From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Federal lawmaker, Shina Peller, has said it is too early to predict who will become the next president of Nigeria from among the candidates jostling to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari next year.
Hon. Peller made the disclosure when he featured on a political live programme, ‘Prime Time’, on Arise Television. Political analysts have stated that the four leading presidential candidates are Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)
Peller, who represents Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency of Oyo State in the House of Representatives, enjoined Nigerians, particularly the youths, to stop prioritising the presidential election as the most important, adding that it should be regarded as the least important of all elections.
The Accord senatorial candidate for Oyo North in the forthcoming 2023 elections said that it is disturbing that less than 100 days to the 2023 elections, many Nigerians are in search of a presidential candidate as a messiah instead of everyone working harmoniously towards achieving a functional system that works for all.
In addition, the Oke Ogun-born federal legislator stressed that whoever emerges the president shouldn’t be the first thing in the people’s minds while trying to build a desirable structure using bottom-to-top approach and identifying competent young candidates across different political parties. He argued that it is the only way Nigerians can do things differently and achieve a desirable result.
He said: “I believe that the presidential election is not the most important in Nigeria. What is most important now is to develop a system that works for everybody. A single man cannot make up a system. The president is just a component of the system and can’t singlehandedly address critical issues affecting us as a country.”
Answering question on who will likely emerge the country’s president in 2023, Honourable Peller stated that it is too early for anyone to predict that confidently, adding that by January 1, 2023, people would know whose chances are brightest.
Speaking on the numerical strength of Nigerian youths, Honourable Peller emphasized that Nigerian students alone have what it takes to determine the country’s next leaders.
“Let us take NANS – National Association of Nigerian Students – for example. The universities were shut down for almost one year. Students have a population of about 40 million; every student has a parent, every student has a lecturer, every student has a relationship with the non-academic staff, every student has a relationship with the host community of the school. So, they have the capacity to reach out to people,” Peller said.
He therefore challenged Nigerian youths in general to come up with strategies that will enable the country usher in a pro-youth government in 2023, stressing that the strategies should include setting up criteria for identifying credible candidates.