Ideally, the selection of a running mate for a political party and its standard-bearer is dictated by the need to have someone who will complement his principal. It is also to have someone who should be able to step in effectively as president when the president is not available for any reason. In our own democracy, however, some other extraneous factors are considered. Among them are religion and ethnicity. Candidates and political parties that want to win elections usually factor in these variables before making their choices.
The major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has made its choice clearly known. The party had dumped its constitutional provision of power rotation between the North and the South to pick a Northern Muslim, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as its presidential candidate. According to the party, its focus is on a candidate who has the ability and capacity to win the election. But the issue of zoning, which was on the front burner before the emergence of its presidential candidate, became a factor in the selection of the party’s running mate. That is why the party has chosen a Christian from the South-South zone, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, to complement Atiku, who is a Muslim from the North-East.
As the Chairman of the PDP vice-presidential screening committee, Chief Tom Ikimi, noted Okowa was also chosen for his intelligence, physical fitness and being level-headed. Besides, Atiku had indicated during consultations for the right candidate that his running mate must have the qualities to be president and would have the potential to succeed him at a moment’s notice. The choice of Okowa may not have gone down well with some interests in the PDP.
Supporters of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had expected that their man would clinch the ticket, especially as he came second in the presidential primary. It is left for the party to seek ways of bringing everybody together. As Atiku put it, party unity is critical not just to prosecute a winning campaign but also to provide good governance that the country seriously deserves and which the people earnestly yearn for.
Some other political parties are not very clear about their choices yet. The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is a Southern Muslim, has picked a Northern Muslim, Ibrahim Kabiru Masari from Katsina State, in the interim. This is to beat the June 17 deadline of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for parties to submit the names of their vice-presidential candidates. To also beat this deadline, the Labour Party (LP) submitted the name of Dr. Doyin Okupe also in a temporary capacity. The real vice-presidential candidates of these parties will emerge later after some consultations. While these parties continue to search for the ideal candidates, the question that should guide them is, will the chosen candidates provide the diversity that Nigeria requires? It is expected, for instance, that the APC will have to choose a Northern Christian to give its choice a regional and religious balance. But there are forces, especially in the North, rooting for a Muslim vice-presidential candidate.
This has created some disquiet particularly in Christian circles. Opponents of Muslim/Muslim ticket insist that Nigeria of today is not the Nigeria of 1993. In the presidential election of June 12, 1993, Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for the late Chief Moshood Abiola, a Southern Muslim and his running mate, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, a Northern Muslim. This was said to have gone against the reported advice by some powers that be then that Abiola should pick a Northern Christian as a running mate. There were reports that the annulment of the election might have been partly precipitated by this Muslim/Muslim ticket.
Regrettably, Nigerians are more conscious of their religious and ethnic differences today than before. Most appointments or programmes of government are usually viewed from both ethnic and religious prisms. Hence, any party that chooses Muslim/Muslim ticket or Christian/Christian ticket will appear insensitive to our diversities and may pay for it in the elections.
Good leadership is very paramount to the survival of Nigeria. We urge all the parties to pick candidates who will deliver Nigeria from her multiple challenges such as insecurity, power sector problem, unemployment, poverty and so on. We expect the candidates to tell Nigerians what they will do for the people. Campaigns for the election should be issue-based. The bigger picture is to deliver good governance.
Whoever wins the 2023 presidential election has a big job on his hands. He and his running mate must sustain the values of democracy in Nigeria. Beyond being competent, prudent and versatile, they must be broad-minded to be able to manage the diversities of Nigeria effectively. In making these choices, it is imperative to note that these positions are not prizes to be won but duties to be done.