She got the job on Monday. Hours later, she was crowned the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Before the nightingales could begin to sing their melodies on Tuesday, some key members of her cabinet were announced. Give her extra 72 hours, her core team would be set!
Contrast with Nigeria, you are elected in February to be sworn in late May. Yet, after that swearing, it will take another 3-7 months to form a cabinet!
Why? The governor or the president has no clue what the job entails – and consequently does not know those who can help. That is possible because he has NEVER thought about the issues he was elected to fix. He was only prepared on the verbosity of electioneering with soundbites to appeal to bases.
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People, until Nigeria amends the Constitution and requires Gubernatorial and Presidential candidates to debate (minimum of 5 debates) , men and women who have no roles to be near seats of power will continue to find their bodies therein. The last debate will be on a blackboard with chalk, and it will focus on Flowcharting the Future. You give the candidate a chalk, and ask him to flowchart how he will fix a specific problem. Have that in the constitution, many politicians will call in sick or withdraw from the contest. . But we need that to improve the playbook.
I was the Library Prefect in secondary school and the official leader of the school debate team. Once the topic was announced, the next was to read about that topic. Without the debate, there was no incentive. Nigeria needs mandatory debates in our democracy.
Liz Truss became the third female prime minister in British history on Tuesday and pledged to immediately set about tackling the United Kingdom’s spiraling cost of living crisis, saying she was confident that “together we can ride out of the storm” of economic problems facing the nation.
Truss, 47, took office on a day of ceremony that saw her scandal-plagued predecessor Boris Johnson bow out in a defiant speech at Downing Street in London before both politicians flew to meet the Queen in Scotland for a transfer of power.
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Comment 1: I don’t share the opinion that debate will help anything in that Nigeria of a country.
First of all, before debates, most Nigerians have already decided who they will be cheerleading. Once that decision is made their mind is clouded by those things and they won’t even hear anything else.
Secondly, look at the pool of options currently on the table they are not the best communicators nor are they particularly good at leadership strategy. Read the manifesto of those who have one, and you will understand.
As for amending the constitution, most of those who have the intellect, the will, and the passion to effect such, are either dead, or confined in positions miles away from the legislative chambers. Again thanks to accepting misplacement of resources as way of life.
I don’t always like to comment about Nigeria, because I don’t understand why the creator chose to concentrate most of the non-human thinking humans in one geographic location.
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Nigeria is not a normal country, not because the politicians are smart or influential, but rather many of those who claim to have acquired education are dumber than our compatriots who never had the privilege of sitting in a classroom. Therein lies our challenge.
If you ask for the candidates academic credentials, they tell you that it’s not by certificate or being a graduate. If you ask for debates, they tell you that it’s not by debates, that those who talk a lot don’t have capacity to deliver. The puzzling question remains, what are we going to use to assess people who are putting themselves forward for the highest office in the land? Every known indices or metric is considered an aberration by the cretins who want to capture power, and they are never embarrassed to defend nonsense.
A leader who doesn’t speak often, how on earth do you intend to connect with the citizens and inspire them for the great undertakings ahead? Sound communication is perhaps the most important trait we need from a leader, because it’s ubiquitous and can influence minds faster than any physical project.
The governing style here is ultra inefficient because the government wants to develop the country by itself. Until we learn to sell vision…
I believe in debates, because it can be recorded and used as a checklist for M&E on performance during the regime of the candidate that eventually win the election. However, I strongly believe that the media, as is done in Ghana, shall play a bigger role in opening up the cans of past misdeeds, weaknesses and achievements of the candidates for citizens to know who they are choosing as their leaders. The media should also keep and reprint/rebroadcast repeatedly, the promises made by candidates during the debate while they are in the office after winning the election. On the flip side, I believe that Nigerians are too dosile and tolerates every sh*t thrown at them by their leaders. No where on the surface of this planet earth that a government commits atrocities as been done in Nigeria and the key leaders are allowed to stay in office for that “default 2 terms” 8 years. So the million dollars question is, how do we get Nigerian citizens become sensitive, active and sensible in affairs of governance, demand good governance and take appropriate action to stop bad governance?
Thanks Prof. We definitely should be a lot more serious about the future of our nations. Debates can help us see better into the minds of would-be leaders. However, I think this might be also hinged on the level of education and exposure of the voting population. Almost like the vicious cycle of “a people deserve their leaders” and “the leaders create their people”
Debates would target the liberates in the country, however a good channel to engage and choose a potential president. How many illetrates do you have in Nigeria? Do they also vote? Do villagers really feel the impact of inappropriate governance?
Thanks for this article. Debate is a good way to capture who the good leaders are but in other perceptions, we have illiterate and high poverty levels in Nigeria with no access to TV or news.
So Firstly, educating people and awareness of the value of education is one thing and bringing down debate centres to villages using cultures and values to communicate with them without the sentiment of money. I believe that is the first we need to take.