The Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kukah, has given insight into the type of leaders, particularly the person who should be elected by Nigerians as the next president.
He said it was important for Nigerians to stop voting based on ethnic, religious, or political sentiments and vote for someone capable of tackling the country’s perennial challenges.
Kukah, who gave the insight during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, maintained that though the frontline candidates are individually qualified to lead the country, Nigerians should see through them and choose wisely.
The cleric said the era of rhetoric must be put behind Nigerians and that the electorate must sieve and interrogate the presidential candidates on their ideology, plans and governance style before making their choice.
“The people must interrogate their (presidential candidates) ability and capacity to govern by the sheer brain and not bribe. The point is that even the whole idea of leadership is often exaggerated because we are confusing political officeholders with leaders.
“It is only in Nigeria that there is so much focus on the centre. Society can only grow when we extend the frontiers of knowledge and opportunities.
“Critical to all of these, we are looking for a president who has an understanding of the complexity of what is wrong with Nigeria. It is not just about people just aspiring without an understanding of the issues.
“My argument is that anybody who aspires to rule Nigeria and we have the opportunity to, we (Nigerians) must redesign the template of confrontation and you (presidential candidate) must be able to confront Nigerians and answer their questions.
“I am not and won’t be surprised if the candidates move up and down and convince us by taking minimalist positions and telling us these, and that is what they are going to do.
“I won’t also be surprised if the next president of Nigeria tells us he would tackle insecurity, increase power generation, and what have you.
“The critical question is that aspiring leaders must be subjected to a litmus test by the people. The people must ask questions like since you (presidential candidate) said you want to deal with insecurity, can we get a sense of how you want to do it and achieve success? Can you show us from your background how you can do this?
“Fortunately for us, the frontline candidates have a track record and those track records must be what we must use to project the nature of the choice we have to make,” the cleric who recently celebrated his 70th birthday said.
He said it was important for political actors, particularly presidential candidates, to listen to young people, understand their frustrations, and align their agendas to assuage their grievances.
“The passion that drove people in 2015 has dissipated. The people have understood they were lied to, and we have all seen the consequences of religious manipulations.
“The young people have become aware of this and are asking the right questions. I encourage the politicians to go to the nooks and crannies of Nigerians to sell their convictions.
“The energy in this coming election is tremendous and I am excited about the energy of the young people and their attention to the country’s election,” he said.
He added, “I believe that Nigerians are energised and they have a choice to make. But we must ensure we see through the candidates and choose right to get the desired outcome.”
