Beware of Nigerians who want to be President -By Joe Dauda

1999-2007

President Olusegun Obasanjo never thought he would be President. In fact, he was about to be killed by General Abacha when things turned around and he was basically invited to be president by General IBB and co. By all accounts, OBJ is one of Nigeria’s best presidents. And one of the most remarkable things OBJ did (in my view) was to negotiate a $30 billion debt relief for Nigeria, which required the payment of $12 billion cash down. Only a good father (president) goes the extra mile to ensure that his children and their own children are not debtors/slaves. That move by OBJ won my heart. Incidentally, President Donald Trump is trying to sell American citizenship to the world at a princely sum of $5 million each in order to raise money to, among other things, reduce America’s debt. A good trait.

2007-2010

President Yar’adua never dreamt of becoming president. But he was hand-picked by OBJ and given the position on a platter of gold. By all accounts, and in spite of being dogged by ill-health, Yar’adua was a good president who was able to, among other things, bring peace to the Niger Delta region and initiate the process of electoral reforms. He even did the unthinkable by publicly admitting in front of a camera that the election that brought him to power was not perfect, even if it may have been the approximate will of the people.

2010-2015

Like his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan never dreamt of becoming president. He never even wanted to be sworn in as Governor when, as Deputy Governor, his boss was impeached. However, he not only became Governor but went on to become Vice President and then president. Anyone who says Goodluck Jonathan was not a good president (especially when compared to other presidents) is either uninformed, simply ignorant, or being dishonest. As the days go by, that bloody civilian with a PhD is appearing more and more capable and nothing near clueless, as he was infamously disparaged to be by his detractors.

The above mean that, since the return to democracy in 1999, we have had three presidents, none of whom was primarily interested in becoming president. Becoming president was not a known objective of any of them. And all three seem to have done well, with varying degrees of weaknesses.

2015-2025

From 2015 until now, we have had two presidents whose long time ambition was to rule Nigeria. First was Muhammadu Buhari. For my own good, let me just say I’m still working on my opinion on his 8-year presidency. So many things happened during the Buhari’s presidency I will need to read Femi Adesina’s compendium before making an informed comment.

The second man to be president of Nigeria based on an advertised intention to occupy that position is BAT. Again, I’m still working on an opinion about the 23 months he has already spent in office as president. Suffice to state that the shape of his presidency will either confirm or refute the basis of this thesis that Nigerians should beware of those who want to be president.

Atiku Abubakar is the next most popular wannabe president in Nigeria. Will he, like Buhari, one day achieve his dream and do so at a time when it seemed impossible?

Time will tell.

For now, and in order to err on the side of caution, Nigerians should generally beware of their fellow compatriots who want to be president. The simple analysis of our 26-year democratic history (which I have attempted above) proves that those who came to power based on the recommendation of others seem to govern well. Those who felt themselves worthy and went for the position . . . Well, like I said, I’m still studying the situation to form an opinion. And the current President will greatly determine whether or not this thesis holds water.

Joe Dauda

Joe Dauda