Why You Should Only Vote For A Highly-Intelligent Presidential Candidate in Nigeria’s 2019 Elections

To see a significant change in the fortunes of Nigeria, you should vote a critical mass of good people into elective positions, especially a highly intelligent and inspirational president.

It makes sense for prospective political aspirants to communicate their vision to the electorates, so people can evaluate whether that’s the future they’ll want. What they hear should then let them know whether they would elect such political leaders based on the vision communicated during the candidates’ electioneering and media-organised debates.

If a presidential candidate refuses to honour such debates, would you still go ahead and elect the person in a blind trust? What would that refusal tell of such a candidate? Why would a potential next president of Nigeria, for example, refuse to debate so people could know his or her vision and solutions to the challenges confronting the country and compare him or her with the other aspirants?

Such a refusal to debate ideas suggests there might be something such a person is hiding or a lack of vision to put on the table. Would you still vote for the person? The political debate should act as a compass to guide you on who to vote for in general elections. I would never vote for a president that cannot debate his or her ideas before the election day.

I get it that debates for the sake of doing talk shows would never result in the best leadership. However, it should serve as a pointer toward assessing the minimum criteria a presidential candidate should possess.

1. Your next presidential candidate should inspire confidence when the person speaks

?Inspiration lifts. It is needed for engendering positive attitudes and encouraging the downtrodden that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Because Nigeria had suffered so much misrule for a long time, more than what is obtainable in other climes; thus, the reason the citizens are always looking for a change or a messiah. So, a presidential hopeful should be able to inspire self-confidence in the citizens.

2. Your presidential candidate must possess high intelligence exemplified by the ability to communicate a clear vision of where the country should go

He or she should be able to do this from brain power, not from what speech writers would write to be read. A good vision should show what Nigeria would look like in 4-8 years of its rule, for example.

In the minds of the citizens, they should be able to compare and have a clear picture of the president's vision, for an instance, will the education system be in the same class as that obtainable in Singapore, Finland or where?

The same also applies to transport, hospitals, electricity and water supply, police, and judiciary, among others. And how/where the president would get the resources in Naira and kobo, as well as show contingency plans in case there’re shortfalls from the expected sources of revenues.

Next, enumerate the concrete measures in which you commit to being assessed as having succeeded or not as a president. Not the ones you'll deny after getting to the office because the yardsticks were vague.

High intelligence is most important because you can’t rise above your knowledge level, nor can you act beyond what you know. Your potential president must be highly-knowledgeable and ‘digital’ in this digital era.

3. Your presidential candidate should demonstrate competence for excellence

The past records of the presidential hopeful should be scrutinised to evaluate whether the person has had indisputable records of delivering exceptional results either in personal business, employment, or services rendered.

This spirit of excellence would show the person can be trusted to search for and employ the best citizens to help deliver his or her set agenda. Otherwise, mediocrity and arbitrariness would reign.

4. Your presidential candidate should have a high indisputable public perception of integrity

This is the highest decision criterion you should pay the most attention to. And it’s easy to assess: look at the candidate’s past and from all sides, from friends, critics, and public perception. Here, you should follow Warren Buffet’s billionaire wisdom for selecting people to work for Buffet, summed up below:

5. Fear of God

Your candidate should have a higher Authority where he or she feels obligated to (aside from the citizens) who would help keep his or her character and attitudes in check toward dipping hands in the national treasury. Note that treasury looting is the indisputable stock-in-trade of most leaders in Nigeria.

This criterion can work in the nation’s interest, especially when the president faces situations where there’s no one to check his or her decisions, and such situations would always present themselves!

If you fear God in the true act of your belief, you would understand how indispensable this healthy feeling of loyalty to a higher power has prevented you from corruption, even though you may still be imperfect as all humans are.

Final words

Which of the candidates above do you think possesses the five criteria?

Now, the soul of Nigeria may depend on how you use your thumb in 2019 to elect a critical mass of good people into most elective positions in government. Your candidates, especially for the sensitive office of the president, must possess ALL, but not some, of these qualities as the minimum attributes. If you choose otherwise, then no whining anymore after May 2019!

Or which of these criteria isn’t important to you for good governance in Nigeria?