It is pragmatic to say in this context that it was the milk of human kindness that literarily compelled former First Lady, Patience Jonathan to address parties concerned on the missing Chibok Girls where she openly broke down amidst yelling intermittently, “There is God oooooooooo.” The takeaway in this context is that former President Jonathan has male relatives who could have equally lend their supports to his administration as they couldn’t have allowed him to fail, but they did not.
If there is any political issue that can make anyone conclude that Nigerians are right now at the end of their tethers, it is unarguably that of the nation’s unending quest for a transformational president. The argument that Nigeria is direly in need of a transformational, compassionate and people-oriented president is incontrovertible as each political dispensation has seen kingmakers across political parties traversed the country in the quest of a choice president, even if covertly, in preparation for an election considered to be many months away.
Without any iota of exaggeration, the sheer desperation that more often than not precede the search for a president at each political dispensation has wrongly or rightly pushed kingmakers to resort to primordial sentiments of placing premium consideration on either religious or tribal affiliation of a suggested candidate so much that at the end it has become so chancy that the adoption of such criterion has not only affected nation building but also democracy in Nigeria.
Despite my tacit opposition to primordial sentiments, permit me to call on both the electorates and kingmakers affiliated to various political parties in the country to create a supportive electoral environment for, a least, a woman to emerge as a presidential candidate ahead of the much expected 2023 presidential election.
Peradventure you are averse to the foregoing call, it is expedient to remind you that this writer is not the first person to have made such call, and he will not be the last person to make the call that a woman should be given the chance to become a president in Nigeria.
Before now, there has been an argument that Nigerians need a president with compassion, and to me, against the backdrop of the argument, biologically, a woman who is invariably a mother with milk of human kindness fits the position of Nigeria’s president. One of the most salient reason for the foregoing view is that such leader, with her motherly disposition, and coupled with the milk of human kindness that she is endowed with, will have more potential to lead as it is evidences abound that women have more sensitivity about others’ wellbeing.
The need for a female president in the next political dispensation, to my view, is crucial as no other leadership style fits in in this context to assuage Nigerians and calm their frayed nerves from the harrowing experience they have been passing through since the last few years. You may have asked, “What does that phrasal saying denotes within the context of Nigerian political lexicon?” It may not denote anything to anyone that has a partisan mindset. But the fact is that Nigerians have for so long been subjected to misrule that is steadily characterized with malaises that cut across high poverty rate, unemployment, insecurity and economic instability. Without pointing accusing finger at any leader in this context, it is bitter to say that we have since the granting of Independence to the country in 1960 been subjected to leadership of heartless presidents than bighearted, welfaristic and people-oriented presidents.
It would be recalled at this juncture that a stereotype that started trending in 2017 has it that women are kinder and less selfish of which neuroscientists have endorsed the findings to be true. To buttress the foregoing, Charles Darwin wrote that “Woman seems to differ from man in mental disposition, chiefly in her greater tenderness and less selfishness”. Not only that, scientists claim that the stereotype is supported by evidence that the brain’s reward system may be geared towards more “prosocial” behavior in women.
Again, “It was known that women and men behave differently, but it was not known why, or how this comes about in the brain,” said Philippe Tobler, associate professor of neuroeconomics and social neuroscience at the University of Zurich, and co-author of the research.
At this juncture, I must confess that I am obsessively in agreement with Margaret Thatcher’s instructive and inspiring quote that “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say in this context that Nigerians need a president that would listen, when told that Nigeria is becoming polarized along ethnic and religious lines more than ever before, and unbiasedly take remedial actions to address the situations on their merits. Nigeria needs a president that would listen whenever told that the economy is by each passing day becoming parlous; more than ever before; and not the president that would see such critical observation as an attack from those that are opposed to his administration.
In the same vein, Nigeria need a president that would listen, and patriotically take action to remedy the situation when told that the Easterners, specifically the Igbos, are systemically been “UnNigerianized”. More so, Nigerians need a president that would be tolerant enough, and be cognizant of the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to Article 19 domiciled in UN’s constitutional documents which states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it can further be demanded in this context that Nigerians want a president, come the next political dispensation that would listen to a Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State whenever he expresses his mind on security challenge in the country. In the same vein, Nigeria needs a president who will listen to a retired Cdr. Kunle Olawunmi, whenever he grants interview to the media, and share his experiences as one-time security czar.
To buttress the foregoing view, it is germane to say that a listening government is better than a government that is deafened by nepotism as supporting one’s country policies and decisions is one part of keeping it on the path of prosperity and development, while keeping track of its activities, being vigilant about them and highlighting loopholes in policies are also needed in a democracy.
Analyzed from the foregoing perspective, it is unarguable that it is high time Nigerians needed a female president, preferably in the next political dispensation, come 2023; irrespective of her ethnic, religious and political affiliation.
“Why is this writer vehemently rooting for a mother with milk of human kindness as next Nigerian president?” The foregoing question cannot be farfetched when it is understood from the prism of the fact that anyone with milk of human kindness will not wickedly close his eyes and ears to injustices in the form of hunger, joblessness, killings and unbridled level of nepotism.
For the sake of clarity, a person who does not have a charitable bone in his or her body can be said to be devoid (lacking) of the milk of human kindness. To my view, many a woman has milk of human kindness to become next Nigeria’s president, come 2023. After all, not few of them are today in the banking and finance sector of the economy and elsewhere breaking ceiling glasses to be at topnotch positions across boardrooms.
In fact, it is pragmatic to say in this context that it was the milk of human kindness that literarily compelled former First Lady, Patience Jonathan to address parties concerned on the missing Chibok Girls where she openly broke down amidst yelling intermittently, “There is God oooooooooo.” The takeaway in this context is that former President Jonathan has male relatives who could have equally lend their supports to his administration as they couldn’t have allowed him to fail, but they did not.
In a similar vein, it was the milk of human kindness that literarily pressed incumbent First Lady, Aisha Buhari in the past to be engaged in media parleys where she on more than two occasions openly vented her sense of justice on things she considered to be critical of her husband’s government. Still, the takeaway is that President Muhammadu Buhari equally has relatives who could have spoken in the same vein but it was obvious that Aisha Buhari has more milk of human kindness flowing in her than other members of the family.
At this juncture, it is expedient to say that the foregoing anecdotes were cited in this piece to explain how empathetic women are, and how compassionate a female president will be when given the chance to become one.
While insisting in this piece that Nigeria needs a mother with the milk of human kindness, come the next political dispensation, it is salient to reiterate the fact that compassion in leadership creates stronger connections between people. It improves collaboration, raises levels of trust, and enhances loyalty. In addition, studies find that compassionate leaders are perceived as stronger and more competent.
Isaac Asabor
