Will Nigerians elect the right president in 2023?

Over the past six weeks, we considered the attributes the next president of Nigeria should possess. We started early so that Nigerians will have enough time to reflect on the type of country they want to have because that is a factor in determining the kind of president they will have to vote for in 2023.

The first week we looked at having a strong man as the president. This is important because it is only strong men that build great countries. But the strength here is not physical strength; it is the strength of character. A leader who is strong in character will not shut his eyes to injustice, will not encourage corruption and will not permit incompetence. To advance beyond its current level, Nigeria needs a strong man who will build strong institutions.

Then we considered vision. We argued that vision is the leader’s edge over those he leads. Without a great vision, a leader is not better than others. But with a great vision, a leader is able to unleash the potentialities of the people, create possibilities for them and connect them with greatness. Without a visionary leader who creates possibilities, talents are wasted, potential is rubbished, opportunities are mismanaged and poverty becomes the people’s reality. So, electing a leader whose vision is his ambition is synonymous to condemning the people to a life of hardship and frustration.

The third week, our focus was competence. In that installment, we submitted that while incompetent leaders make excuses, competent ones scale all hurdles to get the desired results. The type of leader a country has determines the fate of the country and the lot of the people. When a country is blessed with a competent leader, resources are properly deployed, the people are connected to opportunities and the profile of the country soars. When a country has a competent president, talents are well-managed, the people’s energies are channeled into productive ventures and the country’s capacity is optimally utilized. Competent leaders turn possibilities into realities and convert adversity to prosperity.

We also looked at courage. In that offering, we concluded that Nigeria needs a president that will be courageous enough to tackle corruption, sort out the nation’s electricity problem, fix the refineries and end insurgency. Nigeria needs a president who is not afraid to step on powerful toes and will not shy away from slaughtering sacred cows. Nigeria needs a leader who is daring and patriotic enough to champion power devolution and restructuring of the polity. Nigeria needs a leader who will not, because of second term considerations, focus on the expedient while neglecting the essential.

And last week, we posited that Nigeria’s next president should be broad-minded. In that article we argued that to have a different narrative as from 2023, Nigerians should elect a president who is neither provincial nor a bigot. We need a president who is neither a religious fanatic nor a tribal champion but someone who will be fanatically Nigerian and unrepentantly nationalistic. We need a liberal president who will be blind to region and indifferent about religion. We need a president who will not be at the mercy of his tribal kin nor his religious kith. We need a leader who is tolerant and not given to any primordial sentiments. We need a leader who is so Nigerian that he will champion the birth of a culture that would encourage nationalism and patriotism in Nigerians.

Today, as we round off this series, the question to ask is: Will Nigerians elect the right president in 2023? Nigerians know what they need but they often make decisions that will not give them what they need. Nigerians know that corruption is a major challenge in the country but when it comes to the time of making decisions about the leader they should put in place, they often elect those who will worsen the corruption situation.

Nigerians know that capacity is key to delivery but when it comes to election, they will willingly vote for those whose capacity is suspect and still expect that things would change for the better in the country.

Nigerians know that religious bigotry and ethnic jingoism have held their country bound for a long time, yet when election comes they will not think twice before giving their votes to ethnic champions and religious bigots.

This is what psychologists describe as cognitive dissonance; it is acting contrary to one’s expectations, it is praying for one thing and doing the exact opposite of that thing. It is akin to wanting a child and practising abstinence. It is hoping to come up with a revolutionary invention without ever visiting a laboratory. It is praying to travel abroad without ever procuring an international passport. It is delusion grandeur, it is praying for the impossible.

I know that Nigerians pray a lot, but to have a better country, we have to do more than pray. We have to put our destiny in our hands and take the right decisions. We have to elect the candidate that symbolizes, to a great extent, our collective aspirations. It is beyond identity politics. It should be beyond coming from the same ethnic group or sharing the same faith orientation. It should be about getting the best man for the job.

A short story:

An old man who lived in a village had a reputation for great wisdom. A young man approached him with the intention of denting his reputation. So, the young man, who held in one of his hands a bird, asked the man whether the bird would die or live. The old man knew that if he said the bird would die, the young man would spare it. He also realized that if he said the bird would live, he would kill it. So, he said to him, “Young man, it is in your hand. Whether the bird dies or lives is in your hand.”

Fellow Nigerians, whether Nigeria thrives or not is in our hands. Whether Nigeria becomes great or remain on the same spot is in our hands. Whether Nigeria becomes prosperous or not is in our hands. Whether Nigeria will continue to experience insecurity or will become safer is in our hands.

We can change the narrative and the experience of the country for the better by voting for a candidate who is strong in character, visionary, competent, courageous and broad-minded irrespective of his region or his religion.

But will Nigerians elect the right person in 2023? The answer is in not in the air, it is in our hands.