Me za ku yi don inganta samun damar intanet mai sauri da hanyoyin sadarwa na dijital a fadin kasa?

I join women around the world and particularly in Nigeria to celebrate International Women's Day with the theme 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.' Today, we recognise the potential of technology to transform the lives of women and girls in Nigeria and around the world. In Nigeria, women face numerous challenges, including limited access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. However, technology can be a powerful tool to address these challenges and empower women to reach their full potential. From mobile banking to e-learning, digital innovations have the potential to increase women's access to essential services and enable them to participate fully in the digital economy. But for technology to deliver on its promise of gender equality, we must work to ensure that women have equal access to digital tools and skills. This requires investment in digital infrastructure, as well as programs to promote digital literacy among women and girls.

Great care was taken to ensure that due diligence was done in the process of forming this coalition. Yet the government and the INEC continue to undermine it, even trying to deregister it. Let me warn that any further attempt to interfere in the affairs of the party by the Presidency, INEC and judiciary will be fiercely resisted. Enough is enough. I congratulate my fellow contestants for this ticket to represent our great party in the elections scheduled for early next year. I know that you are driven by your patriotism and commitment to a better Nigeria and improved life for our people. I know that, like me, you are deeply concerned about the rapid descent of our country into economic disaster, catastrophic insecurity, extreme nepotism, political intolerance and the drive towards a one-party state by the current government and its party. I thank you for your healthy participation in this democratic process.

I dream of a Nigeria where no child is denied an education because of poverty. I dream of a Nigeria where every graduate can aspire to meaningful employment or build a successful business without being suffocated by poor policies. I dream of a Nigeria where electricity powers factories instead of generators, where businesses grow instead of merely struggling to survive, and where innovation is rewarded instead of frustrated. I dream of a Nigeria where our farmers cultivate their land without fear, where our communities are secure, and where no parent goes to bed wondering whether their child will return safely from school. I dream of a Nigeria where technology becomes a gateway to prosperity, where artificial intelligence, innovation and entrepreneurship create millions of new opportunities for our young people instead of forcing them to search for greener pastures abroad. I dream of a Nigeria where talent matters more than tribe.

Nigeria cannot continue asking competent young people to wait outside the room while their future is being decided inside it. MY COVENANT WITH YOU Our partnership must also mean something practical in the lives of young Nigerians. It begins with jobs and enterprise. Nigeria has millions of young people with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot access the capital required to turn those ideas into businesses. We will expand transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people working in the creative economy. Your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather should not determine whether a good idea receives an opportunity to succeed. Education must also change. We cannot continue educating young Nigerians for an economy that no longer exists. Our schools must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. And no brilliant Nigerian child should be denied tertiary education simply because his or her parents are poor.

We will also treat broadband and digital connectivity as essential national infrastructure. A young Nigerian in Gombe, Uyo, Sokoto, Enugu or Yenagoa should have the opportunity to participate in the same digital economy as someone in Lagos or Abuja. Technology should make dealing with government easier, faster and more transparent, not provide another layer of bureaucracy through which citizens must struggle. Security is equally fundamental. There can be no meaningful economic opportunity where people are afraid to travel, farm, attend school or operate their businesses. We will strengthen the security architecture, improve training, equipment and welfare, expand accountable community-based approaches and insist that the primary responsibility of the Nigerian state—the protection of life and property—is treated as exactly that: a responsibility, not a favour. And our democracy must work.

5. Expand access to digital infrastructure. Digital infrastructure will be treated as a basic public service, enabling more Nigerians to participate in the modern economy, create jobs, and access opportunities. ● Expand internet access nationwide ● Introduce a Smart City Standards Policy, mandating fiber-readiness and digital security in all new developments 6. Make data affordable as a basic need for participation in today's economy. Treat access to data as essential infrastructure, ensuring that Nigerians can learn, work, and connect without being priced out of the digital economy. ● Work with telecom providers to reduce the cost of data through competition, pricing transparency, and regulatory reform ● Provide an enabling environment for internet infrastructure to lower costs and improve access across urban and rural areas 7. Prepare Nigerians for the age of AI. Anticipate the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs by equipping workers with new skills and putting protections in place for those at risk of displacement. ● Recognize AI-driven job disruption as a national economic and labour priority ● Launch large-scale reskilling and upskilling programmes focused on digital, technical, and future-ready skills

● Build transparent systems, protect whistleblowers, strengthen oversight institutions, and enforce real consequences for misconduct 4. Build a zero-impunity, rule-of-law system. Details: ● Ensure that the law applies equally to everyone, regardless of status or political power, and that disobedience of court orders and selective justice are not tolerated 5. Ensure legislative vote transparency. Details: ● Publish the voting records of all legislators on a regular basis (quarterly or per legislative session) 6. Modernize land governance and guarantee secure property rights. Unlock the economic value of land by making ownership clear, secure, and easily transferable, turning land into a reliable, bankable asset for Nigerians. Details: ● Make land titling fast, transparent, and de-politicized, removing discretionary bottlenecks in approvals ● Introduce a time-bound system targeting a "30-day digital title" for standard applications ● Build and deploy digital Land Information Systems (LIS) across all states as the default standard ● Create unified, tamper-resistant land registries to reduce fraud, disputes, and informal land practices ● Enable landowners to use titled property as collateral to access credit and invest in productivity ● Standardize processes and fees to ensure predictability, affordability, and ease of access

Details: ● Provide each citizen in the National Social Register with a dedicated medical savings account for routine healthcare such as consultations, medications, diagnostics, and preventive services ● Guarantee that every citizen is protected against major health costs, ensuring no one is pushed into poverty due to serious illness ● Allow citizens to use their health savings transparently and flexibly, giving them greater control over how they access care 3. Build modern digital health systems. Develop telemedicine and electronic medical records to improve access, efficiency, and quality of care. Establish a National Telehealth Access Programme (NTAP) to connect healthcare providers and patients nationwide. 60

Time has given me experience, but it has not diminished my conviction. I have spent the better part of my life fighting for democracy, justice and the progress of our country, and that fire still burns because I see millions of young Nigerians denied opportunities that should have been theirs. I offer myself not because other leadership has been enough, but because I believe I have better ideas to offer. I cannot, in good conscience, retire that ambition when I know I have something real to give back.

On jobs, skills and enterprise, I see millions of young Nigerians with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot access the capital to turn those ideas into businesses. I am committed to expanding transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people in the creative economy, so that your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather does not determine whether your idea gets a chance to succeed. This includes a major financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Our objective is to move young Nigerians from dependence to enterprise, from unemployment to productivity, and from palliatives to prosperity. On education, I want to change how we prepare young Nigerians for work. Our schools must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. No brilliant Nigerian child should be denied university, polytechnic or college education simply because his or her parents are poor. I see young Nigerians as the greatest national asset Nigeria has ever produced, innovators, farmers, engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs and artisans, and I believe no President can rebuild Nigeria without their active participation.

On measuring progress at state, LGA and ward levels, I am committed to taking power and resources closer to where you live. I will devolve more authority to states, including giving states a greater share of national resources and stronger incentives to develop their local economies. I will decentralize human capital and social protection programmes to state and local governments for more effective delivery, and strengthen our national data systems, including a credible census and reliable social registries, so that government decisions are based on real evidence and programmes reach those who truly need them. I will also digitize processes like the Universal Basic Education Commission so that fund disbursement, school performance and project implementation can be tracked in real time. On transparency, I will launch an online "Promise Tracker" portal and apply Open Government Partnership standards to publish live budget spending, contract awards, and performance metrics, so you can see how public money is being spent and hold my government accountable when commitments are not fulfilled. For infrastructure specifically, I will enforce mandatory third-party engineering audits and release funds based on verified milestones, to stop projects from being abandoned.

On poverty, I have said that it is the greatest enemy humanity has ever known, breeding disease, ignorance, insecurity, and hopelessness wherever it takes root. My advocacy for deliberate, people-centred solutions to end poverty remains strong and consistent. At both government and community levels, I believe we must take the fight against poverty to every home, every community, and every school, so that the ordinary Nigerian becomes part of the solution. I have also said that leadership is not the art of explaining suffering, it is the responsibility to reduce it. On pensions, I am committed to guaranteeing pension dignity and restoring the value of retirement income, so that a lifetime of work leads to security, not hardship. This means rebasing legacy pensions to reflect today's cost of living, correcting years of erosion, introducing a minimum pension guarantee so all retirees receive a living income, and linking pension adjustments to inflation over time to protect purchasing power. I am also committed to prioritizing timely and consistent pension payments across all levels of government, and positioning retirement security as a core pillar of social protection and human dignity. I have said that outstanding entitlements should be paid, and what remains unpaid should be published.

I hear what you are describing, and I will not pretend it is a small thing. My plan is clear: end insecurity, bring down the cost of living, create opportunities for every Nigerian, and uphold the rule of law. I have done this kind of work before. In government I led the reforms that returned loss-making government companies to private hands and opened our economy to private investment. I served in the Customs Service from 1969 to 1986, and I have built businesses that today employ thousands of Nigerians. I know how jobs are created, and I bring that experience to this task. I have told Nigeria's young people plainly that they do not need a government that teaches them how to survive hardship. They need a government that gives them the opportunity to prosper. That is the standard I am holding myself to. To the working men and women of this country, including those struggling to find work, I have said you deserve leadership that spends the nation's resources on your welfare, not on opaque mega-projects that serve the well-connected. You deserve a government that measures its success by your living standards, not by the size of its spending, the growth of its debt, or the breadth of its patronage networks.