By Dele Sobowale

“Once to every man and woman comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side.”
James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, p.254).

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“My last born is now 19 years old. He has just told me he will vote, but wants to know who to vote for. I said I thought Jonathan is a wimp. Buhari is arrogant, aloof and ignorant of his rigid wicked selectivity. Ribadu is a deluded megalomaniac. He basks in the power and privilege of his lineage and former office. Okotie is as pretentious now in his pronouncement as he was as a singer! So, brother, how do we help our son pick a candidate to give his vote? Give him a name please, not a guideline. He needs a voice to follow at this age. You are it! He believes in you!”

By August of this year, it will be 17 years since I first appeared on this page. It all seems like yesterday. In all those years, I have never received a text message which touched me so much because none had challenged me so profoundly as the one above. To be quite candid, my heart raced suddenly. As a father and grandfather myself, my youngest daughter will be 16 in November, and the grandchildren are multiplying.

Reading that text over and over again, I suddenly realised that I have acquired a son, even if I don’t know him yet. But, that does not matter now. What the sender has asked me to do is to give the same answer to “our son”, and I heartily claim him, as I would give to all my own kids. That is a great challenge; but a reasonable one. After all, my children and grandchildren, as well as all of my readers, God willing, will live in the Nigeria which the candidate of my choice will create – if he wins the elections. We are co-travellers in the statecraft named NIGERIA. The consequences of our choice on election day will be felt by all –including the winner himself and his family (eg. power failure).

Although, I was enjoined not to give guidelines, I will plead for understanding, if that instruction is not strictly followed. And, I hope when this is over, all my readers, whether they agree with my choice or not, will understand the decision rules, or guidelines, I followed in reaching the decision. At all times I am guided by principles –right or wrong.

Months before the candidates for the leading parties emerged, I conducted a survey to determine the issues Nigerians felt were the most important. Time and space do not permit me to render the full report.

But, by a wide margin, 38 per cent, corruption came first. Security came second at 23 per cent; power supply and jobs were neck and neck, in third position. Personally, I would have placed security first; but a honest researcher does not cheat on the outcome of a survey. Thereafter, it was a matter of waiting for the candidates to emerge to determine who, in my view, is best placed to tackle the issues Nigerians felt were important to them. This is very important; I don’t depend on my intuitions alone.

I also added one personal, and, therefore, subjective, condition for myself when the time came for selection. I will not vote for any PDP candidate, irrespective of who or where he/she comes from. Twelve years and N30 trillion have gone down the drain in Nigeria under PDP; it is time for a radical change. The party is totally corrupt. So, those who have attempted to make mileage out of my “hatred” for Jonathan are deluding themselves. Alhaji Atiku is a friend; but even he would not have received my vote if he is the PDP candidate. I know the Turaki will understand.

I was, and still am, willing to forgive any other short-coming, but not involvement in and association with a corrupt party. And, the reason is simple. Out of the almost N30 trillion which passed through PDP hands in 12 years, close to N10 trillion cannot be accounted for and the remaining N20 trillion had been squandered.

These people from the Executive to the legislature and even their appointees in the judiciary have openly robbed us without remorse (see the Bode George judgment and reception). More to the point, Jonathan had been part of it; from Bayelsa to Abuja. And, he has succumbed to Obasanjo – who has presided over the most corrupt government in Nigeria’s history – including Abacha’s regime. Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. Nobody who has made himself a stooge of Obasanjo will ever receive my vote –even if he is my twin-brother.

I am running out of time and space; so, let me fast-forward this piece though I will like my son and other people to understand fully the basis of choice. As the text made clear, each of the candidates, mentioned, and even those ignored, has weaknesses. We need not allow arguments about the characterisation of each candidate to delay us here. The very valid point the sender is making is simple – there is no ideal candidate; no angels among them.

To adopt the language of one of my real professions, not journalism but marketing, there is no perfect brand. Selection among various brands (read candidates) is often based on need segmentation. Each consumer comes to the market (read polling booth) with a basket of needs, and under ideal circumstances (i.e. no intimidation, bribery etc), selects the candidate who will best fulfill many of those needs. Sometimes we get it wrong or are deceived by promises. But rational people should focus on their needs. Otherwise we get trapped in the sentiments of tribe, religion, party, etc.

So, given that caveat, let me start with my candidate’s faults as I perceive them. I totally agree with the text message that Gen. Buhari is aloof and sometimes arrogant. He is also disciplined to the point of rigidity. His commitment to a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society such as Nigeria is suspect.

But, he has some achievements to his credit which temper my fears in that regard. He also has the baggage of his military past to carry and perhaps, he needs to convince Nigerians more, including me that he can shed the excess. I can go on listing seriatim all his faults real or imagined. So, in making this choice, I am taking a risk – but a calculated one. Calculated because I also know that lined against Gen. Buhari’s faults are the positive attributes (honesty, self-discipline and patriotism) that Nigeria needs at this time.

In short, I have made him my choice because he is the man whose time has come. If corruption is our number one problem, and even Obasanjo said that in the interview he granted to CNN in 1999, then the man to start the process of reparation of our stolen wealth and who can immediately halt more malfeasance is Buhari. Jonathan and Ribadu at the Federal level and Shekarau at the state level have not fully given the accounts of their stewardships. The accounts of the Federal Government, including EFCC, and the states, including Kano, had not been audited since 1999. A lot more had been stolen than we know about.

And, we need the reparation, not loans to develop. Only a candidate who was not a part of the kleptomania can unravel what happened in 12 years and retrieve our money. Buhari is the man. And rest assured, if he derails, my pen like a Gatling gun is ever-ready to shoot him down and tell him where to go. There is more to say, but space and time demand I stop here. And, there will be no ill-feelings towards my son if the advice is not taken. I can make mistakes too!

I love the write up - the writer is a patroitic Nigerian.