Olaoluwatomi for President...

I have long toyed with the idea of running for public office, in my dreams that is! The title is probably the way my election campaigns posters would read:) The only elections I ever ran for any kind of office were in university and grad school, I was elected class representative in my 4th year of med school but I did not campaign once for this post. The elections took place in my absence! Thankfully I had two dear friends who took it upon themselves to campaign for me and I was one of the 6 class representatives chosen. For the second election I sent emails out to my friends and spoke to a few people and was eventually one of those elected as class Marshall.

So the idea of running for office and having my face splashed on the pages of the dailies is not one idea I relish. If I ever ran for office, I doubt I would go with this approach! I'm just saying! It will not be 'business as usual' or 'godfathers rule and I am just a puppet'. I would probably be tagged as a trouble maker for I will not toe the line or dance to anyone's tune. But seriously having watched over the years the different people who come on the scene to run for elections at the different levels, I know I can certainly do much better than most of them. The only problem is that I do not want to be assassinated during my attempts to run for elections or during my tenure if I am elected because I know I will surely step on toes.

First of all I do not believe in sharing the national cake. That one is bound to make me end up on the hit list of godfathers who believe that they have put you there in the first place. (But who says I will have a godfather). Monies allocated for road repairs will be used mainly for road repairs, not down some greedy thugs throat. But if that happens the thug can be sure that they will face the full wrath of the law as stealing, kickbacks, unfinished projects will not be acceptable in my administration.

I am writing this on the premise that those who will work with me also have the same ideology. One thing a good leader needs are advisers and friends who have integrity and will tell you the truth no matter what.

The list below written tongue in cheek/ in serious mode is not conclusive, you may add to it in the comment page.

• My leadership or tenure will be marked by a change in the value orientation of youth in the country. No longer will maga or yahoo boys be popular, fraud, armed robbery, 419 scams will become anathema and things no longer publicly praised.


• Gutters will be a thing of the past, open sewers filled with sewage and rubbish dumped by people who should not know better will be gone forever! It will take massive infrastructural changes to make this happen but slowly and surely change will creep in. I'll take a leaf from the Buhari/Idiagbon dispensation- no public flogging of offenders o! But trying to inculcate a sense of pride and responsibility in Nigerians that a clean and orderly nation is not just possible but can be maintained.


• An increase in security in the country as a whole. The Police force will change. No longer will it be a force that is made up of hungry, disillusioned, angry men, Power will change hands:). The leadership will be made up of first class officers who will pass down a tradition of excellence to those they lead. Police barracks will not be slums but institutions where law and order rules and the public will be forced to emulate.


• Provision of social amenities will not be the exclusive preserve of politicians seeking to entice a village to vote for them, it will be provided by the government. Water will flow from every tap and water will flow from every home. Gombe state is one model I admire and it can be replicated in all the 36 states, in every local government, village or hamlet.


• The Health of the Nation will not be put on the back burner ever again. Every Nigerian should have access to quality health care. Teaching hospitals will be centers of excellence not playing fields of politics, strikes by health care personnel and less than acceptable health care delivery. Patients will have a say in the way the hospitals deliver care to them. Supplies will be available in every hospital. Health care insurance will be widely available. The poor will not be refused treatment on account of their poverty but will receive care provided by the state. Private Hospital regulations will be much stiffer than they have ever been. Malaria eradication programs will be established, followed and maintained until we get rid of the disease and its pesky carrier- the mosquito. Monitoring & Evaluation, Disaster management and Early warning systems would be in place and would be aided by the best technology not necessarily the most expensive available.


• Education- Teachers will be honored for their work and work to prove that they are worthy of this honor. No longer will it be a despised occupation but one with dignity. Training sessions, exposure to the best teaching methods, a healthy work environment, funds for grants and other programmes, refurbishing of schools, healthy teacher to student ratios................the list is endless.


• Infrastructure- Light- NEPA will be a name that will fade from the lips of the people. No child will ever utter as their first words NEPA again. No longer will students read by the dim glow of torchlights or families sweat in darkness during hot nights with mosquitoes buzzing in their ears, no longer will a week's worth of food spoil in the name of power outage. The Minister of Power and Steel and members of his/her portfolio will not be men who 'chop' money and become heroes of the people; they will be men who are determined to get the job done and succeed. Road repair and building will be done 'sharply'. Deaths from RTA due to bad roads will be a thing of the past.


• Corruption- I probably will institute the death penalty for anyone who steals money from the public coffers:) But seriously enough is enough. People who also take money for projects and do not finish them will be made to face the full wrath of the law. Why should someone who was awarded a contract to build a road not die when the road he built caused thousands of people to die because he did a shoddy job? I am just saying! Those who have stolen money in the past from the Coffers of the Nigerian people will be made to pay back every dime and hopefully foreign governments will be willing to return the stolen goods.


• Transportation- The railway system will be up and functioning, travel by water way will be safe, comfortable and available. The road network would be magnificent.


• The Niger Delta- will receive their fair share of proceeds from oil though this will not be in money bags distributed to local chieftains. The region will be a display of the creativity and ingenuity of the Nigerian people- Water, Light, Sanitation, Education, Health would be a given like other parts of the country but it will be an area that people will come to and gawk in awe of the splendor and resplendent beauty of the region. Oil blocs will not be awarded on the basis of nepotism and as a result of bribery!


• .........................the list is endless but the slogan remains OLAOLUWATOMI for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I would probably not run on the platform of the PDP but if I did, I hope I will garner the fair share of votes and not just one vote by the only female contender in the just concluded primaries!