Former Governor of Zamfara State and Presidential Aspirant of the APC, Sen Ahmed Yerima has vowed to hackle insecurity, ignorance among others.
Sen Yerima said this while addressing Journalists in Abuja on Friday, stating that when people are meaningfully engaged, they will not engage in crime and insecurity.
He hammered on the need to make the educational system in Nigeria more impactful, adding that education in his administration when elected, will be free and compulsory for Nigerians.
Yerima stated that most of Nigeria’s problems are embedded in the ignorance of the masses and leaders of the constitution and its provisions, saying that those asking for zoning are ignorant of the provisions of the constitution.
“Another issue Nigeria needs to address is the problem of ignorance. Ignorance is different from illiteracy. Just like the issue of zoning; people are yearning and urging zoning when our constitution, which is the basic document guiding our democracy, does not have anything called zoning in it. You just have to be a Nigerian and have the requirements. It is political ignorance.
“I believe that we need to change our educational system to make sure that it is more efficient and effective; to have productive engagement, not for certificates.
“Mine is that I am going to tell the delegates my proposal and ambition for Nigeria. I am not going to give anybody anything, but I will tell them that their children and grandchildren will have a good education and be better off and no Nigerian is free, they will have something to do,” adding that “If my Party agrees on a consensus candidate, I will respect the decision of the party.”
He identified that the core problem of poverty and insecurity that Nigeria is facing is due to unemployment promising that when elected, jobs will be created as well as loans for entrepreneurial purposes.
“The problem of poverty. We have people who have graduated in the last ten years who are still looking for jobs to date. If people have things to do, insecurity will be a thing of the past.
“For example, a graduate of Agriculture should be able to come up with a robust proposal to either establish an industry, to go into farming or livestock development. He should also be able to acquire loans because that is what is obtained in developed countries of the world.
“Students education we say is free and compulsory education to secondary level. We need to have an institution like the “Student Loans Board” where every qualified student regardless of background, can take a loan and go to the University, Polytechnic and Colleges of Education because that is what is obtained in other countries. Loans are important for the economic development of any nation.”
He further stated that his administration if elected will establish fiscal policies for promoting economic growth and development.
“We intend to have Robust and Fiscal Policies so that the Central Bank of Nigeria will operate as it is supposed to be; the banker’s banker. Today they are operating side-by-side with commercial banks which are not healthy, ” he said.
