It was Peter Drucker who said that “effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes”. This Saturday offers millions of Nigerians especially young people the opportunity to look beyond emotions, tribal affiliation, or religious sentiments to elect a President with a proven capacity to lead us out of the current mess we have found ourselves.
The purpose of this write-up is to help us look at the vital areas of national development and the capacity of the leading candidates to deliver based on their experience and antecedents.
Education: In terms of educational qualifications, Atiku is the most educationally qualified among the leading candidates, with an MSc in International relations from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Obi has an average Bachelor’s in Philosophy from UNN, while Tinubu has a questionable degree in accounting from the United States.
In terms of their contribution to education, Atiku is far above his competitors towering above them in terms of direct and indirect contributions to the development of education in Nigeria. As Vice President, his passion for education led him to directly intervene in the plight of Anambra school children who were left at home for over two years by Mbadinuju, it was also under the OBJ – Atiku led government that the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme was launched.
Atiku built Africa’s first development university, the American University of Nigeria where rescued Chibok girls were given scholarships. He has also vowed to pay all the withheld and outstanding salaries owed ASUU members and other university workers to underscore his commitment to education.
Tinubu, on the other hand, has no history of support for education beyond a few secondary schools he built during his tenure as governor of Lagos, same goes for Obi and none of them have also gone back to school to earn an additional degree since leaving school.
Peter Obi’s record on ASSU strikes and lecturer welfare is also abysmal. Under him, University students stayed at home for years while he owed some educational workers for 36 months.
Job Creation: If there is one qualification the next Nigerian leader needs is the ability to create jobs. Tinubu is the worst when it comes to this benchmark because even though he eats from virtually every taxpayer in Lagos, he has no business that creates real jobs in manufacturing or other key sectors that drive the economy.
Obi is not far behind because as a trader, Obi’s major supermarket businesses are import-based most of which take jobs from Nigeria and send them overseas to countries where those goods are manufactured. In contrast, Atiku’s businesses are massive creators of jobs. In some states, Atiku is the highest employer of labour after the government because his companies are into manufacturing, agro-based products, and other key drivers of job creation in the economy.
Power: No economy can develop without power. Energy generation is the single reason why most companies are not making profits even banks are now closing early because of the prohibitive cost of power generation. Peter Obi travelled all the way to Egypt to learn about power generation yet he does not know the meaning of “green energy”! This is after 8 years as governor of one of Nigeria’s biggest states.
Tinubus’s credentials in power generation are far better than Obi’s because he single-handedly championed the Lagos state Independent Power Project (IPP) handled by the American Company, ENRON to generate 90 megawatts of electricity which led to some improvements in power supply in Lagos.
Atiku’s first-class hands-on experience in the areas of power generation and transmission is one area Nigeria stands to benefit from when elected into office. The OBJ – Atiku-led administration built or started most of the power-generating entities we have in Nigeria today. The PDP-led administration of Jonathan and Sambo completed the rest.
Healthcare: Tinubu and Obi’s records in the provision of healthcare are also very poor. Under Obi, Anambra State Government employed medical doctors were on strike for 13 months as a result of his refusal pay the right salary, poor conditions of service, and lack of proper working equipment, Nigeria cannot afford such tragedy. Lagos under Tinubu had healthcare centers that are known for delivering the worst healthcare services. The claim that Tinubu met one functional ambulance as Governor is also false.
Atiku even as a private citizen is actively involved in the provision of healthcare for Nigerians beyond what he did while serving as vice president between 1999-2007. Long after leaving office, Atiku Abubakar went into partnership with the Saudi German Hospital to establish a 100-bed hospital and referral center in Abuja among many other interventions in the health sector.
Security: We cant talk about the 2023 presidential elections without talking about who among the candidates has the experience to tackle our current security challenges. It is a fact that the Obasanjo-Atiku era is the most peaceful period since our country transitioned to democracy.
It was a period when the term bandits was alien to our dictionary. As the number two man in that government, Atiku has the requisite skills and experience to rejig our current security system like they did between 1999 to 2007. Obi, on the other hand, lacks experience in security matters which explains why the Ezu River tragedy where hundreds of people were murdered under his watch is still a mystery. Tinubu on the other hand lacks the energy needed for a robust engagement and monitoring that our collapsing security architecture requires.
Preparedness: Its unfortunate that Tinubu the “Emi Lokan” coroner appears totally confused and directionless after being handed his party ticket. To date, he does not have a real policy document, the entire APC manifesto of 2015 he helped prepare which they disowned and failed to implement has suddenly formed the foundation of the documents they released recently. Tinubu also fumbled when it came to naming a running mate resorting to placeholders, even when he finally found one it was a one-sided Muslim Muslim aggregation that is currently tearing the nation apart at a time religious sensitivity is at an all-time high. A man who does not know how to comport himself when the National Anthem of his country is being recited or played is not ready to lead.
Peter Obi towers above Tinubu when it comes to his level of preparedness even though he also employed the services of placeholders for running mate, his inexperience in handling responsibilities at the national level is a minus. Like Tinubu, Obi has no real policy document that tells Nigerians what he plans to do if they vote for him. Beyond mad men’s tales and vomiting crammed statistics most of which are wrong, the LP presidential candidate does not appear ready to lead a complex nation like Nigeria.
Atiku and the PDP on the other hand appear to be the most prepared candidate and political party. Atiku is the only candidate that wrote and released his policy document with a clear blueprint of what he intends to do when elected into office. He named his running mate on schedule, inaugurated his multi-ethnic and multi-religious campaign council, and flagged off his campaign council right on time as directed by INEC.
Conclusion
Those who have mismanaged our country are always happy to see us disunited when it comes to the choice of a presidential candidate because as long as we are divided we will always enthrone our oppressors. Nigeria does not need a President that will learn on the job, Nigeria does not need a rookie to experiment or complicate an already messed up system, what Nigeria needs is an Experienced Atiku Abubakar to reset our country, get it working again and return her to the path of greatness.
May God Help Us to Help Ourselves This Saturday!!!!
God Bless Nigeria!!!
Dr. Oche Joseph Otorkpa