Dear Sir,
I hope this reaches you in good health. My name is Enyinnaya Emmanuel Chukwueke. While I could provide a summary of my short life so far and why amongst the sea of people who must be vying for your attention I should be listened to, I don't feel its important or in fact necessary. What is important is that I am a young Nigerian and I am proud to be one and as your ambition is to lead our country my views (alongside those of every Nigerian) should matter immensely to you. With the 2011 elections around the corner and everyone in the nation filled with a cocktail of excitement and anxiety, the field is awash with numerous candidates each professing to have the best interest of Nigeria at heart. While each politicians boast of past achievements or clean records, I think what is far more important than the nature of the candidate is his or her plan for our country Nigeria. The election should not be decided on which person is preferred by more people, but rather by whose vision for Nigeria is shared by the most people. In this regard, most of the political discourse so far has been lacking. So it is with this in mind and with all due respect that I ask that you clarify your position on the issues facing Nigeria.
I am aware that the issues facing Nigeria are complex; they are often inter-related, over-lapping and deep rooted. However, I feel that the problems can be separated out into broadly speaking Political, Economic and Social ones. Within these broad categories there are a number of individual issues which I have outlined below. Although as of the time of writing there is no official date for the 2011 elections, I feel we can safely say it is at least 25 weeks away and as such I have devised a 26 instalment programme that will hopefully clarify your vision for Nigeria. I understand that you must be busy and as such expecting detailed analyses of the issues and detailed policy plans is perhaps unrealistic, but by not letting the people know where you stand you are really missing the opportunity to win over a nation that is no longer satisfied to vote along ethnic, religious or patronage lines. Nigerians want substance and to rescue the nation and restore it to its rightful place at the forefront of Africa, we need a plan.
1) Political
a) Corruption and Patronage
b) The Niger-Delta
c) Ethnicity and Nationalism
d) Electoral reliability
e) The constitution and constitutional reform
f) The party system and political participation
2) Economic
i) Macroeconomic Issues
a) Full employment
b) Price Stability
c) Economic Growth
d) Balance of Payments
ii) Microeconomic Issues
a) Redistributing income and wealth
b) Reducing regional disparity
c) Correcting market failures
d) Food security
3) Social
a) Poverty
b) Education
c) Healthcare
d) Corruption
e) Crime and Justice
f) Ethnic/religious violence
g) Technological Gap
h) Welfare and social security
i) Gender equality
j) Human Rights
4) Priority
Amongst all these issues, what is the priority for the next government of Nigeria?
So what do I want from you? Right now, I would simply ask you to look at the list and remove from it any issues you think are not pertinent or not within the remit of government and add to it any issues that you feel are but are not on the list. After this, each week I will expound the issue in question as I see it and ask for your thoughts in each case and possible solutions. While I really do hope you take me seriously and that you do respond, I will continue to write to you each week even if you do not. I thank you for your time and sincerely wish you all the best. This letter is open and as such I welcome the thoughts and contributions of my fellow Nigerians
Humbly yours,
Enyinnaya Emmanuel Chukwueke
