[dropcap]T[/dropcap]o be sure, the elected president will not be a ‘savior’ of Nigeria and Nigerians. Nevertheless, it is vital that the Nigerian people choose the right man or woman for the job.
[pull_quote_center]“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell[/pull_quote_center]
Every year we gleefully engage in pranks during April Fools’ Day. There are many things a foolish president can do that will make him a fool all year round.
Who is a foolish president? A foolish president cannot be trusted with the fate, faith, and life of his citizens. A foolish president lacks the skill and wastes resources. A foolish president wastes opportunities. Foolish president have poor judgments. Foolish president never learns or grow. A foolish president makes the same mistakes over and over again. A foolish president pays severely for the consequences of his actions. There’s little or no hope for a foolish president.
A foolish president is an absent-minded leader. The old military saying captures leadership in a nutshell: “There are three types of leaders: Those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who wonder what happened.” An absent-minded president wonders and wanders about. He doesn’t really know what’s going on in his administration. He doesn’t know the people and the culture. This can make him make frightful decisions.
The foolish president is nothing but trouble for the nation. A foolish president is unprepared to lead. A foolish president’s only concern is for himself, his immediate family, and his kinsmen. A foolish president is one with no foresight, no drive, no energy, no innovation, no creativity, no enthusiasm. He’s unwilling to take risks. He surrounds himself with thieves and fools. A foolish president doesn’t know where he’s going, where he’s taking the people, and where the country is headed. A foolish president is a tragedy to his nation.
A foolish president wants the rewards of the presidency – the travel, the food, the wine, the money, the fame, the popularity, the power, the position – but doesn’t want the responsibilities of leadership – the risk-taking and the decision making. In most cases, creativity and vision is the answer to problems of governance. But a foolish president will never cast a vision, or call for creativity.
In the tumultuous days ahead in the season of a presidential election campaign, Nigerians are worried about the leadership capabilities of the candidates. To be sure, the elected president will not be a ‘savior’ of Nigeria and Nigerians. Nevertheless, it is vital that the Nigerian people choose the right man or woman for the job.
It is repetitively annoying to remind Nigerians after 58 years of electing foolish presidents that they need to elect a wise, honest, humble, capable, intelligent, decisive, and a resolute leader. I don’t have the words to stress to the Nigerian people that they should not settle for a foolish president. We have consciously, continuously, and consistently elect foolish presidents. The costs have been devastating than we can imagine or expect.
It is said that powder kegs are exploded by small sparks. Likewise, one person – a foolish president – is capable of wiping out the future and the life of his people. To avoid such a political cataclysm in 2019, there’s only one safe course: We MUST elect a wise president.
Bayo Oluwasanmi is a public affairs commentator, article was first published by SaharaReporters on March 05, 2018.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
