The Vice Presidential Candidate

With more people showing interest and the stakes getting higher, the twists and plots of this forthcoming presidential election have been like none other before it. Coming with its twists, turns, plots and constantly unravelling mysteries, daily, it feels like a wonderful piece co-authored by William Shakespeare, George Orwell and James Hardley Chase, with pictures drawn by Vincent van Gogh or Pablo Picasso. Previous elections have not really been centred on competence but more on ethno-religious sentiments. Although, the people have almost never had the choice of competence but the Peter Obi candidacy offers Nigerians this option. Nigerians, especially the younger #ENDSARS generation seem hooked on his mantra of competence and positive change and are rallying behind him. This makes this particular election uncommon as Nigerians like never before have become more interested in politics and are increasingly refusing to be on the sidelines. Will the choice of Nigerians be influenced by the need for competence or will we stick to our guns on the same old ethno- religious sentiments which seems to be the nemesis of progressiveness? I hope not but can we really do without it? For a multi-ethnic nation such as ours, the honest answer will be NO but for us to grow and move forward, competence should take precedence over any form of sentiments. Nigerians have never had it this bad. The nation, more polarised than ever along ethno-religious lines, the economy too is in shambles, insecurity and unemployment at their highest ever since independence. Nigerians blame the present government and the APC that brought them to power for all this and were hoping for power to move to the PDP, the major opposition party. The PDP fields Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Muslim, despite Buhari, the incumbent being a Northern Muslim himself. The much disliked APC who many believe have mishandled the country within its short stay in power fields Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), a Southern candidate who just happens to be Muslim while the third force, Labour Party, fields, Peter Obi, a Southern candidate who seems to have risen to prominence with his track record of competence. Their choice of running mates is the next best thing on the list. The choice for a Vice Presidential candidate is almost as important as that of the Presidential candidate. It can either strengthen a candidacy or weaken it. Although, the selection process is based, heavily on the earlier mentioned ethno-religious sentiment because it is a norm that both Northern and Southern parts of the country be represented in a particular Presidential ticket. While this holds true, a candidate with an air of competence around them can lend credence to that candidacy. A perfect example is the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket which defeated the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. President Goodluck fell out of favour with the majority of Nigerians after a rise in kidnapping, banditry and increased activity of the terror group, Boko Haram which led to a perceived weak hold on the state of affairs and ultimately, incompetence. The Buhari/Osinbajo candidacy took advantage of this and presented now President Buhari as a strong, principled, no-nonsense, incorruptible leader who had all it took to steer the nation in the right direction and back on track. The icing on the cake was his VP running mate, Osinbajo. Osinbajo, an erudite Professor of law who had served in many capacities, a pastor in one of the most renowned churches in Nigeria, believed to have a personal relationship with one of the most respected and loved Christian religious leaders and also endorsed by him. Osinbajo reeked of competence and those who didn't trust Buhari were won over by their trust in Osinbajo's capabilities. At the end, a major part of South voted for Buhari simply because of Osinbajo's perceived capabilities. This is the power of a good choice for a running mate. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP has chosen Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta state to be his running mate. Despite being governor of the oil rich state for almost 8 years, Ifeanyi Okowa holds no sway in the South, neither is he of much renown. Infact he is quite unpopular in the South and not very much liked in his own state. Indigenes of Delta state seem to have no trust in his competency as he hasn't displayed any since he became governor. Personally, I feel the choice of Okowa as VP candidate weakens the PDP's ticket. BAT of the APC is yet to announce his running mate but he has 2 choices, either a Northern Christian as he is a Southern Muslim, or a Northern Muslim. If he chooses a Northern Christian, he is sure to lose support in the North as Christians in the North are a minority. If he chooses a Northern Muslim, he will garner more support in the North but this breaks the unwritten rule of "no candidates of same religion in the presidency at the same time" and he will definitely get a reaction from the South. It is a dicey decision for BAT and careful considerations as well as extensive consultations must be made to get a candidate that will seat well with Nigerians from both sides of the ethno-religious divide. Peter Obi of the Labour Party who seems to be the people's favorite is also yet to choose a running mate or at least make it public. I believe he's holding his cards close to chest while waiting for his opponents to lay their cards on the table. If this is true, then it's a smart move. Although, he comes from a weak political bloc as an Igbo man, his strong and loyal followership towers over and dwarfs this fact. He owes it to himself to choose a strong, popular and competent Northern Muslim as running mate as he is a staunch Catholic. If this is done, he gains another advantage over his opponents. Who do you think both BAT and Peter Obi will choose as running mates?

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