Wadanne gogewa da shirye-shirye suka cancanta ku jagoranci Najeriya da magance matsalar rashin tsaro da tsadar rayuwa?

Question: Why are you still seeking the presidency after several attempts and what do you say to Nigerians who believe it is driven by personal ambition rather than national service? Answer: I have said it several times that my interest in being president of Nigeria is to serve the country. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to be who I am today. If God has given me the grace to return the benefits to the country, why should I shy away from that call to duty? If other presidents we have had offered better quality of leadership, I would have retired the ambition. But I cannot, in good conscience, decide to retire my ambition when I know that I have better ideas to offer in leading the country. If I were interested in personal gains, I would have been patronizing my opponents all these years. Such a decision would not be fair to Nigeria. I am in the race and persistently to offer service to the country.

I have the experience to lead this country, and that is what Nigeria needs now. I have done this work before. Nigerians elected me Vice President twice, in 1999 and 2003, and in government I led the reforms that returned loss-making government companies to private hands and opened our economy to private investment. I served Nigeria in the Customs Service from 1969 to 1986, and I have built businesses that today employ thousands of Nigerians, so I know how jobs are created. The two issues Nigerians care about most are restoring vitality to our economy and securing the country. My plan is clear: end insecurity, bring down the cost of living, create opportunities for every Nigerian, and uphold the rule of law. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to be who I am today. If the presidents we have had offered better leadership, I would have retired my ambition. But I cannot, in good conscience, do that when I know I have better ideas to offer. The constitution allows a four-year term, and a second term is not an automatic entitlement. I am in this race to serve.

My interest in being President is to serve this country. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to become who I am, and if God has given me the grace to return that benefit, I should not shy away from the call to duty. If other leaders had offered better quality of leadership, I would have retired this ambition long ago. But I know I have better ideas to offer, and in good conscience I cannot step back from that. I am in this race, persistently, to offer service to Nigeria.

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 security, my plan to tackle insecurity covers every part of Nigeria, the North West and the whole of the north included. I am committed to setting up Anti-Banditry and Kidnapping Special Units in every state command, made up of highly trained, mobile personnel, to strengthen the response to banditry and kidnapping. I want to adopt a firehose principle for security coordination, driving continuous, high-volume coordination across jurisdictions so we get faster responses and stronger intelligence sharing. Bordering states will jointly plan operations, share intelligence in real time, and coordinate responses, and I will push for an independent Internal Affairs Agency to investigate misconduct within police and other security services. I also want joint security frameworks with neighbouring states and countries facing the same threats. I believe that with the right political leadership, Nigerian security forces have the capacity to take on the insecurity confronting this country, and this is how we rescue your community from banditry, kidnapping, and cross-border crime. I also recognise that insecurity has pushed crop farmers and pastoralists off their land, including into neighbouring countries, and that this has reduced food production and raised food prices, which is part of why tackling it must be a priority.

On the economic hardship you are facing, I want to restore your purchasing power and reduce the cost of living. That means reducing the cost of energy so your salary buys more, reducing transport costs so less of your wage disappears just getting to work, and reducing the cost of moving food so your family spends less in the market. Alongside this, I am putting in place a financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs, to help move young Nigerians from dependence to enterprise. On insecurity, my plan covers every part of Nigeria. I am committed to setting up Anti-Banditry and Kidnapping Special Units in every state command, made up of highly trained, mobile personnel. I will adopt a firehose principle for security coordination, driving continuous, high-volume coordination across jurisdictions so we get faster responses and stronger intelligence sharing. Bordering states will jointly plan operations, share intelligence in real time, and coordinate responses, and I will push for an independent Internal Affairs Agency to investigate misconduct within police and other security services, alongside joint security frameworks with neighbouring countries facing the same threats.

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.

Many borrowed from banks to do the work and now face demands for repayment on m…" • His answer, given directly, 2026-10-08, page 1 (HIS ANSWER, GIVEN DIRECTLY) "I have the experience to lead this country, and that is what Nigeria needs now. I have done this work before. Nigerians elected me Vice President twice, in 1…" • Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2103133598534574587, 2026-09-24 (Article on X) "The former Vice President reiterated his commitment to policies designed to reduce the cost of living if elected president, including a targeted production s…" • Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2087552029358956958, 2026-08-12 (Article on X) "I have therefore not come here simply to speak about your frustrations. You know those frustrations better than I do because you live with them every day. I …"

On your first question, about tackling hardship, insecurity, and graduate unemployment: 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 the experience to do this. 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, so I know how jobs are created. On security specifically, I am determined to strengthen the response to banditry and kidnapping by establishing Anti-Banditry and Kidnapping Special Units in every state command, made up of highly trained and mobile personnel. I will also drive continuous, high-volume coordination across jurisdictions, both internally and externally, so that bordering states can jointly plan and execute security operations, share intelligence in real time, and coordinate responses to threats. We will also strengthen security cooperation with Nigeria's neighbours on threats like banditry, kidnapping, and cross-border crime.

On security in the north, I have said plainly that the occupation of Nigerian communities across parts of the North East, North West and North Central by bandits and terrorists, who impose levies on citizens and disrupt farming, is unacceptable. I believe that with the right political leadership, our security forces have the capacity to take on this insecurity. My plan is clear: end insecurity as part of restoring peace and economic prosperity to the country. On the cost of living, my approach is to reduce the cost of things at the source rather than let prices explode and then hand out palliatives. I will work to reduce the cost of energy so your salary buys more, reduce transport costs so less of your wage disappears just getting to work, and reduce the cost of moving food so your family spends less in the market. Under my Economic Recovery Plan, support for Nigerian crude used in domestic refining would be capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, with a clear obligation that the benefit reaches you at the pump, not just the refinery or marketer. My aim is to make the naira in your pocket worth more and make daily living affordable again.

Sources: • Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2087552029358956958, 2026-08-12 (Article on X) "President Tinubu and his administration must resist any temptation to turn institutions of the Nigerian state into instruments of partisan advantage. The pol…" • His answer, given directly, 2026-10-08, page 1 (HIS ANSWER, GIVEN DIRECTLY) "I have the experience to lead this country, and that is what Nigeria needs now. I have done this work before. Nigerians elected me Vice President twice, in 1…" • Thread by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/1718948336344936730, 2023-10-30 (Thread on X) "As for me and my party this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away.