Through this manifesto, we the members of the National Interest Party (“NIP”) re-affirm our faith in our dear country Nigeria. We state without an iota of doubt, that Nigeria will be one of the greatest countries in the world; and hopefully, the first African country to fully provide for each of her citizen’s welfare the moment Nigeria changes her less qualified leaders for the better qualified ones.

NIP will admit only qualified young men and women with undisputed integrity at the helm of its affairs, and will only put forward the exceptional talents amongst this few for elective roles in the Nigerian polity. NIP is the platform for people who are willing to work very hard for the betterment of all Nigerians, not the betterment of a select few. People who are united in the quest for a better Nigeria, people who do not care about our different ethnic origins, religions or creeds, languages, tribes etc. People who will pursue building an all-inclusive Nigeria with the sincerity of purpose that has eluded us over nearly six decades of independence. NIP will afford Nigeria and Nigerians the first ever opportunity to be the greatest and most revered people in this world.

When only those who believe without a doubt in one united Nigeria, those who have successfully undergone enhanced criminal background checks, and those who come through rigorous independent screening in Nigeria and in every country they lived for two years or more take control of our affairs in Nigeria, the result will most definitely be a country which will earn the respect, admiration and envy of all other African nations.

A country which will be admired, and sought after by every institution and country in the international community. A Nigeria which her sons and daughters wherever they may be, will be proud to call their country.

NIP can build a united and prosperous Nigeria. A Nigeria where each citizen know they matter irrespective of individual States of Origin, the circumstances of their birth, or the material acquisitions they so far made in life.

Nigeria comprises of men and women of varying ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. NIP therefore appreciates the enormous difficulties of uniting over 300 ethnic groups who have lost faith in their country, and the daunting task of getting a people who have never trusted each other to start doing so. Our past leaders did not give us the opportunity to start to trust each other, because they acted strictly for personal interests. They took advantage of the trust we bestowed upon them as our leaders and dealt us the worst possible cards.

Our past leaders made governance in Nigeria a means to selfish ends. They took advantage of us and pocketed our national wealth for their personal benefit. They left us hungry, angry and blaming each other. We believed as we were told to do, that it is the fault of one tribe or the other, one religion or the other, one creed or the other. Well, the time to end the charade is now. NIP is saying enough is enough.

We blamed the self-centeredness of our leaders immediately prior to, and following our independence in 1960 for the political disarray which brought about the bitter inter/intra ethnic strife and conflicts Nigeria endured at the time.

Not knowing better, we blamed the infiltration of the Military into governance in Nigeria for the stagnation Nigeria endured under military rule. We decided that the Military progressively brought out the worst weaknesses in us as a people. That the Military brought about the decadent moral conduct of our people by bringing about, and fuelling the abysmal levels of corruption which became the norm in Nigeria. We blamed the Military for killing the idea of reciprocal regards, good neighbourliness, and for destroying the spirit of fair play, whether in official or interpersonal relations because all these became our lot as a nation during and immediately after each Military rule.

Military rule is gone, and has stayed gone for a long time. Nigeria has enjoyed nearly two decades of democratically elected leadership, however, we are still at the same spot – maybe even worse off all things considered. Who is to blame? Who is responsible for our lack of unity, lack of progress, lack of formidable institutions to protect our rights and liberties, lack of pride in our dear nation?

The answer? Each of us. We are individually and collectively responsible for our troubles and until we accept that blame and resolve to do better, we will not make progress as one united country.

We gladly vote the same people we blame for all our troubles to be our leaders each time we are called upon to so do. We forget that a leopard will never change its skin. A cursory look at the political class that has ruled Nigeria since her 1960 independence shows that we are simply rotating among the same people. Whether we look at it from the point of view of our founding fathers and their protégés, or our uniformed men and women and theirs, it has been the same people at the helm of our affairs for nearly six decades. When will we understand that we cannot demand something different from these same people? When will we see that they are our only problem as a country?

The time is now.

Clearly, Nigeria is highly unstable and experiencing a continuous decline in every possible regard because of the lack of morality and complete absence of integrity in the people we have chosen to man public offices on our behalf.

The self-centeredness, and lack of commitment of these leaders to our country has also destroyed our faith in our country. A person, no matter his qualifications and leadership experience cannot win an election in Nigeria without heavy monetary inducement to the leaders of political parties, or the voting class because we now practice the politics of stomach infrastructure. We must change this to move on.

Our docility as a people has meant that our country keeps falling deeper into the abyss that our current and past leaders dug for us. We have a country so beautifully blessed, yet so wonderfully cursed. A country where everyone is patiently awaiting the opportunity to steal national wealth, instead of an opportunity to serve.

NIP believes that only an urgent restoration of participatory democracy, social justice and good governance by a government formed by a responsive political party, a political party led mainly by highly qualified, and properly educated patriotic young men and women of undisputed integrity will solve our numerous problems as a nation.

We believe that we must find, and provide a transparent platform upon which Nigerians who possess outstanding leadership ability, and the requisite knowledge and skills to build a formidable country can ride. We are confident that a complete overhaul of the leadership class in Nigeria is the only solution that will remove the mayhem into which our country has been plunged by our past and present leaders, and bring about the stability, development and progress we all yearn.

NIP shall in the selection of candidates for public office and in its appeal to the public, emphasise the undisputed integrity, the abilities, and the commitment of each candidate to the welfare of every Nigerian. NIP will bring a leadership founded on transparency and accountability in the conduct of all its political activities. NIP will bring a new type of leadership to Nigeria. A forward looking and inspiring leadership. A leadership with a sense of mission. A leadership which only puts forward the honest and not the dishonest, the disciplined and not the erratic, the selfless and not the selfish, the qualified, and not the unqualified. NIP has set the bar very high, and will not negotiate with anyone or any institution which proposes to lower this standard.

NIP is committed to fight, by all means necessary the mismanagement of our national wealth, to recover as much of our stolen wealth as we can find, to eradicate the abysmal levels of corruption in our national life, and the unequal treatment of our people at all levels.

NIP will work hard to restore public confidence in our dear nation, to restore law and order, justice and equity to our people. NIP will encourage the spirit of reconciliation in all Nigerians because we have faith that the great leadership we install in Nigeria will inspire respect from Nigerians and from the rest of the world. We will provide the inspiring and caring leadership that has eluded Nigeria in the six decades following her independence. Our brand of leadership will bring about acceptance, thus positively influence the social reorientation we will actively pursue as a political party.

NIP is a group of like-minded Nigerians of all ages, backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, creed, tribes, educational and professional qualification – every of our differences as a people is well represented. We have come to form the first formidable, national, broad-based, people-oriented and principled political party not affiliated with any corrupt current or past politician or leader. Our common purpose is to work relentlessly for the restoration of true democracy and good governance in Nigeria.

This manifesto is a brief introduction to how we propose to return decision-making to the people of Nigeria by selecting only those truly interested in what becomes of each of us to lead us. This manifesto is the manual for the results we aim to achieve for all of us as a Nation.

We hope you will give us your support so that we can build a Nigeria for All of us.