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By Babalola Ibisola
This may sound too simplistic, but it remains the truth.
None, I repeat none of the presidential frontrunners is going to take Nigeria to its desired destination. Not because of the “badness” of each of them or lack of capacity thereof (even for the perceived sickly or demented one). In fact, Nigeria as a nation needs no saviour at this time, plus there is no ready saviour anyway.
What we need is a revolution. A revolution with high moral standard not the one borne on the waves of youthful petulance, as its being presently demonstrated by the ones whose responsibility it is to birth the revolution.
The other way to look at the desired revolution is from the point of revolt. It connotes a negative energy (on the surface). But as we have come to accept the metaphor of disruptive energy as a good vibe in many organisational leadership circles, we need also to embrace revolt as the key word for positive revolution.
The help that our nation needs is an ideological revolution, which may be tortuously long to achieve, but when all else is considered, it’s a better choice than the quick route of bloody revolution.
And while the bloody revolution may be quicker, it is at best part of the means to an end. Until it eventually gives way to the ideological revolution, more bloody revolutions may ensue. For true progress, the nation will still need to be led by men and women of sound ideologies.
None of the leading presidential candidates is a saint (less devil or not) nor would any of them possess an autocratic might as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Even if any of them is saintly, the majority of the people they will be working with may be first cousins of the devil himself.
It’s good to have many youths asking for better governance. They (we) must first realize that good governance is a growth; it is not an instantaneous state of being.
The youths cannot choose to ride on the rots and malady in the land, to continue the errors of character immortality while hoping to reap uprightness ultimately. They must first be obedient to the rules of nature, which surmise that what you sow is what you reap.
We can’t be sowing seeds of bitterness, bigotry, tribalism, lawlessness, religiosity, nepotism, and honestly be hoping to see peace, unity, oneness and order in the land. We can and should be bitter against the rots in the land. Such bitterness is required to irk us to revolt. It’s the bitterness that should impregnate us all with the desire to birth ideological revolution.
It’s the responsibility of the youths to realize their roles, if they must be qualified enough to apportion blames of dereliction of duties to our past and present leaders in office. As the leaders have been and are being tested, history is writing on its pages, our own acts of commission or omission too.
While the elected and appointed leaders have their roles to lead right, the citizen’s role is to demand to be rightly led.
The youths, who were indolent enough four years ago to bury their gumption and follow certain party and its presidential candidate, have now suddenly become energized to know that the same candidate is now a misfit for the same post they severed healthy relationships for.
The summary is: lack of ideology. Simple.
The use of abusive and curse words to win or perhaps suppress persons of differing views is a reflection of lack of depth amidst us as the future of the nation. The place of adrenaline rush in nation building can only be transient, expectedly so.
To nurture a nation to greatness, the milk of kindness is an essential elixir. The pervading narrative across many platforms of energetic Nigerian youths is in-fighting in place of oneness of purpose. Derogatory demagogues instead of dignifying conversations. Tribal backbiting at the expense of meritorious considerations. All are mere effects of adrenaline rush. A lane we cannot afford to linger on much longer.
On February 25, 2023, the nation will go to the polls, and one of the leading candidates will emerge the winner. No matter who that is, the process of our nation building will still be far from its foundation. How much the present energy is being able to be organized and sustained as the Voice of Conscience for good governance is the true starting point for the building of our nation.
Like heartbeats, the demands for good governance from the leaders so elected/appointed, must be constant and run in synchrony against every vibe of bad policies across our educational, health, agricultural, and economic sectors.
If all the present angst ends with the announcement of the winner of the presidential election, we will definitely need triple folds of adrenaline surge in another four years to come and cry needless ocean of tears for whatever poor management our nation has once again received.
We may be lucky (but luck is never enough) that whoever emerges on February 25 may be willing to start sowing seeds of sustainable progress for Nigeria, through policies that will favour accountability. If the overwhelming ideology of the led remains skewed towards ‘chop-make-I-chop’, we can begin to rue our misfortunes as a nation.
Today, the questions around the moral rectitude of the candidates may not be so consequential in the next election. The fact is, awareness against shady lifestyle and fraudulent past for those willing to lead us in the future has now been created. Whoever is coming out to demand our votes in 2027 must be ready to do thorough soul and home searching. To clean up his or her cupboard, or give up the idea of public service completely.
Whoever is nursing an ambition for elective position in the future must be aware of the need to always maintain uprightness in both their private and public dealings. A time is soon upon us when questions on what certificate you present will matter to the electorate. When how one handles public trust on the sales of national assets will be major point on your electability. How hiding your wealth away in tax havens can raise questions of the sort of person you are.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu or Peter Obi is not the saviour of Nigeria. They’re all part of the people in need of being saved. Our saviour is sound ideological revolutionary movement. Such revolution, painfully, is not birthed yet. What we have raging on across the social media are mere first trimester conceptions destined to be aborted with the next menstrual flow come February 2023.
I’m persuaded, however, that in my own lifetime, Nigeria will be impregnated with a desired and planned revolutionary revolt that will give birth to a new nation of our dreams.
Babalola Ibisola is a Lagos-based medical doctor.
