The past 8 years of anguish and disappointment must be a warning sign from heaven to all Nigerians. If we do not heed that warning, there will be even more gnashing of teeth ahead and we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves. Only the fittest and most virtuous people must be allowed to lead us at all levels from now on. Only then will the glory return to our land for the benefit of all.
We must stop sowing pepper seeds and hoping to harvest pineapples. We must stop planting thorns and hoping to reap tubers. We must stop choosing demons and hoping for deliverance. We must stop electing leaders on the basis of selfish, primordial interests and hoping to see a thriving, modern nation. We must learn to sacrifice today’s personal gain for tomorrow’s national prosperity.
The presidential election in February, for instance, presents a clear choice between three leading candidates. By providence, it is not the usual choice between rat poison and a loaded gun. This time, we are fortunate to have a choice between rat poison, a loaded gun and a basket full of healthy apples. Presented with such stark options, the choice should be obvious. Will we choose for Nigeria what we would not choose for ourselves?
Below is an objective micro summary of the resumes and public profiles of the major candidates, as of December 31, 2022. It is presented in alphabetical order:
- Atiku Abubakar of the PDP is over 70 and a former Vice President. He has never held final executive authority in public service. So, no records of achievement in public service can be traced directly and exclusively to him. But he has reportedly built enormous personal wealth through private enterprise. His campaign slogan positions him as a “unifier.” So far, he has failed to unify his party since emerging as its flag bearer under highly controversial circumstances. A group of five governors has broken ranks with his party as a result. His tenure as VP was highly fractious as well. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he worked as VP between 1999 and 2007, doesn’t think too highly of him and has made his views known in writing. Atiku has essentially promised to privatize Nigeria as the pathway to making the country work.
- Bola Tinubu of the APC is also over 70. Some say over 80. A former Governor of Lagos State, he is today visibly frail both physically and mentally. He has a record of indictment in the US on drug-related offences dating back to the 1990s. His identity, origin, family background, educational records, career path and sources of income are all shrouded in mystery and controversy. He is the only former Governor in Nigeria who since leaving office in 2007, continues to play a pivotal role in deciding who leads his state. Apart from being one of the architects of the highly unpopular and underperforming Buhari administration, Tinubu has promised to continue from where Buhari stopped! He sees nothing wrong in the well documented blunders of the current administration. Apart from being a Muslim himself and proposing to replace a fellow Muslim, Tinubu has also chosen a same-faith VP candidate in a country with sharp religious sensitivities.
- Peter Obi of the Labor Party is a little over 60, a former Governor of Anambra State, and visibly still quite strong and mentally agile. To prove it, he traverses the country and the globe with an itinerary that would severely task a 40 year old. His records in private business and public service are outstanding in both measurable impact and integrity. Most people who have encountered him before, during and after he held office speak well of him. He is the only Nigerian Governor on record who left office with surplus savings and investments for his successor, and also donated his pension and gratuity to the state coffers. He has promised to turn Nigeria around “from Consumption to Production,” by drastically reducing the cost of governance, living by example, uniting the country, and empowering each state and region to massively produce what it is best at, for local use and export. He speaks intelligently and eloquently, and has picked an equally decent, highly cerebral VP candidate.
Now, between these three front runners and the other fifteen candidates in the race to Aso Villa, each Nigerian must make a rational choice. We must decide who is BEST for the job. We must ask ourselves: Between Atiku, Tinubu and Obi, who can I trust to manage the most important business venture of my life – a venture in which I have invested all my savings, assets and hopes?
That’s exactly what Nigeria is – our greatest earthly investment corporation. Any Nigerian who thinks otherwise is a fool. No matter how many passports you carry, there is no other country in which you are as invested as Nigeria. Your identity, your pride and your essence belong here.
So, who is your favorite candidate for the job of managing your most prized investment? Who would you vote for in the privacy of the polling booth on election day? Only you can make that choice and you are under no obligation to disclose your decision. But your choice will have direct consequences on the dividends accruing to your individual life, your family, your community and generations unborn.
Those who choose immediate personal gain, party loyalty or sectional agenda over the collective national interest are like shareholders who choose to divest and run with their money. It means they have no faith in the enterprise. May they reap the full rewards of their decision. May their offspring do unto them as they have chosen to do unto the country of their birth. Likewise, those who choose the greater good of the country over immediate private or sectional gain; may they reap their rewards in kind. May their children gather round them on the day of trouble. This is neither a curse nor a blessing. It is the natural course of Karmic justice. We reap what we sow.
For those planning to relocate abroad with their families in the hope of living happily ever after on the proceeds of betraying their country, I suggest they think again. No man genuinely prospers abroad whose homeland is in disarray. Ask your brothers and sisters already living in the Diaspora. They would tell you that “enjoying the good life” offered by other countries when yours is in tatters comes at a high price. Neither your hosts nor other nationals truly respect you. It is like eating sour grapes with a smile. It’s a life of secret agony. There is no place like home.
