by The constitutional requirements to qualify for leadership defer in different countries but beyond that statutory demands, some abstracts are a desideratum for a successful tenure.
That a prospective candidate has cleared the hurdle of criminality, integrity, academic still has not guaranteed the likelihood of a successful tenure if eventually he gets power.
It is more a difficult challenge in a country with heterogeneous interests; multi cells religious tendencies; tribal differences; gender issues; minority/majority domination suspicions; environmental issues; resources locations and allocations; past injustices; consequences and sentiments of past Dictatorships to mention but just a few.
All the above adumbrated inflicts and afflicts Nigeria as a country of multiple nationalities many regard as one nation. Unfortunately, Nigeria is pinned down by an elite with common interests; they are more of enterprise public office seekers and they are very adroit in exploiting the big monster of poverty and ignorance among potential voters so it is so easy to sell them balderdash and they would dance such candidates to victory.
Through the imbalances and defective socio structural political intrigues, more often than not, loafers, rogues, toxic and annoying lazy in mind politicians have gotten elected albeit dubiously and like Albert Einstein put it succinctly, nothing is more of insanity as in “doing same thing is same way and expecting a different result.”
In an ideal situation, whoever aspires to leadership must first of all in addition to wanting to help self, must be willing to help others and that requires a modicum of patriotic zeal as against entrepreneurial instinct that abound in this clime.
Presently the entity called Nigeria is forebodingly challenged and the causes are legion but most importantly injustices, corruption, nepotism, tribalism among others.
It therefore behooves on intending aspirant to first have a good mental background of patriotism, dynamism, sense of history, deep understanding of the history, the oppression, the injustices meted to some members of the great amalgamation and the attendant ever constant suspicions.
Suffice to say that a prospective candidate for higher political office especially presidency ought to know his onions. He must avail himself/herself the deeper pathologies o their chequered socio political and economic history and a soundly wrought political solutions to right the wrongs with sincerity.
It may interest readers to be let into the history of a great leader in person of former Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chritien. In his memoirs as captured in his book titled “MY YEARS AS PRIME MINISTER”, being a Quebecer himself, he had the moral clarity to ask himself some vital questions about the agitations of the Quebec people to secede from Canada. And bear in mind that Canada is a Confederation that has had the trial moments in the early years when Nova Scotia sought to exit and centenary later, Alberta also made such move. But in all, that of Quebec was more intense; but despite being from that province, Chritien asked himself some pertinent questions while factoring the values of diversity embedded in Canada federalism.
To quote him verbatim, he had asked himself some rhetorical questions thus:
Will independence bring a better form of government for the people of Quebec? And he answered No.
Will it bring more peace? He answered No
More prosperity? Again he answered No.
Finally he asked whether it would bring a better chance for the survival of French language in North America? And once again he answered No.
Jean Chritien reasoned that were Quebec to separate, the other provinces of Canada might find it difficult to resist being pulled into the United States , a situation if happened could make a now likely isolated Quebec to follow along.
The line of reasoning employed by Jean is what is called critical thinking on contending issues.
whoever wants to lead Nigeria and to succeed Buhari must engage in critical thinking on issues that has made very restive some parts of this pluralistic community called Nigeria.
Such a leader must understudy the nagging issues, when and how is it getting to a tipping point? What can be done to reverse or eradicate it for peace to reign.
Once all or most of the symptoms of the illness are identified, then solutions could be proffered that will be both satisfactory and that will promote the unity in diversity status we have always wanted.
