[OPINION] Fashola, Obi should get their parties’ tickets – Temidayo Akanni

Nigeria is at a critical juncture. It has been so for several decades, but this time, it is at the very precipice of chaos, if not anarchy.

Our dear nation is at a tipping point with a record level of insecurity, terrorism, banditry, inflation, unemployment, and poverty.

As a firm proponent of gradualism, I’m convinced that who we choose to elect in 2023 will ultimately determine whether we go off the cliff as a nation or whether we can find a path towards redemption.

Of course, I am not deluded into assuming that electing a competent individual into Aso Rock in 2023 will be the magic wand that solves all of Nigeria’s challenges.

My argument as a gradualist is that it would at the very least stop the bleeding and retrogression.

As young Nigerians, our future is at stake. It would be foolhardy to lay back and allow a select few individuals to determine our choices for 2023. Such passivity has plunged us into the security and economic crisis we’re currently grappling with.

Instead of allowing political parties to select our options in 2023, citizens, especially young Nigerians, must reverse this trend by pressuring political parties to adopt credible candidates. We cannot continue to choose between the lesser of two evils when there is an opportunity to choose from the better of two ideal candidates.

Although every eligible adult is entitled to run for the highest office in the land, some candidates should be discouraged for the sake of our future. I’ll be blunt: Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, are better off serving this nation as elder statesmen than steering the country into a future they are too old to understand.

Mind you, this is not an indictment of their person, nor is it an attempt to belittle their achievements both in business and in politics. It is simply a call for a new way of thinking, championed by a younger and more forward-thinking politician.

What Nigeria needs now is not a captain from the old boys club but a focused and steady hand with the courage and conviction to guide us out of this wilderness.

That said, what are our realistic options? I ask this because while we are all hungry for National Transformation, our approach must be granular and pragmatic. We know that between now and 2023, it would be almost impossible for a complete outsider, however good their intention maybe, to win the presidency. We are left with the current crop of politicians in the two dominant pollical parties.

And frankly, a few decent hands across both parties could potentially make a difference in Abuja. For the sake of this piece, I will zero in on a few of them.

The first is Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the current Vice President of the country. Prof Osibajo has demonstrated a deep understanding of the complex issues that have plagued the nation and have shown that he has the courage to take tough decisions when and where necessary. Although Prof Yemi Osibajo rose to political prominence on the back of his benefactor, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there is no reason why he should not aspire for the office that his godfather covets.

Another is former Governor Peter Obi. Mr. Obi demonstrated in his time as governor that budget deficits are not a given – states’ governments can save and invest in the future of their people.

He was not given to the trappings of office or the allure and luxury that come with executive privileged – a prototype trader whose focus is on increasing what has been entrusted to him. Aso Rock can make do with a man who understands the importance of trade and frugality.

Worth mentioning also is the former governor of Lagos state and minister for works and housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN). Very few will dare contest the indelible mark he left in Lagos, whatever one may think about Raji Fashola. As Sue Grafton once said, ideas are easy. It’s the execution of the ideas that separate the goats from the sheep. There has hardly been any executive in the last 15 years that has shown a knack for execution like Fashola.

His hands-on approach to execution is the kind of leadership Nigeria urgently needs after going through 6 years of a commander in chief who is hardly ever seen commanding.

Others include Governor Kayode Fayemi, Prof Kingsley Mohghalu and a few others who have shown the capacity to govern and have, at one time or the other articulated a clear vision for this country.

If we can compel the PDP and the APC to zero in on the candidates mentioned above, we might be able to avert the doom that awaits us.