It is indubitable that any nation's ability to navigate herself away from obscurity to one of hope and bliss is usually hinged upon leadership competencies. Leadership remains an instrument for changes. The turnaround of many countries like Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, China, and others took roots from the kind of leaders, especially the political leaders that presided over them at one time or the other. When leaders are strong willed, futuristic, and not self-centred, it becomes possible to do exploits. On the contrary, leaders who are short-sighted, clueless and without vision end up destroying even the already laid down foundation and eventually keep the nation retarded. This is exactly what separates nations, not necessarily resources, because God was not and could not have been partial in the distribution of resources.  No matter the abundance of resources in any country, if the leaders continue to underperform, that country would continue to slide downwards in growth and development, and the quality of life of its citizens would regularly fall below expectations, eventually paving way for crime and sundry societal vices, as daily seeing today.

Nigeria has been wallowing in very deep and regrettable social economic setbacks. Rather than grow, she has continued to retard, with so much poverty and sufferings in the land. She is even referred to as the poverty capital of the world. Unfortunately, our situation is not due to want of resources but want of desirable and discernible leadership, especially politically. After a long period of over six decades post-independence, we are yet to find our feet. As a matter of fact, we have degenerated far from the height we had attained some four decades ago. Times was when we were flourishing to the extent that the then head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, asserted that `our problem was not money but how to spend it`. We were constantly and joyfully playing the big brother role to other African countries, and even others from outside the African soil. Our agricultural production was massive and the envy of all nations. Malaysia even came to Nigeria to collect Palm tree seedlings. We were renowned for the exports of many foods, cash crops and raw materials. Our industries were booming then, necessitating massive migrations to urban centres to cater for labour needs as factories sprung up in the cities. Various vehicle assembly plants existed with almost every raw material and component parts being locally produced. It was an era of boom, and our economy was vibrant. Our money had much more value than the American Dollars, British Pounds Sterling, and other currencies in the world. Graduating students were inundated with employment offers, leaving them with options to choose from. Life was good, indeed.

However, like the sting of a very verminous insect, an aura of ineptitude crept into our political life and thenceforth `mere anarchy got loosed into the land with the centre not being able to hold again`. The hopes and aspirations for a society of decency and egalitarianism began to wane with successive governments failing to stir or redirect the ship of state towards recovery. Our comparison today with countries of the same rating or classification and even those less classified four decades ago would reveal the damage of political leadership failures. Though it must be emphasized here that the citizens have not fared better in terms of living up to their own expected roles towards nation building, it however remains a matter of fact that successive leaders failed to harness the citizens properly for the utmost best outcomes of society. Yet again, there is failure of the leaders to apply good governance, especially democratic one at that, which entails the governance of the people by the people and for the people. Unfortunately, this concept of democratic governance in Nigeria is both deceptive and delusional. What we have always had is governance of the people by the political class for the political class. It has always been self serving.

The need to have our trajectory changed towards possible reversals of the ugly trends in our country begins with change of mindset by all. Dashed hopes and expectations, institutional failures and the seemingly unabated stress and strains of survival presupposes that all be interested at making things work for a better turn. The misunderstanding that tends to portray government as coming from the blues must end. We must all see ourselves as part of the government, be interested, and play the roles expected of us.  This is because, under a democratic dispensation, citizens are at liberty to choose who they want as leader. However, carelessness, ignorance, distrust, passiveness, complacencies, and amnesia have so much become the lot of many citizens to the effect of forgetting that every other thing revolves round politics and governance. We all must be involved, as a situation where people sit on the fence and expect positive changes to happen is an invitation for the emergence of the worst of leaders. While everyone would not (definitely) become politicians, everyone can aspire for the best of governance by getting involved in the choice of leaders, by joining political parties, and voting during elections. Even if an angel offers himself for leadership, it will require the people to ensure his emergence from amongst the rest.

Nigerians need to understand the concepts of choices and consequences. Every decision has a consequence. Painfully enough, most decisions and choices are not easily reversible. For instance, the decision to be carefree during election help empower the desperate and wrong persons into government, and that could give a minimum of four years of mediocrity if not outright failures. We must always remember that our choices impact our self esteem, confidence, productivity, health and well-being, our community, and the society at large. Since everyone craves for a better nation, then we truly need a new order in our political leadership choices. We must forgo immediate gains for the emergence of a new political order. Neglecting to do this will keep us in a state of palpable perdition. The best choices in life are the ones which consequences align with long term goals, even if they are hard in the beginning. Our political leadership choices should be predicated upon the ultimate goals we have for our country. It must be emphasized here, that, it is not the declaration of interest to lead, or the deep pocket or sponsorship, or political structures built over time that qualifies one. Rather, critical analyses of political leadership aspirants with respect to personality and records should always be reeled out with the intention of ascertaining suitability. 

Therefore, as we approach the upcoming 2023 general elections, we need to beam the searchlights towards ensuring that only the bests get into positions. However, since, the bests in question are only so named from the pack of the available ones through their respective political parties, it may not be out of place to state that 'the bests' may never ever be suiting, befitting and competent enough to both assure and ensure the desired push needed for critical reformations and stability of nationhood. The ones with the required or desired best qualities always hardly make it to the point of becoming a candidate(s) to choose from in the eventual elections. This is because, they are always denied tickets by the political parties. Ethnic, religious, and other primordial considerations are always at play, taking its toll on our political leadership choices. Our political system is almost entirely at the whims and caprices of the political class with planted and nurtured structures to perpetually snuff out and frustrate the good-hearted candidates in favour of their allies who are sure of ensuring their continuum in the now visible political-entrepreneurial practices that keeps strangulating the fabrics and well-being of the nation for their own selfish gains. The political system is so skewed that the bests candidates sooner or later jettison their ambitions, because, in the first place they are not always able to finance or execute such ambitions. Truth must be told that our political leadership failures are in the first instance the making of the political parties. Over time, party primaries to select candidates became grounds for instant riches. Men with deep pockets have always determined where the pendulum swings. This is for all categories of leadership positions, whether presidency, governorship, houses of assembly, and local government.

So, given the fact that the bests needed are not always able to get tickets to run, what options do we have towards attracting the bests into positions of leadership. In my opinion, desirable leaders, once identified, must not be left alone to pursue their dreams. Their dreams must be embraced and sold like wildfires. The demands for them must sound revolutionary and quaking enough to give necessary signals to the political class towards ensuring that nothing but their emergence is all that are expected even at party primaries. This should be applicable to all parties, so that in the end it would be a clear choice of the favoured or anointed from amongst the bests. Besides the political hulks that are always set to ensure things go their way, the conscience of those who allow themselves to be agents against good leadership by reason of vote-selling at the primaries must begin to have a rethink. But how can this be checked with politics being almost reduced to a profession of the jobless whose soul interests remains to make a living out of such matters. This is where people of diverse fields of endeavor who are successful, financially stable, and even with enough financial clout are also needed in politics. They may not be interested in political positions but could ensure best outcomes of political leadership choices.

On the regular crux of the bests being always impeded by finances, there must have to be a deliberate way out. The citizens must recognize the fact that sound leadership is a panacea for the eventual emergence of a just and prosperous society, with possibilities to always offer hope and hope at all times. What this implies is that the empowerment of any or all desirable leaders can and should be eased through financial supports. If those who are able become willing to sacrifice, even anonymously to ensure their protection, the burden of financing electioneering campaigns towards good governance would certainly become lightened. As in the civilized climes, we must learn to lend supports to the aspirations of deserving persons. Campaign funds for such purposes would always be a boast. The Barack Obama model is a classic example. Funds can be raised publicly and everyone chipping in, nothing too small and nothing too big. Interestingly, we are a nation of very large population to warrant maximum impacts from very little sacrifices. Reminiscent of the annual incomes generated through the fifty-naira votes during Big Brother Nigeria programs convinces me that such electioneering support funds would be easy to raise. This is not only a good way of engineering such a supported leader to serve with utmost zeal, but also eliminating the plough back tendencies that ultimately impedes performance.

Ultimately, our failure to attract the best of leaders takes root in the fact that we are not practicing a representative government in the real sense of it. It is my stern belief that consultations are supposed to be the basis upon which representatives make decisions of who to support or not during primary elections, but alas, it has never been so. It has always been a case of the political leaders dictating where the pendulum swings, chiefly by very bogus and mouth-watering monetary inducements. The open sharing of hard currency in past primaries are still fresh in memories. So, when we condemn and seek punitive measures for vote buying, it must start from primaries where high racketeering has always been the order. Again, it is necessary to ensure that equity is brought into play, always. In the case of Nigeria today, the injustice of denial of leadership by people from the Eastern region must be checked and reversed immediately. How can a society of egalitarianism emerge when a particular section is ostracized from ever attaining the highest office in the land?  This is particularly worrisome as the region has contributed in no small measure to the respect the country enjoys globally by reason of persons from that region who have made global impacts. Besides, a new order of looking in that direction would be a natural cure to the agitation for sovereignty by some folks from that region. We are truly in dire need for a new order. There should be a paradigm shift from the old order where the old and tired keep popping up in our mundane political practices of recycling leaders, especially the tested and not trusted ones. Nigeria's greatness must not be a thing of just prayers, but that of doing the right things the right way. No doubts, the general elections of 2023 offer a very good opportunity for a new order where only the tested and trusted should be projected and supported. That way, we would be making a firm choice from a list of only the bests, and that would always be always a plus. It is time, Nigeria joins the league of nations that puts out its `best eleven` on the political field. I come in peace!

Clement Uwayah, a public affairs analyst writes from Delta State Nigeria.