OPINION: WHOSE TURN TO LEAD? – by Mark Amaza

Three years away from the next general elections, political alignments and calculations have already begun in earnest. In the past few weeks, one governor is rumoured to have declared for the presidency while two more have been endorsed by a former president as the ‘ideal team’ of President and Vice President for 2015. This is besides the fact that there are speculations that President Goodluck Jonathan will run for a second term.

Sadly, the declarations of desiring to have the number one job in this country is being followed by the same old talk of power rotation and whose turn it will be to lead. The potential candidates from the North are clamouring for power shift. When President Jonathan formally declares, we can expect to see his promoters saying that the Niger-Delta deserves 8 years, especially as the ‘geese that lays the golden egg’.

This is all too reminiscent of the 2011 General Elections, where of all the abundant issues that confront Nigerians on a daily basis, zoning and power rotation were the most crucial issues to the election. It is amazing how Nigerian politicians can tap into the sentiments of religion, ethnicity and regions to make us forget the more crucial issues of life that we deal with, such as poverty, insecurity and lack of infrastructure.

So what type of leader do we as Nigerians desire in 2015?

We want to see a man or woman who shall rise to the mantle and inspire us with his words and actions; a man who shall not just tell us what is sweet to our ears, but also what the hard and bitter truth is; someone who shall seek to win the hearts and souls of the electorate.

We need a candidate who shall seek to unite us as Nigerians of different ethnic backgrounds and religious persuasions; contrary to what politicians tell us about our differences, we are more alike than we think. We are Nigerians; though we might be from 400-plus different ethnic groups and come from places as unalike as the desert in the North East is from the creeks of the Niger Delta, a common Nigerian heritage unites us. We desire someone whose campaign shall emphasize our similarities, so that Nigerians can come to see in him or her the meaning of being united in diversity.

We are searching for a man who shall earn the seat of the President by articulating a vision for the country, and specify the actions he shall take to actualise that vision. We are sick and tired of candidates playing the regional/religious/ethnic card to win elections. Nigerians are not as petty as these politicians think. We all celebrate performers, whether or not they are ‘our people’. We need someone who will give us a good name to live up to – a country of different faiths and ethnicities, united under God. Let our nationhood be strengthened by his/her campaign, and not made weak every passing election.

I was conversing with a friend recently, and I mentioned that the population of blacks in the United States was merely 13%. His expression was that of shock. He then asked me, ‘how then did Barack Obama become president?’ To his Nigerian mind, how can you win an election when your race/faith/ethnic group is outnumbered? It is sad that this is what our politicians have led us to believe, as they always emphasize our differences in order to benefit their political aims. This is definitely not what we need in the years approaching the next elections.

Lastly, we need a man who shall be humble in victory and magnanimous in defeat. We need a man who shall be honest enough to admit he lost an election, and not seek to overheat the polity by alleging rigging if there was none. We need a man who shall genuinely respect his opponents in the heat of campaigning, and not seek to denigrate his person in order to get ahead.

This is the type of leader we need. Not one of a particular religious faith, ethnic group or part of the country. Rather, we need a leader whom all Nigerians can look up to with admiration and respect, even those who had not voted for him.