By Tochukwu Ezukanma | Lagos, Nigeria | May 10, 2014 – The fundamental problem of the Nigerian society is lawlessness. It is lawlessness that finds its most frequent and widespread expressions in acts of corruption. It is leadership that informs and shapes a nation. A nation essentially “draws its will principally from the example of its leaders.” Therefore, the Nigerian society is corrupt because Nigerian leaders are corrupt. As such, the first step in significantly curbing corruption, and its attendant ethical and moral collapse, in Nigeria is in electing incorruptible leaders to power.

In the 2011 presidential election, I considered Mohammadu Buhari the most incorruptible of all the presidential candidates; I voted for him.  Refreshingly, many Nigerians were in agreement with my choice of him as the most credible of the presidential candidates in the last presidential election. Not surprisingly, more than 12 million Nigerians also voted for him. Unknown to many, Buhari won Goodluck Jonathan in an aspect of the presidential election: the personality contest. Buhari won his more than 12 million votes almost singlehandedly, with an impecunious political machine and inchoate and weak political structure. Even with the groundswell for Goodluck Jonathan, especially, in the South-east and South-South, without the deep pocket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its formidable political structure and awesome political machinery, he, on his own, could not have won 12 million votes.

The election of Goodluck Jonathan as the president of Nigeria was a costly political mistake. Already, he has proven to be the worst Nigerian president. His administration is visionless and moribund. It has failed in very aspect of governance. It cannot maintain law and order and protect the lives and property of Nigerian citizens. Since the inception of his presidency, corruption, that pivot of all Nigerian societal ills, became more rampant and deep-rooted. Nigerians are frazzled by the rate of corruption and the impunity and brazenness of official acts of corruption. This is because the government of Goodluck Jonathan, in my respects, is undermining the war against corruption. According to a recent report by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 2013 Country Report on Nigeria, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan “frustrates the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies”.

President Jonathan was elected for the wrong reasons. In the 2011 election, the electorate dwelt on superficial issues and not on the fundamental qualities of good leadership. Emphasis was placed on his geopolitical zone of origin, religion, age and education. But these are factors that can neither translate to, nor substitute for, the desiderata for leadership: vision, powerful ego, moral courage, indomitable will, etc. For example, a doctorate degree is all fine and may enhance the chances for success, especially, in the academia but may not enhance leadership abilities. One of the most important political leaders of the 20^th Century, and actually, the Man of the 20^th Century, Winston Churchill, was not a good student and had no academic degree. Again, Christian or other religious devoutness is a wonderful but may not augment the ability to lead. It was Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaopeng, two men not known for their religious piety that, in a relatively short time, lifted China from a “vast degenerate peasantry” to a modern technological, military and economic superpower.

Delectably, there is no dispute within the All People’s Congress (APC).about Mohammadu Buhari’s presidential candidacy in 2015. For the most part, it is settled. The only contentious issue is his running mate. A number of possible running mates have been broached. And it seems the APC is leaning towards a Moslem/Moslem presidential ticket.

In Nigeria, religion, like ethnicity, is a mark of identity laden with powerful sentiments. Not surprisingly, Christian leaders are vociferously opposed to an APC Moslem/Moslem presidential ticket. I am in total agreement with Christian leaders that believe that a Moslem/Moslem ticket will be “insulting and inconsiderate” to Christians. It will be most insensitive to our national heterogeneity. It will smack of inequity, as it will be too skewered in favor of the Muslims.

Moreover, these days, many Nigerians are haunted by the specter of Boko Haram. The root causes of Boko Haram are not religious but direct consequences of misgovernment (social injustice, exploitation and deprivation). And Boko Haram is not necessarily representative of Islam. However, many Nigerians, especially, none Moslems, cannot separate the murderous lunacy of the terrorist group from Islam. Its suicidal terrorism and wanton butchery of the innocent color many Nigerian Christians’ perception of Islam. They are frightened by what they perceive as relentless, violent, proselytizing horde avowed on Islamizing the whole of Nigeria. A Moslem-Moslem ticket will accentuate this fear and alienate many Nigerians.

An inclusion of a Christian on the ticket will ameliorate this fear.  For that Christian, I propose Chris Ngige. He is a man that needs no introduction to the Nigerian electorate. Already, they know him as an indefatigable crusader against the forces of greed and insensitivity and a courageous man that could not be caged by the proxies of the evil oligarchy that rules this country. A Buhari/Ngige presidential ticket will strike the delicate balance between the, sometimes, contending political perspectives and needs of the predominately Moslem North and the predominantly Christian South. It will bring together two strong willed and independent- minded men that have, over the years and in different ways, demonstrated the guts to stand up to the evil oligarchy that is presently running this country aground..

Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Nigeria.

0803 529 2908

Posted by admin on May 10 2014. Filed under Articles, Columnists, Muhammadu Buhari (1983-85, 2015 - 2023), NNP Columnists, Presidency, Tochukwu Ezukanma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry