Meritocracy drives my thoughts and ruminations today and even then , I concede that the concept is not fool proof and is contextual in various political systems and societies . The news from Nigeria that the presidency has asked Nigerian youths to learn history and get educated to earn a living outside government , because government has no more jobs for them , to me , is an attempt at meritocracy . Similarly the Muslim Muslim ticket of the ruling APC presidential candidate is a step , and a bold one at that , in the direction of meritocracy and the promotion of competence in leadership in Nigera .Outside Nigeria and specifically in the UK where the leadership succession battle to replace lame duck PM Boris Johnson is raging , the foreign un English names being peddled as front runners bravely show a salute to merit and competence in the context of British colonial past and the resultant change in British political leadership in a multicultural Britain . The evolutionary and historical changes leading to these developments , form the kernel of our discussions today .
The issue of youths looking for jobs in government in Nigeria has a North South dichotomy and is rooted in the educational imbalance in Nigeria , in which the South has an edge and in the political power structure in which Northern youths , educated or not , see government work and jobs as a monopoly of Northerners especially in the federal government establishments . This is a product of history , demography and colonialism and we shall dilate on this later . In contrast the Muslim Muslim ticket is a pragmatic , competence assessment that moves against history on the basis of merit that shouts loudly that the nation should not be held hostage to religion forever .Especially as Nigeria , after all said and done , is constitutionally , a secular state . It is necessary in this piece today to compare the emergence of colonial products as leaders in the UK especially in the race to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Tories and eventual UK PM , with the emerging political meritocracy inherent in the Muslim/ Muslim ticket of the ruling party , the APC in the 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria.
In terms of history and regional development in Nigeria , the South has always been ahead of the North educationally . This was an accepted fact by the regional leaders of the nation even as they fought the British colonialists for our Independence which came in 1960 .The Northern regional leaders namely the Sardauna of Sokoto , Sir Ahmadu Bello and the first PM of Nigeria Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa were school teachers and did their best to make Northern youths get educated to bridge the huge educational gap between the North and South . That was the origin of the belief that government work at federal level was meant for Northern youths . That educational strategy was not pursued by the military and elected successors of these pioneer Northern regional leaders and led to the neglect of modern education in the North which eventually produced the cruel emergence of Boko Haram terrorism , which said ‘ No to Western education ‘ . That is the reality that the North and the presidency has woken up to and is now telling Northern youths , which it mistakes for Nigerian youths generally , that government has no more jobs for them , a fact which non Northern Nigerian youths have always known , because they have never been the beneficiaries of government jobs at federal level anytime , till now .
In the old Western Region the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo pursued an educational policy of free education which put the region at the forefront of educational development in Nigeria. In the East , Zik and later Michael Okpara did the same and the North was left lagging even as it clung to political power,, based on demography and census , not backed by climatology , geography and the endless North South Migration based on economic and water needs for human survival . This too culminated in the huge insecurity bedeviling the nation today with the Fulani herdsmen clashes with farmers in the South generally . In the East the educational drive later lost momentum especially after the civil war when the Eastern youths embraced business and jettisoned educational achievements . While Eastern youths still excelled at educational achievements somewhat , a new genre emerged of successful , scarcely educated rich youths whose pride resided in marrying educated graduates as wives since government jobs was never an option any way and at any time for them .
On the Muslim Muslim ticket which I address henceforth with its acronym MMt it is not necessary to vilify , attack or defend religion to justify the presidential choice of the Jagaban and APC .It is a reality and a challenge that both the nation and the party must accept and promote to win the 2023 presidential elections . There are however some obvious facts of geography and history to highlight based on the background of the presidential candidate and his running mate especially as they come from the SW and NE .
In the SW especially with the Yorubas religion is not a big deal as most families have both Muslims and Christians as members and relatives and they jointly attend and promote their religions and their activities together at Xmas , Ramadan and Ileya . Religion may be an opium of the masses elsewhere but certainly not in the SW of Nigeria . Napoleon was quoted saying that religion was invented by the rich to prevent being killed by the poor but that is not the case in the SW or even Nigeria till the advent of Boko Haram in the NE where the Jagaban’s running mate comes from and I have some interesting observations on the area .
The Kanuris dominate the NE of Nigeria and they are the only area in the North not conquered by the Sokoto Caliphate jihad . I did my national service in the NE and served at Gwoza and Mubi and can attest that the people there are friendly and accommodating . There are ECWA Christians in the area and they promote their religion without harassment till Boko Haram terrorism came in .The APC presidential candidate is a two term governor of Borno State and is well placed to know the menace and perhaps the solution to the terror of Boko Haram . He certainly must have some ideas on how to realistically and politically arrest the menace of Boko Haram at federal level and that would be a huge advantage for a Tinubu presidency . This is a matter of competence , merit and knowledge that should not be marred unnecessarily with extravagant religious considerations and bias given its huge security implications for Nigeria now and in the immediate future . To me the MMt is a political innovation and change necessary to move our political system forward objectively and should be applauded and promoted patriotically as a step in the right direction for our fledgling democracy .
In the contest to choose Conservative leader in the UK names like that of former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Nadim Zahawi have surfaced and no eyebrows were raised because these leaders are regarded first and foremost as Britons and appreciated as products of migration , colonialism and a multicultural Britain . Perhaps Boris Johnson was banking on such names being unacceptable in the British establishment and that may have prompted his careless and arrogant leadership that led to his fall as PM even though he will be in power till a new leaders is elected . The leadership race in the Conservative Party in Britain shows full steam meritocracy at work and I find that worthy of emulation by any political system that aims at objectivity and leadership by the best hands available . In a way I think that is the direction of the MMt ticket of the Jagaban in Nigeria for the 2023 presidential elections and to me really , it is a winning ticket worthy of support by all Nigerians who value progress and good ,vintage leadership , especially in these testy times and days .