Considering the goings on in Nigeria, I just feel it is not too late for us to get down to the brass tacks before electing the next tenant of Aso Rock.
In the first instance, the candidate must not have been handpicked by a so-called godfather. In fact, if I had my way, I would have any candidate picked by a godfather disqualified. But I appreciate the fact that we are trying to run a democracy, even though we are still wobbling and fumbling. We should diligently search for the right candidate, I mean, ‘A man for all seasons’, with apologies to T.M. Aluko.
If the man must be an ex military personnel, then we have to be sure that he has really become civialianised. This is so important for obvious reasons. Nigerian military personnel have been trained to defend the unity of Nigeria and protect the motherland’s territorial integrity. It doesn’t matter whether the perceived enemy is a foreigner or a Nigerian.
Expecting them to act contrary to what they have been psychologically attuned to will amount to committing an ideological suicide. So, we just have to understand the thinking of these ex service men.
Next, we must know what we really want. The Western world is desperate about phasing out the use of crude oil in their automobiles in a few years time. Since Nigeria is to a large extent a mono- economy depending on its crude oil for exports and having a very heavy import list, we must elect a president who would take our economy to another level.
Of course, the intending president must understand the importance of world economy as it relates to Nigeria.
We should elect a president whose major idea is Nigeria centric. That is a president who is selfish about Nigeria.
We have to work on ourselves too. If we are serious about electing a president that will deliver the goods, then we should stop the dirty habit of expecting to be bribed, by candidates before we perform our civic duties.
Last, but not by any means the least, is that we should realise the fact that we should not consider politics as ‘their’ game. We should look at it as ‘our’ game. In other words, we should not consider politics as a dirty game that is only fit for the rejects of society.
If we do so, the rejects of society will definitely rule us. And we will not have any moral right to criticise their misgovernment. In effect, I’m pleading with qualified people to throw their hats into the political ring. We, definitely, are not suffering from a lack of good materials.
Let’s go out there and do justice to ourselves by taking over our possessions!
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