How does a country filled with professors, engineers, doctors, scholars, entrepreneurs, and globally respected professionals, walk into the polling booth and walk out with leaders who struggle to lead themselves? How?
This is Nigeria. The land of brilliance. The land that produced Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. The land that gave the world literary giants like Chinua Achebe.
The land whose sons and daughters sit at decision making tables in World Bank, the United Nations, Silicon Valley, London, Toronto, Dubai.
A country rich in oil. Rich in culture. Rich in youth. Rich in intellect. And yet. When it is time to choose leadership, we suddenly forget everything we know.
We abandon competence for sentiment. We abandon character for tribe. We abandon track record for propaganda. We abandon vision for noise.
How does a well educated population elect individuals whose names echo louder in controversy than in achievement?
How do we ignore someone competent, calm, prepared someone without national scandals, without international embarrassment and instead reward those whose records are stitched with unanswered questions?
Is it poverty that votes? Is it fear that votes? Is it tribe that votes?
Is it religion that votes? Or is it hopelessness that votes? Some will say, Politics is complicated.
But is integrity complicated? Is competence complicated? Is accountability complicated? The tragedy of Nigeria is not lack of intelligent people. It is intelligent people who disconnect from responsibility.
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We debate politics on Facebook, Twitter spaces, in lecture halls, in WhatsApp groups. But on election day, many stay home. Or sell their vote. Or vote their tribe. Or vote their fear.
And then we complain for four years. A nation does not become great by miracle. It becomes great by decisions.
Leadership is not magic. It is a mirror.
If questionable characters keep rising into government it is because something in the system and sometimes in us keeps lifting them.
Until competence becomes more important than tribe. Until character becomes more important than cash. Until vision becomes more important than noise. We will keep asking the same question every four years.
Nigeria is not suffering from a shortage of brilliance. Nigeria is suffering from a crisis of choice. And the painful truth? The ballot does not lie. It reflects us.
When will we decide that we deserve better?
Elvis Obinma
