When the man who could have saved Nigeria – former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently said that “I cast a cursory look at some of the people running around and those for whom people are running around, If EFCC and ICPC will have done their jobs properly and supported adequately by the judiciary, most of them would be in jail.” I was reminded about the deep mess we are in as a nation heading towards a presidential election that can finally break or start to remake us as a nation that is currently heading downhill. Then around the same time, I read the comments of one of the presidential hopefuls, Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo saying “Frankly, when you look at the sheer number and range of those security challenges, it is evident that it is necessary to have a leader such as President Buhari.” I felt ashamed and alarmed! Not long before these remarks, the self-acclaimed leader of the ruling party Bola Ahmed Tinubu said, “When I rule for eight years, I will hand over to the smartest and someone with most followers.” I shook my head. As I ruminated over these and other statements lately by men who ordinarily should be called statesmen in Nigeria, pessimism floored my outlook for the future of my beloved nation – Nigeria.

As I scanned the plethora of presidential candidates making their intention known directly or indirectly, I am amazed by the dearth of quality. As Obasanjo rightly and ironically said, most of the candidates have no business walking free if Buhari had lived up to the expectation of those he deceived during electioneering in 2015. If Osinbajo had been the minister of the gospel he is supposed to be, he would have been in sackcloth, resigned, and confessed for forgiveness for being part of the worst government in the history of Nigeria. Thinking about Tinubu’s Lagos, you will easily conclude that Nigeria will become Tinubu’s Nigeria where all his relatives from wife to children and cronies will run the show endlessly. Most people who think Tinubu is competent probably were not alive or mentally active when Buba Marwa – the current NDLEA boss was the military administrator of Lagos State. 

So, who can save Nigeria? If I am a present kingmaker in Nigeria, I would have promoted the ticket that features Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Akinwumi Adesina with the hope that they will not be disappointing technocrats like Professor Yemi Osinbajo whose education and experience has been worthless. Okonjo-Iweala and Adesina are patriotic and uncorrupt Nigerians who have the experience and intelligence to turn Nigeria around, but I doubt if they can garner the support to even get into the ballot paper of any respectable political party in Nigeria. This is the tragedy that continues to hibernate our progress as a nation – those that have good heads cannot find caps, and those that have debased heads can easily cease caps. Thinking realistically, I believe former President Goodluck Jonathan who the ruling party has done everything to incriminate without success probably holds the key to returning Nigeria into winning ways. But can we put aside ethnic bigotry and religious prejudice to save Nigeria?

Ata Ukuta, Editor – Towncryyers