Last week I suggested that Nigeria will benefit by searching for a new, more contemporary leadership that possesses the required ingredients of honesty and integrity, competence, vision and commitment. In my view, the usual candidates-Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari and Abubakar Atiku would do us no good! It is time, I argued for our nation to look forward to the future, rather than back to the past, especially in terms of selecting our President and Vice-President in 2011. However in view of ex-President Babangida’s hypothesis that his generation must continue to occupy Nigeria’s political leadership in so far as the younger generation have not proven up to the task of leading, the position I advocate would be incomplete except I can come up with names of the type of leaders I have in mind.
So let’s start from Northern Nigeria. I think Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu is very qualified to be President of Nigeria, and he would probably (at the very least) be a better leader than any of the usual suspects. He was a very experienced federal civil servant rising to permanent secretary before his election as Governor. He espouses some admirable values (such as servant-leadership) and appears willing to engage on intellectual issues. He also comes across as somewhat of a nationalist rather than an ethnic, regional or religious jingoist. And he has more experience in management and leadership today than Babangida, Buhari or Atiku when they first occupied high office. The same argument will apply to Dr Shamsudeen Usman (former state commissioner, bank CEO, Central Bank Deputy-Governor and Finance Minister and current National Planning Minister); Mallam Abba Kyari (former UBA Managing Director); Senator Sanusi Daggash (former Representative, Senator, National Planning Minister and current Minister for Works) and numerous others.
From the South-South, we can list former Cross-River State governor, Donald Duke, Mr Atedo Peterside and Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma. Duke was a very successful state governor for eight years. His state, along with Edo, was the poorest in the South-South. Fortunately for his people, while Edo had the misfortune of Lucky Igbinedion, Cross-River had Duke. During his tenure, his state became associated with tourism and entertainment (Obudu Ranch, Christmas Carnival) and the TINAPA Resort, which remains his enduring legacy. The state government under Duke was reasonably efficient and delivered social services to his citizens. Atedo Peterside founded IBTC Bank, built it into a strong domestic investment banking giant; engineered its merger with the former Chartered Bank thus emerging from the consolidation exercise a fairly strong universal bank; and then forged the merger with Stanbic Bank to create today’s Stanbic IBTC. He is associated with competence, sound judgment, professionalism and ethics. He has on two critical occasions-the June 12, 1993 and the recent Yar’adua crises spoken out in favour of the national interest, rather than cower quietly like many of his colleagues in the business community. I have written about Udo-Udoma in the context of the SEC Chair. I remain convinced that his professional qualifications and achievement, political and legislative experience and impeccable reputation make him a model of a public servant.
We can add to this South-South contingent, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan has acquitted himself excellently through the recent crisis and since he became de facto President. His education, calmness under pressure and emerging charisma make him an obvious candidate for national leadership. And his tentative record in office, though short, is admirable. I would certainly prefer to be led by Jonathan, Duke, Peterside and Udo-Udoma than Buhari, Atiku or Babangida!
From the South-East, you have the impeccable possibility of Dr Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s most successful Minister for Finance since Chief Awolowo’s war-time performance. A graduate of both Harvard and MIT, Okonjo-Iweala came to the finance ministry from a glittering career in the World Bank to which she returned as Managing Director after her ministerial tenure. Her record of Nigeria’s macroeconomic management and the reforms achieved between 2003 and 2006 is unmatched and the Paris Club debt forgiveness is an abiding testament to her competence (and the leadership of her boss, Olusegun Obasanjo before things fell apart). Professor Bartholomew Nnaji (current member of the Presidential Advisory Committee, former minister and CEO of Geometric Power) and Engineer Earnest Ndukwe (who as Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice-Chairman revolutionized our telecommunications sector) are also excellent prospects.
I can confidently assert that all of the names I have mentioned in this article would make better leaders than most, if not all of those who have led this nation. I have no doubt that these individuals, and indeed many others possess the attributes required to transform our nation. We should desist from negative self-fulfilling stereotypes which appear to have become ingrained in the psyche of our people that only corrupt politicians or retired generals are qualified to lead this country. That formula has not worked. It’s time to try something different!
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