3 Reasons Why I Want To Be Nigeria’s Next President- Sam Nda-Isaiah

The founder of Leadership Newspapers Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah
in a one on one interview with City People in his Abuja home has disclosed the
reasons why he would like to be Nigeria’s president come 2015. Sam said the
major problem with Nigeria today is the leadership and not the people. He also
says the Nation does not need funds to unite the people but simple logic.

The presidential aspirant on the platform of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, says what he wants to achieve as a Nigerian president
is to move Nigerians from a backward nation state to be part of the 1st world. The
interview after the cut.

Why is Sam Nda-Isaiah running for President?

I have been in the public space for a long time. I have been
involved in some form of politics or the other. Not many people know that I
studied Pharmacy at University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I have
always had flair for writing and expressing myself very strongly, I have always
had interest in governance issues, I have always been a student of nations. For
a long time I have been writing and seeing how easy is it with the kind of
resources that we have to change Nigeria. I have actually seen how easy it is
for Nigeria to become part of the 1st world. I say this with all sense of
responsibility. I actually mean it is easy to make Nigeria work. I am serious”

What made you come to that conclusion?

“Because I have travelled far and wide. For God sake, I have
travelled to Singapore a lot. I have studied the growth model of Singapore. I
have travelled to China a lot. I have also studied the story of how China made
it. Do you know the story of how China lifted 500 million people out of poverty
in record time. And I mean it. It is easy if you look at our human, material
and natural resources, can you compare it to Singapore that has nothing and one
Prime Minister was just determined? He just said it, “that this is what I want
to achieve I want to move my people from a backward nation state to the 1st
world”. Before then, people did not even know where Singapore was. I studied
the growth of Singapore. I went for a Governance Programme in Singapore about 3
years ago. In the class, some of them, Singaporeans, were saying that at the
time of their independence in 1965 they wanted to be like Nigeria and the
Philippines. Can you imagine? Now, it is we that go there every time to spend
money, and holidays and we want to be like them”.

What are the lessons he has learnt from the Singaporean
example?

“I have seen and come to the conclusion that our problem has
always been leadership. The problem is not with the Nigerian people, not at
all. It worries me that Nigeria is this divided. I feel sad.

On why he threw his hat in the ring, he explained that.

I tell people I want to be President for 3 reasons. One, to
unite this country. From day one, we can do that. You don’t need any budget to
unite Nigerians. You don’t need money. All you need to do is to be sincere
about it. You should be fair to all.

The President should see the nation as his constituency and
all those in it as his children. He is the father of all. If you are sincere
about it, it is very easy to achieve. Nigeria is terribly divided today. There
is no country that is this divided that can make any meaningful progress. You
can now.

Two, I want to provide security for Nigerians. Simple. Of
course we know that the most elementary job of any President is to provide
security for the people, and safety. This country has never been like this
before. The security situation in Nigeria is sad.

Now, we are afraid to go to the Church. We are afraid to go
to the Mosque. We are afraid to go to the markets, or malls. And we are afraid
to send our children to school, even in the nation’s capital.