The Shadow Team and Nation Building

Nation-building is very important business. Future quality of life of the people, good governance, peace and productivity depend on it. Sometimes it is not as tidy as we wish but it always involves hard work, creativity, and patriotic fervour.

This portal is dedicated to growing the idea of an opposition loyal to the Nigerian people through participatory people centred shadow government even in a presidential system. It is part of the evolution of our institutions of nation-building. In establishing this as part of the effort of a coalition of some political pasrties outside the PDP we are committing to the politics of service above self, the enthronement of ideas as the basis for progress and citizenship behaviour as the cornerstone of our democratic order.

When in the days of disputation of election outcomes in April 2007 the Presidential candidates outside the PDP asked that I be their spokesperson and I addressed the world seating between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and General Muhammadu Buhari, I inherited a moral obligation to play a guiding role in the erection of a democracy that serves the best interest of all the people of Nigeria. The idea of a Shadow Cabinet we announced last year was a giant step in that direction and the unveiling of this portal is the next great step in giving ownership of government and the opposition doctrine to the Nigerian people.

It is my hope and prayer that it will serve us all well. It should be an Ombudsman location, a veritable marketplce of ideas for advancing the common good and keeping government alert to world class standards and benchmarks. I expect also that this vehicle will become key to policy monitoring and project implementation tracking for the citizen.