Former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has criticised the process of selecting leaders in Nigeria, noting that the country selects its president before knowing if he is capable of doing the job.
He said beyond defining the kind of leaders the country needs, it also needs to look critically at the process through which the leaders emerge.
He noted that the process for selecting leaders must be more transparent.
Sanusi said this on Tuesday during a virtual presentation at the third Nigerian Leadership Colloquium in honour of the Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Lagos, Ituah Ighodalo, who turned 62.
On the just-concluded elections, Sanusi said, “No process is perfect. We have seen so in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the very least, the people should know who they are voting for. I think we need to begin to look at the Electoral Act, 2022 much more earlier than elections. We need to have a system where one cannot just go to participate in party primaries without being exposed to public scrutiny. This is what happens everywhere. People need to know what they are voting for. In other climes, they are compelled by law to participate in public debates to discuss issues of policy.
“This is the only country I know where we elect a President first before knowing if he knows what he is doing or whether he understands what the job is.”
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Sanusi said the country has been divided “dangerously” around ethnic and religious lines.
According to him, the country has never been this divided since the Civil War of 1967 to 1970.
He said that this deep division in the country has negatively impacted the nation’s public institutions.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor said that the just-concluded elections exacerbated the situation.
“The people now have suspicions about policies, policing, judiciary and the election umpire,” he said.
Sanusi stated that Nigeria now has a challenge of nation-building, adding that the economy was now in the doldrums.
“In October 2022, speaking at the Kaduna Investment Forum, I told Nigerians that if anyone told them that dealing with Nigeria post-2023 would be easy, they should not vote for that person. I meant it.
“I don’t think Nigeria has been in a place as difficult as this since the civil war. We have a challenge of nation building.
“We have a country that has been divided dangerously along ethnic and religious lines.
“We have an economy that is in the doldrums, and unfortunately, we seem to be having a dearth of leadership,” Sanusi said.