He speaks of his country and the welfare of it’s people with a passion reminiscent of the Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights movement in America in the 60s.
King fought for the liberation of the blacks from the oppression of racism, segregation and inequality that was quite rampant in that era.
He mobilised his fellow blacks and awakened in them a new consciousness of pride and self-discovery that ultimately gave impetus to the struggle for freedom from all forms of prejudices.
Needless to say that he got the white supremacists of that generation to listen to what he had to say. And what he had to say ultimately had a significant impact on the outcome of his concerted fight to rid the black American population of the toga of second class citizens.
King did one more thing. He ensured that African Americans earned the same respect, rights and privileges that their fellow white countrymen and women were accorded.
Today, King — cut down in his prime by assassin’s bullets for his seeming audacity — rests in his grave, supremely satisfied that he achieved exactly his mandate of rescuing his people from the oppression of being discriminated against solely on the basis of the colour of their skin.
His labour of love would eventually pave the way for a succession of great black achievers like Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, Eddie Murphy, Sammy Davis Jr., to mention but a few, who have continued to demonstrate that skin colour is insignificant where natural endowments is the yardstick.
King’s passion has since found expression in different forms and in different climes decades after. A Nelson Mandela going to jail for 27 years just to make the point that racism and segregation has no place in human equation is one copious example.
That Mandela finally succeeded in dislodging the apartheid system in South Africa, and ended up restoring his people to their former pride of place in the power equation in that country was a testimony that good ultimately triumphs over evil.
The Martin Luther King Jr. legacy of quiet revolution continues to inspire many everywhere.
In Nigeria, a young man who goes by the name Professor Christopher Imumolen appears to have caught the Martin Luther King Jr. bug.
He is fighting a different kind of fight. He is fighting to liberate the Nigerian people from the oppression of inept and corrupt leadership. He is fighting to restore the country to it’s former enviable position as the giant of Africa and the pride of the black race.
He is fighting to end years of endemic and instutionalised corruption that keeps frustrating the country’s efforts at achieving greatness.
He is fighting to win back the loyalty of Nigerians who have since lost hope in the face of uninspiring leadership at all levels of government.
He is fighting to restore the lost values and virtues that used to define the uniqueness of the Nigerian as a go-getter and an achiever anywhere he finds himself.
He is fighting to bring back the country’s lost glory in all aspects of human endeavour.
Just like King and Mandela before him, Professor Imumolen knows he is on a long road. But he says he is determined to give all it takes to succeed.
He is campaigning with 17 other candidates who are flagbearers of other political parties, all vying for the position of Nigeria’s president come 2023.
He is contesting with some persons who can be described as political heavyweights on the Nigerian political space for the country’s most exalted political office but he obviously doesn’t look intimidated because, according to him, “I have what it takes to be Nigeria’s next president. If I didn’t believe I could do the job, I won’t apply for it,” he says confidently.
Now, he may be very well educated, having acquired two Ph.D degrees in separate disciplines.
He may own three universities in three different continents of the world. He may have, and still continue to give much of himself to philanthropic endeavours which ensures that millions of Nigerians are empowered to live useful and result-oriented lives.
But what probably stands Professor Imumolen out as the candidate with the best credentials to be Nigeria’s president is the passion and value he brings to initiating and executing programmes and schemes tailored towards assisting and uplifting the quality of lives of the average Nigerian.
Those who know him say he has given more in the area of humanitarian gestures, in his private capacity, than all his co-aspirants combined.
They argue that a man who hasn’t been opportuned to serve in government in any capacity, and who gives from monies made from the sweat of his brows, is valued and respected more than those who give from monies made while serving in government.
A man who has used his personal resources to better the lives of Nigerians, irrespective of their tribe, religion and location is a true Nigerian that deserves to be Nigeria’s president, they also say.
They further say that a man who can give N2million each to help over 500,000 students in Nigeria fulfill their dreams of university education is a man who deserves to be at the level of Nigeria’s presidency where he can make policies that would even improve our educational system.
They also add that a man who can use his personal resources to fund the construction of feeder roads, build boreholes and electrify whole communities in Nigeria is one who merits being entrusted with the high office of president where he can do more to touch the larger spectrum of society on a massive scale.
These, and more, essentially defines the man called Professor Christopher Irene Imumolen.
He may not be as heralded as an Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an Abubakar Atiku, a Peter Obi or Rabiu Kwankwaso — men that Nigerians believe, rightly or wrongly, are more qualified to be Nigeria’s president.
But beyond the hype which seem to follow them every step of the way on account of their previous stints in office at different levels, Professor Imumolen is man who stands heads and shoulders above them when it comes to offering something new this time around.
Professor Imumolen offers a breath of fresh air, a different alternative to what Nigerians have always known and experienced.
Add this to the fact that he is younger, more educated and more versed in the way the modern world conducts the business of government and you’d agree he has more to offer than the motley crowd of opponents he is up against.
These are the qualities Nigerians must diligently seek and identify with if they want to avoid the mistakes of the past in terms of the choices they made.