National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, says he is in the presidential to renew hope and make the future of children great.
Speaking in Ekiti, during a visit to the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, on Thursday, Tinubu said Nigeria needs a competent leader who can unite the people, tackle insecurity and rejig the debilitating economy.
Tinubu’s scheduled visit to Ekiti State was part of his engagement with traditional rulers across the six geo-political zones.
He said, “I’m contesting this race to renew the hope and make the future great for our children. For Nigeria to stand united and develop, we require patience and wisdom. We have to be united, that is the only way we can be great.
“We have struggled for democracy and today, we have democracy, but we are not stable yet. There is insecurity, hopelessness, lack of education and suffering in the land. By now, we should have a good farming system and opportunities to produce for other nations to buy.
“We are here to answer the call of our children by educating them the right way so that we can leave a Nigeria that is united, prosperous and abundant for them. We chose democracy and we must not fail in this task.
“That was why we formed the APC based on principles. I want to tell you that Nigeria needs serious change. I knew how Lagos was when I took over and we have never failed any election. There must be continuity in governance for progress to be attained.”
On education, Tinubu said he was the first governor in Nigeria to start paying the WAEC fee of secondary school students and will continue if elected as President.
He added that he has been on the Nigerian project since the 70s.
“I was with MKO Abiola in Social Democratic Party. I was a Senator before he came out. I was the youngest Senator of that era. I was about becoming Director of Finance of ExxonMobil, but I rejected it,” he said.
“I said I wanted to serve Nigeria. They gave me leave of absence to go and do politics for four years and come back, but I only spent two years as a senator when the military came and terminated our tenure. I had an option, which was to go back and enjoy at ExxonMobil, but I decided that I would fight for Nigeria.
“We believed that there must be democracy in Nigeria, there must be freedom and there must be opportunities. We joined hands with Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Anthony Enahoro and others. Governor Kayode Fayemi was in the University of London then, brilliant and he joined the struggle. He worked so hard, in fact, he is an excellent man. So, looking at all these, we should all know that this democracy must not fail.
“We have to collaborate, unite and promote ourselves, instead of fighting. We all see what is happening in Ukraine today, we don’t need such experience here. We must elevate our technology and make use of available opportunities to develop Nigeria and that is what we are coming to do.”
He was accompanied to the monarch’s palace by the Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi, who said he represented Governor Kayode Fayemi, and top brass of the Southwest Agenda for Tinubu 2023, led by Senator Dayo Adeyeye,