FORMER Lagos State military administrator, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Marwa (rtd), declared at the weekend that he will win the presidency in 2007 if it is the will of God that he runs. “I say this because nobody takes Marwa by surprise and I don’t have a habit of stepping side ways, stepping backwards or stepping down. Going by the amount of pressure on me to run, I want to say that I will definitely be ready when the time comes,” he stated.
Speaking in Port Harcourt at an interactive session with groups desirous to know about his endowment, Marwa said those peddling rumours that he was “fronting for somebody should say whether a human being can make himself or another person president.” “The answer is no,” he pointed out.
He continued: “One thing I want to assure Nigeria is that if those who want my humble self to run for president say yes, because of the confidence they have in my ability and the trust, if you like, step sideways, step down or step back, the outcome will still be determined by God through the people because the voice of the people is the voice of God.
“Therefore if anybody tells you that I am going to step down, you must dismiss that completely from your conscience. And any time I make my statement, you will know that Marwa never deceives.”
Concerning the issue of oil dichotomy, which has pitched the governors of the 19 northern states against the south-south states, Marwa said: “I want to let you know that the north and the south have very close affinity over the years, therefore no problem should come between us. I also want to say that if God answers your prayers, justice, fair-play and equity will hold sway in all these matters”.
“I say this because the south-south is an area where the people suffer pollution in their farm lands, living environment and aquatic lives. There is also issue of acid rain. Therefore attention must be paid to infrastructural development in the Niger Delta”, the former military administrator added.
Marwa described education as the bedrock of any society, noting that education and good health should be a cardinal priority of any serious government that has the interest of the people at heart. “By the grace of God, the present legacies of NEEDS that the present administration has put in place which hold a lot of promises for the upliftment of the socio-economy development of our nation will be sustained and improved upon if your wishes come through”, he stressed.
