Peace and progress.

By sSam Aina

There is nothing more soothing than a Nigerian accent. You can ask Nigerians that are newbies abroad. You move to a strange place with new food, a brand new culture with tidings that seem strange compared to what you are used to. You do not have to charge your phone overnight because there is24-hour electricity. You barely have to worry about highway robbery when you travel. You do not have to look for jobs. You do not even have to fast and pray for a car, it comes with the credit system. Everything seems perfect, yet there is an inner feeling of loneliness that can only be filled with familiarity.

A familiarity that can only be felt through shared experience.

I felt homesick last month, so I travelled home to see my mother and spend some time with the family. Coincidentally, my youngest nephew was about to start pre-school. He had, until that moment, known no one except his Parents, his aunty, his grandmother, his cousins and obviously, me. As a point of duty, I volunteered to ferry all the kids on early morning school runs, so I was privileged to take him to school on that fateful morning. I watched, quite keenly, as his mood turned from pure joy to hysteria when he found out that he was going to be left alone with strangers for hours. Even as I was driving away, I could still hear his high-pitched wail.

That same afternoon, I drove my sister to pick him up from school. As innocent as children are, he had already bonded with a few of the kids and was having a jolly good time. However, as soon as he heard a familiar voice, something must have gone off in his subconscious, because he turned towards the direction of the voice, dumped whatever he was holding and ran into her arms.

The English dictionary calls it desideratum. An innate desire.

A deep longing.

I have a deep longing for Nigeria to succeed. It is because, no matter how much we try to deny it, our home is where the heart is. When you go online, you see Nigerians struggling to move to other countries in droves. They are constantly complaining, constantly criticizing, yet, it is evident that deep down, they also possess a deep desire for our country to be far better than it is now. They, like my little nephew, cannot wait for the day when their longing can be satiated with the satisfaction akin to a warm hug, a familiar territory bearing all the ingredients for a prosperous nation.

What a day it shall be.

Nigeria has all the required potential to become a great nation; that much is evident. It is why we, as Nigerians deeply in love with our nation, feel constantly frustrated at how some trivial issues are allowed to fester, submerged in the selfishness of reoccurring, brazenly outlandish politicking. It is also why I, and a great many others, have decided not to allow anyone who does not have the love of Nigeria at heart to rule us going forward. You cannot govern over what you do not believe in. You cannot prosper what you have no love for.

At one point or the other, 2023 being a case in point, becoming President, Governor or Senator has to go beyond the perks that come with the position. You have to be a true believer in “One Nigeria”.

A country where unity, faith, peace and progress exists.

That is why we must appreciate history. It is a gift that keeps on giving, and in our quest to find someone suitable enough to govern our country, we must examine the statements and actions archived in history and made by some of the aspirants who have started to blow their trumpets. We must make them understand that it is not enough to aspire to rule, you must have truly shown, through past actions and inactions, that you have the love of Nigeria and Nigerians at heart. You and I, as is often the case, already have someone we are considering in mind, so we will start by examining their qualities.

Does your aspirant believe in One Nigeria?

The concept of a country where everyone matters has been lost on many of our rulers. Instead of using power to pull together, it has become an instrument of destruction. At the beginning of this piece, I referred to how familiarity is often sought for when Nigerians move abroad. What they will not tell you is that when a familiar accent is heard abroad, especially by a Nigerian that has been feeling nostalgic for a long time, they forget the person’s tribe, religion or gender. They become simply relieved to see their brother/sister.

That is how the brain operates. The concept of segregation was birthed by the human mind for the benefit of a few people, and the same way it was procreated is the same way we must ensure that those who nurture such mindsets are not allowed near power, especially the Presidency, going forward.

So I ask again, is your aspirant a believer in One Nigeria?

After all, a certain “anointed” aspirant once said in a well-publicized 1997 interview granted to This Day newspaper that he doesn’t believe in One Nigeria. 23 years down the line and with the possibility of becoming Commander-In-Chief hanging sumptuously down the Presidential tree, he suddenly reneges his statement and has been seen to have publicly declared over and over again why Nigeria’s “division” will serve no one, himself included, positively. His campaign has started on an agenda that focuses on only one region, and for those that have been screaming marginalization, it has left a bad taste in the mouth of many. If this person were to become President, how sure are we that the nepotism and divisive method of rule which has only served to destroy our nation for so long will not continue?

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress.

Is your aspirant a fanatic?

Fanaticism, if left unguarded, will serve as the final nail in Nigeria’s coffin. It is only applauded if it is of benefit to a certain section of society. However, ruling over a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation like Nigeria must come with the ability to live and let live. It is impossible to expect an entire nation to become ardent followers of a particular belief, especially when they possessed different ideologies to start with. Decisions involving the good Nigerians must be made with a head clear of religious and ethnic bigotry. If Nigeria is to achieve her full potential, her President must be able to make moves and even appoint people based on their inherent capabilities, and not the supreme beings that they believe in.

So I ask again, is your aspirant a religious fanatic?

Religion is only used as a tool because of how jealously Nigerians guard their beliefs. The dichotomy in the manner with which MKO Abiola won the 1993 election in Kano, where his opposition hailed from, and the violence that erupted after the 2011 elections in the same state barely 19 years after the previous election, should tell you just how effective it can be used to sway public opinion. Nigeria’s next President must be willing to superintend over Nigerians of every religion in a quest to bringing everyone under a unifying umbrella. After all, it is common knowledge that a true leader has no religion, anything signifying otherwise points to a failure of leadership.

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress

Can your aspirant guarantee peace?

Peace is an intangible prospect that can be achieved only through deliberate efforts. Nigeria, as it stands, has been besieged by a plethora of crises on every side. The dastardly acts of the Boko Haram sect in the North, the now-fatal actions of the IPOB in the East, Fulani Herdsmen, Kidnappers, Banditry, armed robbery and many more is enough to bring confusion to any political leader – except such a person has experience in dealing favourably with such scourges. Through past statements and actions to curb conflict and insecurity, the belief of a person can easily be analyzed.

So I ask once more, can your aspirant guarantee peace?

I ask this because Nigeria’s future depends on the ability of our next President to cut the head off banditry and neutralize the effects of the Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency. The next President needs to appeal to the consciences of both the Yoruba nation and Biafra agitators, Hausa/Fulani sovereignty promoters and socially disadvantaged members of the Niger Delta and steer Nigeria’s ship towards the Promised Land. If your preferred aspirant is only found where the trouble lies and has never participated in any resolutions, I wonder how he/she intends to solve existing and future problems. It may sound like common leadership sense, but common sense has never been common. After all, a particular aspirant once had a Eureka moment and suggested that Nigeria’s entire woes will evaporate if it starts the intense growth and exportation of cannabis.

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress.

Is your aspirant accountable?

He who is faithful with little deserves a greater reward, and great rewards are often accompanied by far greater responsibilities. It is a loose translation of the Holy Book but you can see where I am going with this. It will only amount to irresponsibility on the path of the voting class to stand behind an aspirant or eventual candidate that does not have a history of being accountable for their actions. Whatever action you take, irrespective of the fact that it benefits the people or not deserves to be laid out plainly to the general public. Many within the Nigerian ruling class have gotten used to a lack of accountability, and if Nigeria must have a change of fortunes, this must change.

So I ask again, has your aspirant been accountable in the past?

Does he/she have a history of being accountable for their actions? When your aspirant handled public funds, how accountable were they in acquainting the masses of the intricacies involved in the disbursement of said funds? Has your aspirant been known to be defensive when it comes to accountability? If called upon, will your aspirant be willing to face the media and set things straight?

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress.

Is your aspirant a promoter of youth and women in politics?

It is common knowledge that women vote more than men in Nigeria. The youth also form the majority of the voting bloc in every election. Why both keep getting sidelined when cabinets are being formed and important decisions that will affect the younger generation the most are being agreed upon remains a thing of amazement. Nigeria’s next President must be highly connected to the women as well as the younger generation.

So I ask again, does your aspirant support the youth? Does he/she support women?

If at this level of politicking, whoever wishes to become Nigeria’s President has no record of promoting inclusivity amongst all groups, he/she must never have the support of the Nigerian people. Impunity must not be rewarded by blind loyalty. To get the change we desire, we must be prepared to demand the values we need from people whose desire is to govern us.

Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress.

Whilst these questions might remain unattainable qualities for the supporters of many aspirants who read this, they remain highly pertinent character qualities that must be evident in anyone who wishes to lead us going forward. Nigeria’s future is hanging on a rope, only the right candidate can steady this ship that is, at the moment, precariously close to tipping over the edge.

According to many opinion groups, Nigeria’s next president will be amongst 15 people, all of which are listed below

Professor Yemi Osinbajo
Atiku Abubakar
Kingsley Moghalu
Yahaya Bello
Rotimi Amaechi
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
Nyesom Wike
Seyi Makinde
Bukola Saraki
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
Nasir El’Rufai
Peter Obi
Kayode Fayemi
David Umahi

If Nigeria’s next leader is to emanate from all these names noted above, it must have become pretty evident to the reader of this piece that only a few names on this list tick all the desired attributes which the next President must, if our story is to change, possess. Even if your candidate happens to have demonstrated all these qualities in the past, I can assure you that many have not exhibited them consistently.

Except your aspirant’s name is Yahaya Adoza Bello.

Yahaya Bello’s name is enough to command a diverse range of opinions across different spheres of the opinion spectrum, yet one thing about the man that you cannot take away: consistency. He has remained consistent with his values and his actions, so much so that Nigerians across the world are beginning to see him for who he truly is; a revolutionary leader.

From the first moment he stepped into office, Yahaya Bello has gone about doing things differently. He has ensured that upon the expiration of his tenure in 2023 as Governor of Kogi State, posterity will adjudge his actions and inactions positively. Yahaya Bello will be celebrated for his fairness, firmness, equity, inclusivity and political eccentricity which has birthed a new manner of governance that is attracting applause across the globe. Think of anything that seems unlikely a Nigerian politician will do, and Yahaya Bello has probably done it and more. He is young and bold, daring and 21st-century compliant – a leader of his generation.

So it is your turn to ask, does Yahaya Bello believe in One Nigeria?

Yahaya Bello’s belief in the unification of this country is unrivalled. It is probably why they call him “The Unifier”. Apart from his recent mediation between the Northern farmers and Southern marketers, Yahaya Bello has shown, even within his cabinet, how dedicated he is to promoting One Nigeria. He has several tribes apart from indigenous Kogi tribes working closely with the government. He has often enjoined Nigerians to remain hopeful in the Nigeria of our dreams, whilst taking practical steps – such as the symposium held in his honour earlier this year – to generate proper dialogue on the methods that can be employed in promoting peace and unity in our nation.

You can also ask, is Yahaya Bello a religious fanatic?

Being a devoted and practising Muslim has not prevented Yahaya Bello from becoming one of the most religious inclusive leaders in Nigeria. Yahaya Bello has used the privilege of his office to initiate and complete the first of its kind chapel in the state’s 28-year existence for Christians to worship at the State Government House. He has often encouraged and empowered Christian leaders, donating buses, dishing out scholarships and even constructing buildings for Pastors who had no prior or befitting home to live in.

Yahaya Bello has become a beacon of hope for religious inclusivity in Nigeria, proving this by celebrating his second term win during an official thanksgiving service in his hometown of Okene and becoming the first Governor in Kogi State history to appoint someone from another religion and tribe as his Chief of Staff. Under Yahaya Bello, religious-based conflicts have been reduced to the barest minimum, and no one can bemoan a lack of opportunities due to their religious preference. Earlier this year, the National body of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) awarded him as a “Friend of the church”, its highest honour to recipients of other faiths. This is the sort of character is needed at the center.

Keeping with the line of questions, you can also ask, can Yahaya Bello guarantee peace?

The first step to guaranteeing peace and harmony is quashing conflicts that result from religious and tribal disharmony. This has, to an enviable standard, been the greatest achievement of the Yahaya Bello led government in Kogi State. Through the EBIGO agenda established under his rule, all tribes have been carried along in the equitable distribution of government projects and appointments. Tribal discord has been annihilated through proper dialogue, equitable distribution of democratic dividends, immediate mediation to possible conflicts and the act of practising what you preach. In the last five years, Kogi has gone from being one of Nigeria’s tribal conflict hotspots to becoming one of the calmest regions.

The second step is ensuring that there is security within your borders. It is no longer an unknown fact that Kogi is the safest state in the North solely because of Yahaya Bello’s jaw-dropping of the state’s security architecture which has not only rid the state of criminal elements but turned it into a dangerous terrain for kidnappers, bandits and armed robbers alike. Kogi has displayed little tolerance for criminality, the results thereof being that a state that 14 bank robberies happened within a single year pre-2016 has now gone five years in a row with only one, with the criminals later apprehended and facing the wrath of the law. The harmony that currently exists between the traditional security outfits and the vigilante service enacted by the state government has also ensured a weekly barrage upon kidnappers that dare to step on Kogi’s soil. Kogi was once regarded as the kidnap capital, it is now the safest in the north within five years. That is leadership with a purpose.

Yahaya Bello will guarantee peace, he already has a history of it.

Can Yahaya Bello be held accountable?

An accountant by profession, Yahaya Bello certainly knows a few things about being accountable, and he has shown it in his government. Kogi state remains the only state that has public records of its spending of the Bailout and Paris funds, as well as consistently topping the charts in the World Bank assessment of monies meant for project utilization. The Kogi State government has also launched a website, kogipedia.com for the tracking of the use of government funds and projects. Yahaya Bello has never shied away from telling his administration’s side of the story to the media and was rated the friendliest Governor to the media in the year 2020. To be accountable, you will face a lot of backlashes, but you will clarify issues, and for many Nigerians, that has been a missing link for many years.

Is Yahaya Bello a promoter of youth and women inclusion in governance?

Data, as they say, answers all things. Yahaya Bello runs a government with over 90% of its appointees as youths. The average age of his appointees ranks at an outstanding 35.5%. He has also ensured the deviation from the norm by deliberating assisting intelligent women to climb the ladders of success in Kogi state politics. His Secretary to the State Government from the beginning of his tenure till date has always been a woman, as well as his Head of service. All the Local Government Vice-Chairmen are women, with one LGA already housing a first of its kind Female Chairman as we speak.

Women currently head over nine ministries in Kogi state, the Vice-Chancellor of the Kogi state university is a woman as well as three other educational institutions across the state. Yahaya Bello was recognized for his role in women inclusivity earlier this year after emerging as the recipient of the HeForShe award in governance. His government had over 45% of women in government, as against the worldwide benchmark of 35%. Impressive? Yes. Very.

All of these and more point to why Yahaya Bello’s stock continues to rise across the country. Nigerians are tired of the age-old style of politicking that has ensured that we, as a country, continued to take the proverbial two steps forward and ten steps backwards. Nigeria harbours so much potential which can only be harnessed under the right leadership, a generic move that can only be established if we the youth, who are often the most maligned by the evils of this sort of leadership, rise and make a solid statement.

We do not want a leader that is strong on security but weak on equality. We no longer care for a leader whose campaign slogans are riddled with “I will”, we prefer those who have records to back up their claims. We will no longer accept a President that will make the youth strangers in their country, we need one of our own. We understand that to live up to the lofty dreams of our founding fathers of building a country where the unity in our diversity is backed up by the genuine faith in our leaders, we must ensure that there is peace in our land. That is the only way to guarantee progress.

Yahaya Bello ticks all these boxes.

We must revive that which makes us smile as a nation. That familiarity which only a true Naija born can relate with when we think of our dear country Nigeria. Only a President who does not have to fake these characters before Election Day can determine this. Together we can allow Yahaya Bello to make the change. Together we can possess the fearlessness of ambition, and like Barack Obama once famously projected, we can always rely on hope: “Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope. In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, a belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”

Better days with Yahaya Bello as our President.

I believe. Do you believe it too?