The phrase "a prime imperative" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to a fundamental or essential command or requirement in a specific context.
Example: "In this project, meeting the deadline is a prime imperative for our success."
Alternatives: "a key requirement" or "an essential command".
Obama can do that, if he moves from the occasional speech to making this a prime imperative for the nation.
A central take-home message, he said (and I agreed), is that adaptation to heat is a prime imperative even as the much tougher task of moving beyond conventional use of fossil fuels is pursued.
But working aggressively to limit other drivers of risk (poverty, vulnerable agriculture and water systems) is also a prime imperative, as is boosting the capacity to watch for and recognize warning signs (there's more on that here).
These days, he said, men who are in the focus groups he conducts as part of his research into what constitutes a good father still say their "prime imperative is to provide for the family".
But it is also a prime business imperative.
The prime imperative has become the political art of the deal.
What's wrong with making music with the prime imperative of having fun?
After all the "Prime Imperative" of our nation is that "We The People" constitute the government.
I heard a police spokesman explain the concept, as he understood it, thusly - the hijackers' shenanigans simply detract the rest of us from fully understanding the police officer's "Prime Imperative" to protect all lives.
This "Prime Imperative" is part of the Eastern philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism and helps place into context the belief system that speaks to us of "Good" and "Bad" Karma.
Identity governance has emerged from the shadows to become a prime mover of these two imperatives for a very good reason.
