How to pick a winner

Elections will be held throughout the country, bar a few off-season states, for prospective leaders out there are already asking for your support. If INEC reforms, especially tech deployments are proven fool-proof, and in some situations, every single vote will make a difference as candidates for the first or at most second time in our electoral history put forward vastly different platforms and look for you to be on their side.

Personally, it is the two viable sides that trouble me the most – even though I must confess that PDP’s odds seem to be dwindling as the ruling party’s vast war machine takes its full form. I do not have a horse in this race myself but I still understand that whoever wins will wield a lot of power over my destiny – so I do have a stake in the race, it turns out. Politics is often presented as a conversation between winners and losers, those who are for and those who are against a particular issue, and in Nigeria sometimes, a person. No one wins in the long run when we are so divided that we leave half of us behind. More than even in 2015, we need a leadership willing to cross lines, close the ethno-religious fissures, and bring North and South together to solve the challenges Nigeria faces. We have got some big wahalas, and it is going to take a leader with the ability to collaborate, inspire and have some tough conversations if we are going to move forward.

All things being equal, your choices have long-term impacts on government policy, budget allocations/expenditures and the communities we want to bring to fruition sooner than later to heal good old Naija. So, choosing not only carefully but conscientiously matters in whatever small manner. Using your voice to take action in support of a candidate you believe in, to canvas for, speak to others on his or her behalf, does in fact, contribute to the quality of our incipient democracy, and the quality of the candidates we are convinced to vote for.

Needless to say, with the kind of nasty baggage the Nigerian democratic process is stained by – the system we have in place is far from perfect. Since 1999, subsequent elections have gotten worse, with an arguable interregnum in 2015 and by some indications, 2023. But even 2015 could have been dramatically improved upon. However, at the moment, this is the system we have and it is far more open and connected to the views of citizens than what we had with the generals.

I have this fundamental belief that brave, honest conversations are how we solve the most serious problems plaguing us, not only as a country but as a species. We have to come to an understanding that we are human beings and by that virtue alone, we have to accept that we are just as flawed as the second person is, we are only as morally upright and intellectually sound as the second person is – and also accept that we have sinned against each other before – because we were human beings. A bunch of truly cursed creatures. We have hated each other for so long, it is time to look at things from the point of view of the other person and be willing to accept that they stood against you not out of sheer hate and evil but because a set of circumstances that may or may not include you simulated a response that was only natural. In 2023, Nigeria needs a new kind of leader who stands for something that is in all of our interests, shows up and changes the country for the better. You want to vote for someone who belongs to no one and belongs to everyone both in speech and in action. In 2023, we need to pick a winner and that winner is a person who will stand for something we can all believe in and who will work with others to create positive change.

Now, how can we get there? What are the metrics? First, I suggest commitment and faith – to be determined from the track records of the candidate. Leaders know what they stand for, what they believe in and what they have unwavering commitment to. It is about their values and also more than that; it is those guiding foundational beliefs demonstrated by attitudes, behaviours and actions so that future choices are aligned to an authentic leadership format that will endure for the foreseeable future.

Second is courage and firmness with integrity, especially under fire. A courageous leader is able to articulate the ethics and principles that guide their administration of power in a transparent way. Integrity and courage combat fear and uncertainty in challenging situations and make people want to work together. Leaders who operate from integrity and courage have a deep well of self-awareness and stay the course when conflict or tension emerges. Courageous leaders inspire and empower others to make a choice to participate, to be in a relationship, to trust in a more positive future. This is in fact the third aspect – the ability to influence and enroll or draft others to the causes they champion. Leaders authentically lead from their own unique set of values and beliefs, commit with courage to a vision and invite others to help make it real. Courageous leaders are willing to fail, to not have all the answers and to work with others to find durable solutions. Leaders call for change, have clarity on the change they want to create in our lives, take responsible actions towards that change and recognise they have bigger impact and create more momentum the more people there are who have an active role in the change agenda that is collectively created.

Last but not the least is openness and ability to connect. Good leaders create a space around them that fuels connection, ideas and collaboration in breathing life into those ideas. They ask rather than tell and demonstrate body language and actions that will encourage engagement, in particular encourage people with divergent views to connect and learn from each other, and build a sense of meaningful inclusion where Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba on both the Muslim and Christian aisles as well as all other social sections are not only included on paper but actually feels like they matter.

These are the winners we have to pick in 2023 –  the heroes that will create experiences and feelings we all want to be part of because that vision reflects our destinies the way we also want to think of them. The sense of connection and intimacy that we will be in all together will create the powerful momentum for positive change that will take us home. This is the winner we have to pick, the leader that will emerge in 2023. Alhumma amin.