David P. Kim

I grew up in Ban, a village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, and there is one memory that has stayed with me.

I was about five years old when a borehole was sunk in my community. At that age, I didn't understand development. I only knew that fetching water became fun because of the process of pumping it.

But decades later, that same borehole is still the main source of drinking water for my community.

And I often ask myself:

How can this be?

Something that represented progress when I was five is still the main source of drinking water today.

That borehole represents something much bigger to me: the gap between what our communities should have achieved and what we have gradually learned to accept.

And it is not just water.

It is insecurity. It is poor roads. It is farmers struggling to make a decent living. It is young people with limited opportunities. It is gaps in healthcare and education.

In many ways, my community is a microcosm of Nigeria.

The challenges we experience are challenges that millions of Nigerians can recognise in their own communities.

The numbers agree. Nationally, nearly 3 in 10 Nigerians lack safe drinking water, and rural Nigerians are far more likely to be poor: 72% versus 42% in cities. And in Plateau, the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index found that about 84% of people are multidimensionally poor, against 63% the national average.

At some point, I stopped asking, “Why is this happening?”

I started asking:

“What can I do about it?”

That is a major reason I decided to run.

I understand that as a member of the House, I cannot personally fix every road or handle every security situation. The role is to legislate, represent, participate in appropriation and exercise oversight.

So I see my role as a bridge between the realities of our people and the machinery of government.