Why is this process called 4D printing?

The reason we call it 4D is because the object changes over time. So whereas 3D printing simply creates an object,Skylar Tibbits: The emergence of "4D printing" the 4D-printed object is printed using smart materials that are activated by various sources — like heat, water, current, sound, pressure, and so on.

Objects are printed with the multi-material printer using a combination of smart material and standard 3D printing material — currently, Stratasys’ Connex highly precise multi-material 3D printers can print two materials — in whatever shape you want. Then when you activate the object, it changes: swells or contracts or moves.

Right now the material we’re using is a polymer-based water-absorbing material that expands 150%. For the non-4D material, Stratasys has a whole line, everything from soft rubber to plastic. Right now we use their hard black plastic, just a standard plastic material, alongside the 4D material as the activator.

So the expanding material does one thing and the rigid material holds the shape, is that right?

Right. The rigid material gives it structure and constraints. If you have two pieces and you want them to fold, how do you make it go the right direction? That way or another way? Well, you put a very thin piece of rigid material on the side you want to fold. So that means that the expanding material is going to expand, and that super thin material is going to bend. And so this basically creates a force. But then the question is, how do you make it so that the bend stops at the correct angle? So you add rigid limiters. You also use the lengths of the segments to achieve the shape you want. The rigid material is the code, and the expanding material is the energy.

It’s just become a really elegant process from start to finish, where my hands are out of it the whole time. I build intent, but the object is manufactured as a streamlined piece. You dip it in water and it goes by itself.

Video above: A demonstration of 4D Printing, the “MIT” self-folding strand in action.

The first time you saw the test object fold by itself in water, were you incredibly excited?

I had one surprising moment. I set it in water, and I had my camera set up doing a time-lapse — the process is so slow you can’t see it moving in real time. A few hours later I came back and it was folded. And I thought, “Oh, cool. It folded. It works.” But then I looked at the time-lapse and went, “Whoa!” — because it looks like a live worm. It’s not just click, click — MIT. It takes weird dynamic forms to get there. So that was cool.

How did you originally connect with Stratasys?

It’s actually a funny story. I was at a coffee shop, in Cambridge, right across from MIT, and the person across from me had a shirt on that said Objet — the 3D printing company that later merged with and became Stratasys. We started talking, and I introduced her to the department of architecture at MIT. I showed her the work I’m doing, saying, “I wish there was a way we could print this stuff so that we could embed the energy directly into it.” She connected me with their materials science division, which was developing this material that expands in water. Together we realized this wasn’t just a weird material that we don’t know what to do with, but a new paradigm for what you can print.

You are the only person working on designs for this material and this particular process. So do you get all the credit for 4D?

Well, Stratasys developed the materials and the machine, so this wouldn’t be possible without them. I had the vision of how this would be a real change in the game of 3D printing. This only became a reality once we produced the prototypes and demonstrated that it is possible. But I think 4D printing is something that in the future anyone can do. If the materials were on the market, everyone would be 4D printing tomorrow.

But you need the design knowledge.

That’s true. There’s the whole democratizing-design world, and they’re trying to make it so anyone can 3D print anything. This falls into that realm. It’s a little bit more complex because you need to be smart enough to figure out, say, if you want to make a fairly complex and intricate shape, you need to then be able to figure out what’s the pattern for it to go from here to here — and that’s not always easy. Going from a line to a circle is pretty straightforward. You can make a strip, and you can make a standard interval, and it will curl uniformly. But if you want to make something more intricate, you need to have the tools to be able to do that. So we started to collaborate with Autodesk to help develop new design tools for this — tools that allow you design around self-assembly principles as well as simulate and optimize the folding patterns.

Video above: A demonstration of a self-folding sheet, created at the MIT Self-Assembly Lab.

So what now? Are you thinking up ways to apply this technology to designs?

Yes. So far we’ve demonstrated that a one-dimensional form folds into a three-dimensional form. One goal is to go as complex as possible. I’m trying to do a 50-foot long strand that folds into eight inches: it’s called the Hilbert curve — a mathematical curve. So that would demonstrate that we can do highly simple first parts that lead to very complex other structures. And it also may have implications for studying protein folding, how they can go from one configuration to another, how they don’t tangle, and what design parameters are essential. But I also want to demonstrate all of the other low-hanging fruit — a flat 2D sheet that folds into a rigid 3D structure. A 3D object like a cube that turns into a sphere. We know we can do it — we just haven’t. There are a ton of these.

After we’ve proved we can build complex things and we can do all geometric transformations, then we can start to use the technology for more real-world applications. Then we will need to push the materials further and make sure we have the right properties so that it is scalable. Part of me is just fascinated by pushing the boundaries of what we know, what’s possible, what materials can do, and how much information you can embed. But I also want to make large-scale things and solve real-world problems with them.

You’ve talked to us about applying self-assembly technology to adaptable infrastructure like piping and bridges, low-energy manufacturing, and passive energy construction techniques. What about potential applications for space?

We have been working with Shackleton Energy as a design advisor to help build space infrastructure systems using these principles. They are looking to build a whole pipeline space infrastructure for fueling and energy extraction. The idea is to provide an infrastructure for all of the private space companies, so that they don’t have to keep going back and forth, but stay in space longer. So they need an energy supply chain, module components and smart ways they can connect to one another.

The opposite paradigm is the International Space Station: it comprises extremely complex and expensive technology made all around the world, coming together in complex ways. Nearly no module is the same. In contrast, we want to develop simple systems that can be shipped, then expand in orbit and are reconfigurable. These would be standard components that come together in many, many ways, so you have massive design possibility with a minimum number of components.

Adaptable infrastructure: pipes that expand and contract according to need. Photo: MIT Self-Assembly Lab

Why is 4D — and self-assembly — necessary?

The short answer is that I don’t like manual labor. People always comment that my work reduces energy consumption. But I never say that; I say it uses alternative energy sources like heat, shaking, and so on. The extra energy required to make smarter parts that self-assemble could be offset by reducing the expensive and huge amount of energy used in construction.

Well, 4D radically modifies that argument, because the manufacturing side would also be streamlined. There isn’t excessive labor to make the parts “smart”: I don’t have to embed magnets in every single piece, for example. It goes right from design to reality — and it doesn’t stop at reality. Smart materials can even continue to adapt — changing shape or texture. But the manufacturing process is streamlined.

How did you become interested in self-assembly in the first place?

Skylar Tibbits: Can we make things that make themselves?It all began in 2007, when I was in architecture school, as an undergrad in Philly. I was building these huge sculptures and breaking my back.

Were you originally an artist?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an artist. I was always drawing, and also making stuff. And I was into photography in middle school and high school. But somehow I thought architecture was a lucrative art form. Architecture was all software-based, but at a certain point, you get to the limits of software. I started learning how to write code. And the code is what led to the sculptures.

Generative art was a brand-new field at the time. At the same time, digital fabrication began. It was all brand new: fab labs were popping up, architecture schools were getting robotic fabrication machines, and laser cutters and 3D printers. Suddenly there was this code explosion, which meant that people like me could make stuff that no one else could make. It was the students that were pumped about this new technology. “Wow, we have all these crazy design tools and digital fabrication tools. Now we can build stuff that hadn’t been possible before — and with one percent of the budget.”

Tibbits’ first installation, “Flat Panel Quadrilateral Tessellations,” 2008.

What was your big break?

I got a huge opportunity to do an exhibition in Philly in 2007, at the Real World house in this old bank. It’s two floors, balcony. They offered me the whole space. I pitched to do something called “Scripted by Purpose,” which was a collaboration with TED Fellow Marc Fornes. The idea was using scripted processes for design. And so we brought anyone from around the world that we knew that was doing generative design at the time.

We had architects, but we also had Vito Acconci there, Marius Watz and Francois Roche, and other well-known architects, artists and designers. We were the first ones in the design world to put together such an exhibition, so people started inviting us to do exhibitions around the world. For us, it was an opportunity to make stuff in ways that people weren’t making before. And we could compete. Big architects were doing wild projects with billions of dollars. We could do wild geometries in smarter ways, because we could write code and run machines ourselves — for little money. But it was manual labor — people fabricating, assembling, connecting things, finishing the parts. Eventually the labor side of it made me realize that there had to be a better way. Not just code to design stuff, not just code to make stuff, but code to assemble stuff as well.

Somewhere in there, I joined MIT Design Computation Group and started working on programmable matter and robotics, artificial intelligence, and eventually the biology stuff crept in. That showed me possibilities of construction at other length-scales that used computational processes and embedded assembly information. That led to the research on self-assembly!

So you did ultimately get to be an artist.

Yes, I am an artist, but I also think of myself as an architect. My art was always trying to prove an architectural point. My first installation was called “Flat Panel Quadrilateral Tessellations.” It basically said that we can make complex, doubly curved surfaces, out of flat pieces of material. So it’s super cheap and super easy to build, all through code and coded machines.

For me, the most exciting challenge is not to do the same thing ever again, or to keep critiquing myself each time: how could it be smarter, how could this thing be more streamlined or do things that we didn’t expect? Each time I start something new, I want to do something I couldn’t have imagined was possible.

How has the TED Fellowship had an impact on your life and work so far?

The TED Fellowship has given me the opportunity, network and confidence to start my own lab at MIT, the Self-Assembly Lab. I likely wouldn’t have been able to take that trajectory otherwise. TED has also really been a research testbed and an opportunity to experiment. I’ve been fortunate enough to exhibit work during three of the four conferences that I’ve attended — putting the work out there, getting feedback, getting exposure and using it as a stage for development. I think this has really been a unique experience, much more tangible and direct than I could have imagined.

Video above: Watch Tibbits’ recently posted TED-Ed animation: “Self-assembly: The power of organizing the unorganized.”

You express yourself through nearly every artistic medium – painting, performance, writing, film. What drives you to make art?

Most of my work is reactionary to where I live. And where I live now, Beirut, is one of the most volatile places in the world. Through my work, I am trying to create bridges between cultures and religions. My work is a by-product of political and economic turmoil, focusing on issues of violence, gender and religion and their place in our bubblegum culture. I try to expose the superficiality of war, creating an alternate reality. My weapons of choice are love and humor. The need to create justice through art is deeply rooted in my childhood, and I know I have consciously chosen to live in a place where my work is necessary. But I have also learned that anger is the worst tool, and violence begets violence.

It is easy to assume certain things about my work when you see all the glitter and beads. But I found that in order to paint or write about violence, I had to create my own language and my own visual vocabulary. I think that there is a big difference between popular culture and kitsch. Popular culture is an international language. It builds bridges and brings people together. It can destroy stereotypes if used in the right way. And it can promote peace because it’s so accessible. I strongly believe that my work should speak a language that people know how to use. Peace should be completely accessible.

I don’t use glue in my work, I use tiny pins — thousands of them! I have developed a type of canvas where everything is stuck in with pins. In a way, it reflects the instability of my region. It is also a reflection of a huge problem we have in Lebanon that some have labeled as collective amnesia — we try too hard to forget our wars too quickly, our history is constantly being rewritten to suit different political and religious ideologies. At any point in time, one could completely rearrange my paintings to tell a different story.

The physical process of using pins puts me into a state of meditation — this act of repetition creates an environment of peace around me. While I’m in my studio, I don’t worry about bombs dropping. You see: glitter reflects light. And the more color and glitter I use, the closer I am to the light — to the source. The pink objects and embellishments are my positive energy. I take aim and shoot them into the heart of fear to negate the negative.

You are Lebanese but have lived all over the world. What was your path to Beirut?

I was born in London but spent the first 15 years of my life in Lagos, where my family had emigrated. It was an incredible experience, but it forced me to grow up very quickly. I was very aware of what I had and what others didn’t have. On the drive to school every morning, I saw faces and situations that broke my heart. I became very angry at the way the world works, with our differences. I was angry about being Lebanese. I was angry about being a girl. I was angry about feeling like there was nothing I could do to change the situation.

Then I discovered student council and ran for secretary in 5th grade. I made only one poster, drawn by hand, and lost. The poster, however, was pretty good, and I realized that I could draw. I started copying album art of heavy metal bands, and kept getting better. In the 6th grade, I ran for class president and won. But this time it was because I rode a horse into school with a big “Vote for Zena” sign. I think that was my first site-specific installation attempt.

By the time I was done with school in Lagos, I understood there were two things that I loved more than anything: art and politics. I moved to the UK for boarding school and continued to win school elections with really cool poster campaigns. Unfortunately, my high school principal was racist and had a deep dislike of Arabs. In my senior year of high school, when I was school president, he still managed to suspend me and prohibited me from speaking at the graduation ceremony. I was really disappointed, because even though I’d presented myself as a rebel rouser, like any teenage kid, I just wanted to be accepted. With that thought in mind, I decided to move to Lebanon where maybe I would find other people like me. Maybe I would find home.

So you were in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of 2006, which gave birth to your blog, Beirut Update.

The first night the bombs started falling, I really thought I was going to die. And I wanted to make sure the whole world knew exactly how and why. The media were very slow to report on what was going on and I thought I could do my part, or at least tell my own story. I wrote all through the night, and in the morning I sent the email to every person in my address book, even people I hadn’t spoken to in years. I managed to sleep for a few hours, and when I woke up, my inbox was flooded. So many people wrote back asking how they could help.

A day later the UK Guardian got in touch, asking if they could reprint my first three emails. I agreed and they gave me the whole G2 supplement, and soon after syndicated the emails. My letters had gone global. Then a friend helped me set up a blog so people could reach my work more easily. I had no idea then how important blogging was to become for the Arab world.

I saw that the more transparent and human I was, the more audience I reached. It was the first time in my life I was so afraid, but in that month, I learned that love was the most powerful weapon. It was almost a self-defense mechanism: love would keep me alive. And just like Scheherazade, I believed that writing every day would bring me a new day. I wrote about life under the bombs, about the environmental disasters caused by the war, and about my best friend, Maya, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer. I thought that if people read about Maya’s condition, it could encourage them to call their governments and demand a ceasefire.

I stopped blogging the day the invasion ended. It was a war diary and I wanted it to stay that way — a testament to what had happened. I saw it as a painting, and it was pretty much complete. I only went back to post an article after Maya passed away. A lot of people became very connected to her through my writing, and I knew I had to share the sad news with them. A month later, a friend of mine was almost killed in the West Bank during an Israeli raid. I posted her letter, but then knew it was time to stop. There were always going to be moments like that, and I really wanted the blog to be what it was and nothing more. The painting was now complete.

You also happened to be in New York during 9/11. Tell us about xanadu*, your response to the event.

I lived in NYC from 2000 to 2004. Watching the first tower fall, I knew my life and the world would never be the same again. I knew the repercussions were going to be long and disastrous. It was not easy being an Arab in New York after that. I wanted to find a way to give back and stop the anti-Arab sentiments, which were spiraling out of control. My friend Imad Khachan and I started a nonprofit gallery space just off Washington Square Park that focused on exhibiting the work of Arab artists living in New York. I thought this would be a way to break stereotypes and overcome fear and suspicion. I also exhibited local artists, and we built a community of artists, writers and musicians with monthly exhibitions, readings and performances.

Now xanadu* is based in Beirut. I have shifted its focus to supporting young writers, especially helping poets get their first books published. I have also published the first few editions of a local comic book magazine. The idea behind xanadu* is to provide young or underrepresented artists, writers and musicians with a platform to leap off of: the first exhibition, first performance or first publication, whatever is needed to help creative people fly.

I strongly believe that our region can change for the better. And I believe that education, art and literature can help bring about positive changes. I know this from myself — if I hadn’t jumped into all that drawing and dancing (some call it head-banging), I could have gotten myself into a lot more trouble. I think I was very lucky to have been able to travel and receive the education I did. This is my way of giving back. I love working alone in the studio, but I also love being with a growing community. One of the greatest joys I experience is handing over a book, hot off the press, to the poet.

What are you up to now?

After Maya passed away, I went through a very difficult period and stopped painting. I pretty much gave up on life, and also went through a divorce. All in one year. But one night I had a beautiful dream. Maya had come back. I woke up not knowing where I was, the dream was so real. I started writing the dream and kept writing, and things developed. Two years later, my book, Beirut, I Love You was born. A wonderful woman, Samar Hammam, had found me during the war and convinced me that I had to write a book — a book that wasn’t the blog. She became my agent and got it published into several languages, and then I spent a year traveling to festivals to talk about it. At some point, my travels landed me in Italy, and that’s where I met Gigi Roccati and fell in love. The universe can be so generous, and life had given me a second chance.

Gigi, being a director, convinced me that we had to make a feature film based on my book. I accepted and we began a grueling two-year process of adapting it into a screenplay. We now have some incredible producers on board and will be filming soon. I am going to be making original artwork for the film too.

Another ongoing body of work I’m working on is Goods for Gaza. There is a blockade on Gaza by the Israeli army via land, air and sea. In 2010, a group of activists tried to sail into Gaza carrying much needed supplies and aid for the people. One of the ships, the Mavi Marmara, was boarded by Israeli commandos and some activists were killed. The army claimed the boats were a threat, bringing in weapons. I was curious. What exactly is this blockade all about, and what are the items banned from Gaza? What items caused the death of these activists? I did a simple online search and found the list. It contains about 2,000 items, which includes the following: desks, donkeys, A4 paper, biscuits, goats and ginger. I have been making a mixed media painting for each word, and will continue to do so until the blockade ends. Palestinian children should have the right to eat chocolate.

And you have a book coming out!

Yes, Beirut, I Love You is finally coming out in the States on October 16, published by The New York Review of Books. We’ve planned fun events that include slide shows, short film screening and a tap-dancing performance by the spectacular TED Fellow, Andrew Nemr. On October 18, I’ll be at Busboys & Poets in DC.

Last but not least, this November will be the 10-year anniversary of my ongoing Pink Bride of Peace project. I wear a big pink wedding dress and run around the streets of Beirut during the yearly Beirut International Marathon in an attempt to spread peace and love. I have passed out flowers to hundreds of people over the past years — and even some kisses every now and then. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s working, but I do know that I’m trying my best. And the fact that I can still fit into that same dress after 10 years — well, it’s a great sign!

Why do you use pink so prominently in your work?

Pink is like cotton candy. It’s fluffy and sweet. Too much of it, though, will leave a bad pain in your stomach. It’s quick and superficial. Barbie, GI Joe politics, and Cherry Cola to me represent a generation completely embedded in consumer culture. We are the pink generation. But it is also the color of nonviolent protest. I convert objects of violence into a celebration of life through a transformation into something beautiful. It’s like the plastic I use in my paintings, which is made from oil — the same oil mankind is at war for.

What’s your experience of being a TED Fellow been like?

It’s amazing so far. And I feel that it’s something that will keep getting better as I learn how to navigate through this incredible opportunity. As an artist, I’m used to working long hours alone, never asking for help. One of the best parts about being a Fellow is the incredible coaching sessions you get. It has helped me tremendously — artists are shy to talk about their work. TED is helping me gain the confidence I need!

But even more than that are the other Fellows. I sometimes felt like I was the only person in the whole universe who thinks and feels things to a certain depth. And then when I walked into the first meeting at the lobby in Long Beach, I was blown away and also very humbled. I feel like I’m gaining a new and beautiful family who understand me without me having to say a word. They give me the courage I need to keep going forward. I know I will never feel alone again. This is truly a humbling experience and I feel so lucky to be part of it!

TEDGlobal 2009 Fellow Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has announced his candidacy for president of Nigeria. In his first North American interview since the announcement, the anti-corruption activist spoke with TED’s Emeka Okafor, keeper of the seminal Africa blog Timbuktu Chronicles.

There is a tremendous amount of interest in your run for presidency. What would you attribute this to?

There is a powerful yearning for accountable and transparent leadership in Nigeria today. I am talking of a leadership that is able to address the ordinary peoples’ pressing problems and also reassure them that they really matter, that this country belongs to them.

It is now 11 years since our country returned to democratic rule, but the expected fruits are not visible; the economy is not generating jobs to match the rapidly growing population. Public education at all levels has collapsed. Cholera and other easily preventable diseases are ravaging the countryside, and infrastructure critical to economic development and social regeneration have been neglected over the years.

These are some of the things Nigerians are complaining about, and they are therefore looking for new political leadership, vigorous and purpose-driven leadership, to change the Nigerian story from pain and penury to prosperity and hope.

But we must be careful not to personalize the story and say the huge interest in my bid for the presidency is Nuhu Ribadu’s doing alone. I am running on the platform of a political party that stands for excellence in public service, a party that puts the needs of ordinary Nigerians first. Yet to talk of party is only, if I may use the expression, a tip of the iceberg. We are working within a broad canvass, a canvass which is indeed a coalition of progressive elements in the country. I also have an able and dedicated team working with me on my campaign. Some of these people are house-hold names in my country; they stand out because of their commitment to justice and the welfare of the ordinary people over the years. Nigerians know this, and they are rallying to our platform because they feel that this is a group whose promises they can rely on; a team that will go to any length to ensure their welfare. Above all, Nigerians are sick and tired of the problem of corruption, a problem that has eaten up their resources to the extent of eating up their future. They know we have proven record to reverse this problem. That is why we are here today, in the hearts and minds of our people.

So I think these are some of the reasons why Nigerians are now standing up to be part of history, to be part of the new movement to make this country work for all again, big and small, poor and rich.

From a career in law enforcement to politics. What has this change been like?

People tend to forget that prior to my law enforcement career I was a qualified lawyer who then became a prosecutor. Besides, my take on matters like this is more philosophical. Look at it this way, change is a constant in life, more so here in Africa that is now going through great political, economic and social flux. African countries are shaking off the authoritarianism of the past four decades that kept ordinary people down, reducing them to silent spectators in the great drama of economic development and social reconstruction. Taking it together, my law enforcement work over the past two decades, and also as member of the Nigerian economic management team that turned the nation’s economy round in the mid nineties into the early years of the new millennium, as well as my stint at our nation’s highest policy college, the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, the interesting thing I discovered as I began to make the transition to politics this past one year or so is that at the heart of law enforcement, economic management, policy development, and principled politics are the same motive: to make the life of the ordinary people more secure; to make institutions to work better so that they can serve the public interest the more effectively. Viewed this way, the transition from law enforcement to politics is not an abrupt disruption but rather a continuum on the road of public service, service to the Nigerian people.
How important an election is this? And why should Nigerians vote for you? Why should Americans pay attention?

I say the 2011 elections is important, very important because it will determine whether Nigeria will settle down into one-party rule, which is only one step to full-blown dictatorship and the economic inefficiency and social inertia that come with it, or break free and return to the path of multi-party democracy which all our people desired when they trooped out in the millions and ended military rule in 1999. The People’s Democratic Party has been in government for 11 years, and the people of Nigeria have gained nothing for it. Nigerians are angry and they feel cheated. They are disappointed with the PDP; they are disappointed with the politicians. This is why I am running for presidency: to restore the faith of ordinary Nigerians in the political process; in a government that truly cares for their welfare, that exerts itself to meet their daily needs. I have thought deeply about the problems of Nigerians; I have thought carefully about how to overcome the nation’s present challenges, and my team and I have worked out properly thought-through policies to speak to these daunting problems. We will urgently tackle the growing feeling of insecurity all over the country. We will create new paying jobs. The power sector will be overhauled to generate regular and affordable electricity. The health and education sectors will be given a new lease of life. But above all, yes, above all, we will wage an unrelenting war against poverty in this country. The welfare of the ordinary people of Nigeria will be at the heart of all our efforts as a government. This, put simply, is why I am running for president – to bring real and workable solutions to real problems. And that is why I ask Nigerians to come out massively and vote for me, and having voted, to stand firm and defend their votes. Americans and the people of other Western countries should pay close attention to political events in Nigeria presently because it is Africa’s most populous nation and one of the world’s leading oil producers. Nigeria also plays a very important role in stabilizing the strategic Gulf of Guinea oil states and also contributes generously to peace-keeping operations all over the world. A stable, prosperous and democratic Nigeria will more effectively partner the United States as the world’s peoples pull together to address the emerging challenges of the 21st century: climate change, failing states, terrorism, poverty and transnational diseases.

As president if you were to win how would you address the issue of corruption and weak institutions?

Corruption and weak institutions are linked in the sense that the presence of the latter provides fertile ground for the unscrupulous to break the law and divert public funds to private ends with impunity. It is a known fact that where there are strong institutions that function in a transparent and accountable manner the incident of corruption is drastically reduced. To this extent I will run a transparent government; a government that will be accountable to the two other arms – the legislature and the judiciary – and ultimately also accountable to Nigerian citizens who put us in power. Immediately on taking office, I will work strategically with the National Assembly to pass and ultimately sign into law the Freedom of Information Bill that, for one reason or the other has been vegetating on the executive foyer for several years now. Our journalists will be encouraged and empowered to serve as whistle-blowers, beaming a searchlight on the processes of government, particularly budgeting and execution of government contracts. I will also open the strategic sectors like oil and other extractive revenue earners to greater transparent and accountable oversight. Related to this is the need to publish what we earn and what all tiers of government get in allocation, in a way to help Nigerians appreciate what is earned and how it is spent. Our work at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was abruptly terminated, but on assuming office I will see that this very important organ is given a new lease of life, to continue its important work. The judiciary will be strengthened to speedily treat cases of corruption with the dispatch they deserve. The best way to strengthen public institutions at all levels is to give them the leeway to go ahead and do their work unimpeded, and also provide them with the resources they require to perform at the optimum. All the enabling laws they require to perform will be put in place. But most importantly, I will lead from the front. I will lead by example, insisting that the moral tone of government be such as will make ordinary Nigerians to see that change has come and emulate us.

What  are the chances of building an Obama-type grassroots campaign within Nigeria what can people do to help? Have you looked at the community building efforts of the Obama campaign as a guide of sorts for your campaign?

President Obama and the people behind his campaign did a wonderful job. But it is important that we remember that Nigeria is not America and that the circumstances that threw up Obama and made his success at the polls possible are different. Having said that, there are certainly lessons to be learnt here, particularly the way in which the Obama team fired up the young and other social groups generally considered to be at the margins of American society to stand up and be counted. Here in Nigeria, the average voter has become cynical after seeing election riggers hijack polling boxes and inflating vote figures out of all proportion these past 11 years. We are now working on a strategy of replacing despair with hope and confidence in the electoral process. We are also working with young people in the 36 states of the federation to come and join us and seize their moment because the coming election is really a plebiscite on their future. And they are responding in large numbers. We have Team Ribadu, our young Nigerians platform driving this important process. They are working in small networks in towns and cities and villages, galvanizing the grassroots and readying ordinary folk to troop out en masse to vote and having voted, to stand firm and peacefully defend their vote. This is what we are doing, and in this we are drawing from indigenous village civic organizations in this country as our model, the way in which they self-mobilise to execute projects. We are also drawing inspiration from other lands, including the Obama story.

What message would you have for the TED community in particular and the Americans in general regarding your candidacy?

Integrity, commitment to excellence, and openness to dialogue about what best will serve the public interest are the core values I am bringing to this election process and beyond; values that I know the TED community and Americans in general also hold dear. I am running for President because I am convinced that a new Nigeria is possible, that I and those who are with me can change our story from failure and despair to achievement and unbounded possibilities. America has always renewed and revitalized herself just when all appeared lost. Nigeria can do so too, and I urge Americans to rally behind true democrats in Nigeria whose only request is that the coming elections be free, fair and credible. Ultimately, it will be up to Nigerians to vote and protect their votes, but the world, and this includes the TED community and all Americans, can help by sending out the word that there is really no alternative to free elections in Nigeria. The only other option is anarchy and violence, and I am sure no one really wants that.

How viable is your campaign? Do you realistically feel that you can win?

I am running to win, no doubt about that. I am running on a record of dedicated service to my country. I am running on a record of achievement in the public service; a record of 25 years of public service. My team and I have thought about Nigeria’s problems, and our policy proposals are clear and sensible and speak directly to the pressing problems of the overwhelming majority of our country men and women. My campaign machinery is firm and extends to all parts of the country, taking precisely this message to Nigerians. I will win with a clear majority as long as the polling is free and fair and there is no intimidation of voters at the polling stations. On a jocular level, I want to say also I never failed at anything I ever set out to accomplish.

How can we move Nigeria/Africa’s culture from one of extraction to one of production?

There is nothing intrinsic in Nigerian and African culture that yokes them eternally to a culture of extraction. When academics talk about the ‘resource curse’ and point to African countries as the quintessential example of this pathology, they forget that Africa’s present mono-cultural economy is linked to the continent’s peculiar political history. Colonial rule imposed an authoritarian model of politics and economic development on the continent. Our colonial overlords were only interested in forcing local people to plant cash crops which were then shipped to Europe to feed her rapidly-expanding industries. Little or no investment was made in developing manufacturing capacity on the continent. The modest efforts that were made by our post-independence leaders were quickly reversed with the advent of military coups and dictatorship beginning in the mid-1960s. With the return of multi-party democracy in Nigeria and other African countries in the past decade or so, effort is now being made to invest in industry and manufacture, to commercialise underperforming state-owned enterprises; to put in place the vital social and physical infrastructure that will drive economic diversification and shared prosperity. Stock markets are opening up all over the continent; incentives are being put in place to strengthen the private sector and also attract foreign direct investment. The public sector is also being retooled to serve as an effective and responsible partner, providing the political stability, security, legal framework and regulatory mechanism that are so vital for private and public enterprise to thrive and prosper. Nigeria’s telecommunication sector is one of the most vibrant in the world today. I will further deepen and accelerate these processes with policies my team and I will unfurl immediately on taking office. There is now talk of the ‘African Lion;’ of Africa emerging as the next economic miracle after the Asian tigers. I take this talk seriously and we will make this happen, beginning with Nigeria.

Some might say that you are unsuited for the rough and tumble of Nigerian politics that you run the risk of being compromised, how would you address those concerns?

Politics is public service and ought to and should attract selfless and honest people. If this has not always been so, then we are challenged to make it so. That is why I am running for President, to tell ordinary Nigerians and indeed the whole world that people of integrity can step up to the plate and take back their country and make it work again. You will be thrilled to know that this same question was posed to me when I joined the police some quarter of a century ago. People said, “look the police is too corrupt it is going to remake you in a way you will hate…it will corrupt you.” Today the same institution is where I and a number of my colleagues who formed the core of the EFCC came from. I think we must work with the mindset that people can positively affect even the most corrupt institution. Our mission is to save our country from the rot that is taking it down. We dare not fail in this mission, the alternative is less inviting to even contemplate.

John Githongo, a fellow anti-corruption crusader, said “the struggle for a fair, just and equitable humanity risks losing direction if it relies primarily on individual initiative at the expense of collective action.” What are your thoughts on this?

My good friend, John Githongo, surely makes a nice point here. However, individual example is important, very important; in fact individuals matter a lot, for good or for ill…imagine South African history without Mandela, the civil rights movement without Martin Luther King Jr, or a world without Ghandi. Yet, for social reform to be sustained, and indeed made irreversible, the people themselves must be the primary drivers of change. Civic organizations and political parties are good vehicles to bring this about, and that is why I recently joined a political party here in Nigeria, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN); a new party that I think has a record of integrity and public service and has also been mobilizing the energies of the ordinary people to bring about the changes at the local and national levels that we all desire.

Would you invite a former colleague like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to join you in government if you were to win?

My government will be inclusive; a government of ‘all the talents.’ I was privileged to work with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and several other accomplished Nigerians at the highest levels of government in my country from 2003-2007. We achieved results in so short a space of time because ability and hard work and patriotism were the vital ingredients that brought this team together. You could say this was Nigeria’s version of ‘Camelot’ of the Kennedy presidency. The light has not altogether been extinguished. My government will rekindle the flame; attract the finest and the best in Nigeria, including Nigerians resident abroad and other friends of the country wherever they might reside in the world, to come and join us in the great task of national reconstruction.