Gobir

A governorship candidate on the platform of the Young People’s Party (YPP) in Kwara State, Alhaji Yakubu Gobir, the Waziri Kasar Hausa has said that wealth creation, mass employment of youths, social integration and economic prosperity would be the focus of his administration, if elected governor of Kwara State in 2023.

Gobir promised that the major concern of his administration when elected will be poverty reduction and creation of job opportunities through agriculture.

The YPP candidate stated this while speaking with journalists in Ilorin where he emphasized that his development agenda would target the youth population, which he described as half of the total population in the state.

He said the initiatives and programmes that would be introduced by his administration would signal a new dawn of hope for the people of the state.

While lamenting that residents of the state had suffered a lot, Gobir vowed to ameliorate their sufferings if he became the governor, adding that he has always had the urge to work and plan for the betterment of his people’s condition. 

Alhaji Gobir who is also the Madawaki of Ilorin Emirate, said his chances are in the hands of God and the electorate, adding that people should not make mistake of electing bad leaders like in the past.

“Mistake made in the past can be corrected now. This is the opportunity. This time around, it’s not about the party, but the personality that is credible enough and trusted People should look at attributes of each of the candidates to make the right choice.” He said.

Waziri Gobir, who said that only 10 percent of the population are in the state’s civil service, said that his administration would encourage job creation through the mechanized agricultural revolution, especially among the youth, to reduce prevalent poverty in the state.

The YPP governorship candidate who is a pharmacist by training, criticised the present government in the state over infrastructure development, lamenting that “what’s the benefit of a visual centre, or esoteric bridge, when the food basket areas of the state are not accessible?”

“Kwara state is one of the largest producers of soya beans in the country. The soil is good for its cultivation. Soya bean, a category and a Product in the “Zero Oil Plan” of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) trades over $100 billion and Nigeria’s target share of the market is 5% amounting to $5 billion.

“We need to create wealth through agriculture. Most communities where farming is taking place are not accessible. There is no good roads, school or health facilities that could make living comfortable for the inhabitants and discourage rural urban migration.

 “We need to attract both local and foreign investment in agriculture to our state to improve the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) and socioeconomic development of the state. It’s high time the state moved from subsistence farming to mechanized agricultural revolution to help the populace”.

The governorship candidate, who promised to make judicious use of the common wealth of the people, said that a government only needed to borrow to invest and not for consumption.

The governorship candidate speaking on the prevalent security challenge in the state, said that traditional rulership, vigilance groups and community leadership in various communities should be utilized to complement with formal security system to address the development.

Alhaji Gobir, a Philanthropist and Entrepreneur is the Chairman of the Gobir Organization Foundation, a foundation committed to improving the quality of lives of the people.

Born in London on 19th October, 1965 into the family of late Ambassador Abubakar Garba Gobir, Waziri Yakubu Gobir is a successful entrepreneur. 

After concluding his primary and secondary school education at Cheltenham College, England, Waziri Gobir returned to Nigeria and graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from the Ahmadu Bello University – Zaria, in 1985. Waziri Gobir is also a graduate of INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France and Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. 

After spending a number of years working for Pfizer and Hoechst in Nigeria, he started his own marketing and distribution company – Smart Mark Limited in June 1998. Smart Mark has opened up the Nigerian market for a number of multinationals including Swatch, Sara Lee, Wella, L’Oreal, Nike, Levi’s, Converse, United Colors of Benetton, T.M. Lewin, Tommy Hilfiger and Unilever. 

In 2014, Waziri launched INVIVO – a large format retail pharmacy chain. INVIVO is a social enterprise which has a clinic and lab at each location. Over 80,000 people are treated for free every year. His company employs about 500 people.

Waziri has extensive experience in the private sector spanning over three decades, and training at two of the world’s leading business schools. Waziri has a passion for social entrepreneurship, and he is in the founder of The Gobir Organisation Foundation with a focus on high impact social investment programs, targeted at poverty alleviation, healthcare, education, agriculture and youth development. 

Waziri is well travelled, and his expertise includes attracting foreign direct investment and trade. Alhaji Waziri Gobir speaks English, French, Hausa and Yoruba fluently