The InfoStride Forum

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2618253/ForumPhotos/pat-utomi-2.jpg) These are the electoral promises of Professor Pat Utomi, the presidential candidate of Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) for the upcoming April 2011 presidential election in Nigeria. The manifesto is tagged "Issues: Statement of Purpose" with attention on the areas listed and discussed.

ISSUES

Statement of Purpose

QuoteWe all know that Nigeria is broken. We've seen our leaders more interested in personal profit than national progress. We've seen our families' welfare take a back-seat to corruption and patronage.

But it doesn't need to be this way. We can turn the corner. This is the election where we all stand-up together and demand a government that works for the people, not the powerful; that requires transparency and holds our leaders to account; that invests in our country's ability to produce goods, generate jobs, and create wealth among all people and in all regions.

IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE. IT IS TIME FOR A NEW NIGERIA

A NEW LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY IN NIGERIA

We seek the reform of our democratic system to ensure full transparency and accountability. Machine politics and the God father syndrome manipulate the system, producing leaders with no connection to the governed who proceed to use government to build up personal wealth. Only by being open and transparent, can we ensure that our government policies reflect the will of the people and the best interests of our nation. We will require all budgetary records and leaders' personal financial disclosure forms be posted on the government website, open to investigation by journalists, political organizations, and ordinary Nigerians. We will ensure the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, and when passed sign it with immediate dispatch.

A NEW POLITICAL IDEAL IN NIGERIA

Our leaders need to be servants to the people, committed to shared ideals and honest, open government. The term 'servant leader' has to be used genuinely as a manifestation of an intention to serve the people and not just campaign rhetoric to be discarded after being sworn into office.

A NEW POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN NIGERIA

Our debates can't center on empty promises and division. The fact is that we're all in this together. Only by coming together and having an honest debate over our policies and future, can we escape our collective struggle.

A NEW CLASS OF LEADERS

We can't expect the same corrupt players to take us in a new direction. We need to bring into political life a new class of leaders – people of integrity and proven track records of service, honor, and competence. We need a democratically elected team that will collaborate, poll their intellectual capabilities, and make a road map for progress in Nigeria. We need the best and brightest to accomplish a quantum leap in progress that can take Nigeria from "Paradise deferred" to "Paradise reclaimed". We seek to draw from the "Principled Centered School" of leadership in preparing a legion of people of character as new leaders who are passionately committed to the advancement of the Common Goodwill of our national endeavor.

A NEW GRASSROOTS IN NIGERIAN POLITICS

We need a movement of millions of young people that collectively stand-up and say "enough is enough." We need to take politics away from the corrupt elites and give it to the people. We need a new generation of Nigerians to demand change, to take responsibility, and to become the foundation for a new Nigeria – a generation that passes on a better nation to its children.

A NEW EAR TO THE PEOPLE

Let them participate. Open up the halls of government. We need to encourage our average citizens to communicate with their leaders. By implementing new technologies via the Internet, we can help Nigerians organize and have their voices heard by our government. And we will invest in building capacity at local government. There needs to be a real link between our representatives and their constituents.