By Muhammad Ajah
The next Nigerian President must be a citizen loved by Nigerians. In one of my recent articles on the search for a Nigerian president in 2019, I promised to follow it up with another that will expose the 12 qualities expected from the would-be President on May 29, 2019. The qualities are difficult to be found at once in a human being, especially Nigeria where controversies often mar truth and possibilities.
The next president of Nigeria, no doubt, has been chosen by God Almighty. I believe no human effort can change what God has ordained. What human efforts can attain is to ease the acceptability of the ordained, the effects and the consequences. And it is a good thing that a large percentage of the Nigerian people claim to have the belief in God’s ordinations, as belonging to Islam and Christianity testify so.
The next President of Nigeria must be a Nigerian, mature and alive. With these three general qualities, every Nigerian is entitled to contest for the position. Already, a long list of aspirants have been in the media and Nigerians, many almost with a choice, are realigning themselves with political parties which have the strength to withstand the murky waves of the nation’s electioneering processes. Nigerians should vote on the basis of merit and patriotism. Let go, therefore, with the 12 qualities required to make our next president.
The first two are bravery and brilliance. Nigeria does not need cowards and sick-brains to lead her. Nigeria requires a patriot, who is strong in the mind; who is ready to confront the armies of iniquity and enemies of the common citizens; who will nurse and implement development-driven agenda; and who will insist on national unity and cohesion amidst heavy confrontations, conspiracy and attempts on cessation. The person must have the courage of a soldier, the spirit of patriotism and a combination of humanitarian and egalitarian sequential pedigree. He must possess intellectual sagacity and institutional wisdom of governance and the application of all these in Nigeria. He must simply be brave and brilliant. This is double “B”.
The second two are “unbending but understanding”. Being unbending is required in leading Nigeria because it implies firmness in decision making and implementation. The person must also possess the quality of understanding the complex nature of Nigeria. Docility and indulgence in leadership cannot guarantee lasting success. Nigeria is really a very complex nation with complex-minded people, hence the need for rigidity in executing the common goals of the people. To fight corruption, to fight the evil cartels who are bent to destroy Nigeria and to fix the decays in all sectors of the economy, the next president must be unbending but full of understanding of the nitty-gritty of the specific government required for Nigeria.
However, this does not exclude wide consultations with the representatives of the people such as members of the National Assembly, the ministers, governors, advisers and special assistants. But such consultation must have limits because any decision that is subjected to public opinion often loses substance at the end. That is the double “U”.
The third two are “humility yet hardworking”. Leadership without humility is a bad one. Life itself demands humility for success. Being arrogant which is the antonym leads to many negative tendencies that will eventually mislead the leader and turn him against the people. Even while being humble, the leader must be hardworking. It is said that a lazy man is the devil’s workshop. How more could this manifest if the lazy person is in a position of trust! How more if the person is a leader of a country like Nigeria!
The person must be energetic; one who can do things by himself; always available for actions, without always waiting for mere written reports which often languish in shelves, or verbal reports which are often twisted to appease the leader. Too bad it had been so in Nigeria! So, the next Nigerian President must be humble, yet he must be hardworking to produce the double “H”.
The fourth two are “accountability and accessibility”. There can be no gainsaying the fact that until recently, Nigeria had lacked leaders who are accountable to Nigerians. Accountability demands that the leader practically makes himself answerable to the electorate, the Nigerian people who chose and voted him into power to lead and not to rule them. It further demands that the president must take responsibility of all the demands of the citizens as prescribed especially in the constitution.
For being accountable, the president must then be accessible to the people. Accessibility does not actually mean that he must be everywhere or allow every dick and harry to have physical contact with him. Rather, he must respond with alacrity and agility to every genuine request and agitation by the citizens or the representatives. Only then he can practically belong to all Nigerians by his actions. These two qualities, therefore, give us the double “A”.
The fifth two are “resistance yet recollecting”. The person must resist the old order of doing things. The old order, of course, has been certified inimical to the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria. The former belief of every politician that going into politics in Nigeria is basically for personal enrichment and aggrandizement; the damned thrust by every Nigerian to get a fair share of the “national cake”; the struggle to outwit each other not to better the country and her people but to destroy and tyrannize; the penchant to create cabal and wicked political blocks to hold grip onto power physically or by proxy; and all sorts of plans to undue Nigerians must be resisted by the next president. He must resist the temptation of being lured into the wickedness created by the devil of power in Nigeria.
Added to this, he must not be oblivious of the past history of Nigeria. He cannot put the past behind just to appease a few citizens. The recollection of the past will always help in shaping the present. This forms the double “R”.
And the sixth two are “invaluableness yet illustriousness”. The person must be second to none. At least, he must measure above normalcy. He must have distinguished himself in the political scene. He must be known for being the best Nigerians can trust with their mandate. This is the double “I”.
Having seen these good qualities, one may be tempted to pick the first letters of every main word of the six combinations. I concur with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, when he told members of the Democratic Youth Congress (DYC) that there is no alternative for the occupant of the Aso Rock Villa beyond 2019 because majority of the aspirants will definitely deliver nothing to the nation. I have, therefore, reminded my compatriots of who the cap fits. Let them shine their eyes, once more.
*Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk
