truly be proud of.
He made the declaration to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja, flanked by his wife and political associates from across the country.
Tracing the beginning of his foray into politics, Onu also reeled out his stellar achievements in various stages of his life, culminating as first civilian Governor of old Abia State, Chairman of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), which later merged with others parties to form the APC, and his emergence as current Minister of Science in Buhari’s cabinet.
He recalled his election as the presidential candidate of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) in 1999 but had to step down for Chief Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) when the APP merged with AD for the presidential election.
The First Class graduate of Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos, underscored the importance of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in his plans for Nigeria, vowing that he intends to make Nigeria more of a production nation than mere consumer.
Onu said: “I want all Nigerians, particularly the youth to know
that Nigeria has a bright future. Let there be nothing that can make any Nigerian lose hope about the future of Nigeria.
“The Almighty God that created us, gave our dear nation, everything
that she needs to be a leader in the world. Working together, we
will make use of knowledge economy driven by STI to make
Nigeria truly great.
“We must as a nation start thinking big because we are big. Nigeria must be a producer nation instead of remaining a consumer nation. We must produce many of the things that we need and use as a people. We have all it takes to achieve this.
“It is by doing this that we can create wealth and enough jobs for our people, fight and defeat poverty, create wealth and prosperity for
Our nation. Nigeria must be self-reliant. We can no longer
continue to depend on other nations to solve our problems.
“We are better equipped to solve these problems ourselves. This is the road that we have to take, this is the road that science, technology
and innovation will make possible for us to take.
“I have a dream that Nigeria will one day lead the world. Let no one tell us that it cannot be done because if we cannot achieve it, our children can, if our children cannot achieve it, then our grand-children will.
“We must all work together to lay the foundation for this to be
achieved. I am convinced that the Almighty God has a purpose
for Nigeria. I believe that the purpose is for Nigeria to do for the
black people of the world, what Japan did for the yellow people
of the world.
“We must bring in discipline into our nation, promote justice, fairness and equity and allow creativity to flourish. This way, Nigeria will become a nation that all
Nigerians will be proud of and all other nations will respect.
“This is one way we can lead the way for all the black people of the
world to rediscover themselves and be proud of themselves, because they will always point at the great achievements of Nigeria. We will then have a new world, where all persons will have mutual respect for one another, because of individual achievements.
“My fellow Nigerians, we have the key to unlock the prosperity of
our dear nation, and this key is a knowledge economy driven by
science, technology and innovation. This is so, because no
nation has ever become truly great, whether in ancient or modern
times, without the efficient and effective deployment of science
technology and innovation to nation building.
“I am convinced that I have the knowledge, the experience, the credibility, the education having been trained in one of the best universities in the world, the vision, the integrity, maturity and a man who can be trusted.
“I most respectfully ask my political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to elect me as its Presidential Candidate, and the people of Nigeria to elect me as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for me to be the chief servant of the nation.”
