Prepare to Ask the Hard Questions
Ahead of the 2023 General Elections
Prepare to Ask the Hard Questions
Show me a political leader who has no dark sides and I will follow him without hesitation. Show me a person who has no flaws and I will worship him without reservation. Show me a man without faults and I will prostrate without qualms.
Nigeria is not seeking for a faultless, super hero personality to assume public office. We are only seeking for leaders whose power of love is more than their love for power. Nigerians are seeking for servant leaders not leaders of entitlement.
Nigerians are seeking for leaders with proven competence, intellectual capacity, mental fidelity, physical stability, who possess strong political morality, who are not ready “to do anything” just to get elected.
Public office is for public service. If it is, then no aspiring leader for public office should be desperate to be elected. He/she should ask to serve and demonstrate reasonable humility in going about it.
Anyone aspiring for public office should be ready for public scrutiny of their private lives. If you are not ready for public scrutiny, don’t bring yourself to the fore. And when questions are raised about the dark sides of your life, don’t blackmail anyone by saying “it’s the handiwork of detractors”. It’s not detraction, it’s called “public scrutiny of private life”.
As candidates traverse the country in the coming months, people should be bold to ask them hard questions. Enough of pandering and massaging the ego of “super heroes”. It’s time to interrogate their past to determine how the future could be.
During 2014 -2015 election season, the mantra was ” Change”. Change came and many are lamenting. And the reason is that people did not ask the question “what kind of change are you bringing”?
Leaders, lead from within. They give what they have. If what a leader has presently, in terms of capacity, competence, mental and health stability, and judging by antecedents, are not enough to deal with the challenges ahead, don’t bother to vote the person in.
The prosperity and stability of Nigeria depends on who you vote into office in 2023. Be careful. Ask hard questions and demands answers.
By Dr. Joseph Ibekwe
Leadership Coach
