Date: 2014-09-17

It is just a matter of weeks before political parties begin their congresses to elect candidates for various offices. These are very important processes in a democracy, which sadly Nigerians rarely pay sufficient attention to. The general election is the big one for many of us; probably the only time we put on our political thinking caps and come up with different prognosis. But the political primaries are as well important, if not more. In fact, they are too important to be left to politicians alone. It is the period when the system separates the wheat from the shaft and the best possible candidates are produced. Or very bad ones, depending on several factors.

In the US, the primaries are watched as closely as the proper elections. Most times, it is easy to predict that certain winners of the primaries will emerge as the eventual victors in the elections mainly because of the vigorous pre-election process that produced them. It is in the light of this that I am waiting keenly for the primaries of the two major political parties, the PDP and APC, and urge other politically aware Nigerians to pay keen interest in them and where possible participate actively in the primaries.

I am especially concerned for my home state Kwara. Ours is not one of those rich Niger Delta states with a fat federal allocation. We are not even a Lagos; a cosmopolitan oasis which has a large and active private sector which if suitably taxed can yield the resources for our economic advancement. We are poor. We are struggling. And we can barely afford the huge wage bills of the civil service, let alone fund expensive projects, which ironically are essential for the good of our people.

So what we require at this point is a governor who can squeeze water from a stone, one who is smart enough to seek unconventional solutions to our complex problems, yet sufficiently practical to manage the diverse political interests. A thinker and visionary skilled in not only managing public resources but in growing them with proofs of excellent record in service of the people.

Sorry to say, the incumbent does not fit that bill. He looks like a good enough fellow. But the job appears too much for him as he apparently lacks the capacity to make the kind of policies that can cause real change and the political weight to see them through. He is therefore happy to hide behind silly excuses and in fact is becoming skilful at inventing them. "I cannot perform because of my godfather," is a very common one. Another is, "blame the federal government for not giving us large allocations."

The excuses of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed do not hold water. Kwara was not an affluent state between 2003 and 2011 when Senator Bukola Saraki was in charge and yet the people witnessed real changes and progress. Now, it is important to explain that I am not a big fan of Saraki, especially the kind of politics that has come to be associated with him. But whatever you may say about the man or his brand of politics, he did try as governor between 2003 and 2011.

Before Saraki, Kwara was very poor and backward, one of those easily forgotten states that is not renowned for anything. However, the eight years of his administration was good for Kwara. Especially in terms of infrastructural development, a good number of roads were tarred, which led to the opening of previously inaccessible communities. Ilorin the capital could then boast as one of the cleanest in the country. I could point at reforms in education, agriculture, sports and others, which gladdened my heart.

Today all these reforms have dried up. What has changed? Kwara was not receiving large allocations from the federal government under Saraki as it is still not doing now. Yet Saraki in spite of the limited funds available made a difference while Ahmed has not. The difference is that of capacity. Simply put, the job is too big for Gov. Ahmed. From what I have gathered from people around him, the man does not like being bothered too much with matters of the state. He rarely closes late or spends sleepless nights thinking and working on policies that will improve the lot of our people. He is not the governor we need going forward. Let's give him a pat on the back, saying thank you but no thanks for 2015.

But that does not solve the problem of who the best man for the job is. This brings me back to my original theme, that of the primaries of political parties. If we don't pay keen attention now on the processes that will produce the governorship candidates of the two leading parties we will be condemned to whatever we get, good or bad, when one of them eventually becomes governor. If you ask me, or more appropriately if I had a magic wand to make one person the governor of our state, that person would be Bolaji Abdullahi, the former Minister of Sports.

I wish to be clear here that I am not talking party politics. It doesn't matter really what party platform Abdullahi chooses to run on, but about his capacity and track records. (There are really no differences in the parties anyway.) Abdullahi has proven several times that he has the depth and competence to take on tough jobs and deliver. As commissioner for education in Kwara, he championed the reforms that led to vast improvements in the sector and convinced many parents to withdraw their children from private schools and enrol them into public ones.

As federal minister of youth and later sports, he has proven that he is a very competent manager of men and resources. His tenure as minister of sports is one of the best ever in Nigeria with many laurels won. I am aware that he put in so much handwork, resolving the lingering crises in the NFF, which has flared up again after his exit. He also initiated the League Management Company, a body that now manages the league professionally and has attracted a lot of sponsorships. The former minister also received high praise for the inaugural High Performance Centre, the National youth Games and several other initiatives.

But it is doubtful if the political leadership of the APC have the courage to give him the ticket, and he doesn't seem to have the political muscle to run on a smaller party's platform, like Segun Mimiko did with his Labour Party in Ondo State. Besides Abdullahi, the next best candidate is Dele Belgore of the PDP. Dele his urbane, highly educated, in fact a SAN, and has great plans on paper for the state. He ran a very engaging campaign the last time and inspired many youths to join the political process. We need somebody like him in Kwara, someone who can inspire hope and does not have the political liabilities (read godfathers) of many of the current candidates. The only drawback with Dele is that he doesn't have a public service experience. But that shouldn't be too much of a weakness. Obama didn't have a public service experience until he became a Senator and later went on to be the President of the US. Dele can appoint people with sound records in public service into his government and thus diminish whatever deficiency he might have in this regard.

This article is not about any particular candidate. It is about the political production system of candidates for elective position with a special bias for Kwara. My belief is that we need to take a more than cursory interest in the primaries of the political parties. For us in Kwara, irrespective of our political affiliations, we cannot afford another four years of a governor like Ahmed. If there is indeed a governorship primary in the APC as the party has announced, we should ensure that it is free and fair and make sure that Ahmed does not get the ticket. It is a duty we must do for ourselves, for our children and for their future.

Mohammed, a banker, lives in Lagos where he occasionally analyses political events and issues for the media