Hayatu-Deen: Nigeria at Crossroads, Needs Help, Pledges to Be an Empathetic Leader
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Investment banker and presidential aspirant in African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, has declared that Nigeria is at a crossroads and needed urgent genuine leadership to address the various crises befalling the country.
Hayatu-Deen pledged to be an emphatic leader who would always reflect on the feelings of Nigerians.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Hayatu-Deen said, “Nigeria stands at a crossroads. And at such moments, nations do not drift, they move forward with momentum. They choose either the noble path of renewal or the easy slide into decline.
“For too long, we have made the wrong choices, tolerated weak systems, and watched as the gap between our potential and our reality has widened.
“Today, that gap is no longer abstract, it is felt in the rising cost of living, in the insecurity that threatens lives and livelihoods, and in the growing sense of uncertainty about the future.
“Everyday, the signs around us suggest that we are drifting too close to that decline. The country that we love continues to pile pressures on everyday Nigerians, while the promise of a better life increasingly feels out of reach.’’
According to the presidential hopeful, “Food prices continue to rise. Petrol prices continue to climb. For millions of families, the simple act of getting through the day has become a test of endurance rather than a pursuit of opportunity.
“Everyday Nigerians are not only burdened economically, they are also increasingly unsafe and insecure. In too many parts of our country, communities live under the shadow of fear, uncertain of what tomorrow may bring.”
He lamented the seemingly intractable Nigerian security crisis, saying, “Only this week, we have seen Boko Haram take 416 hostages in Borno, my home state. When it cuts this close to home, it only reaffirms to me that every Nigerian life matters.
“In some cases, citizens now bear the direct cost of that insecurity, paying ransoms to secure their own safety, a reality that speaks to a deeper failure of protection and leadership. Nigerians are poorer and less secure than they were three years ago.
“Because, on the face of it, while macroeconomic reforms were needed, these should have been carefully sequenced in a systematic and orderly manner to mitigate the devastating side effects which the nation has and continues to experience.”
Hayatu-Deen said, “This has engendered a broader loss of confidence in the economic stewardship of the country. This is not the Nigeria that we were promised. And it is definitely not the Nigeria that we deserve.
“And it must not be the Nigeria that we accept. That is why I have joined other leaders in the ADC, to fix the problems that have been allowed to get progressively worse.”
He said Nigeria needed to take a new course, “A course that is anchored on clarity, discipline, and leadership that puts Nigerians first and restores confidence in our future.
“In every organisation that I have led, I have been guided by a simple principle: leave it better than you met it. That is the standard to which I hold myself, and it is these same exacting standards I will bring to the leadership of our country.”
