Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, presidential candidate of the Young Progressive
Party (YPP), has received a huge boost in his quest for President from
Prof. Wole Soyinka.
The Nobel laureate in a statement signed by him has endorsed Kingsley
Moghalu for president.
“Let me reiterate: there is over-abundant, but stifled leadership
material, and there can be no excuse, now that that potential of high
quality is being manifested, for constricting the political space in a
population that is nudging two hundred million, he said.
” And that statement is of course specially addressed to those who took
part in this exercise, those who deliberately opted out of it, some of
whom were assessed anyway. Such potential compelled us to exercise utmost
rigour in what proved to be a most daunting exercise. The final
determination however is – the flag-bearer of the Young Progressive Party
– KINGSLEY MOGHALU.
“I shall conclude with a somewhat interesting aside. I met Moghalu again
on Monday morning, February 4th, and informed him of the Forum’s decision.
During our discussion, I happened to ask him – what is the meaning of
Moghalu. I was curious, because it had taken quite some time along the way
for me to know to which ethnic group the name belonged. He replied, it
means – “Evil Spirit, Leave me Be!” Then I asked him for his other names
and he spelt them out: “Actually my full names are Kingsley Chieedu
Ayodele Moghalu”. Eyebrows raised, I asked, How come, Ayodele? A piquant
revelation resulted: “Oh, that came from Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. She
was friends with my father. Mrs. Kuti was my godmother, and she gave me
the name Ayodele”.
“I was learning this for the first time. Moghalu’s CV is however in the
public domain – his publications, record, and vision. The above is just a
side-note that contains its own mild, thought provoking instruction, for
those who care to examine the distractions of ethnic equivocations, and
the rigid mind-sets and stereotypes imposed on products of circumstance.
THE FULL STATEMENT:
“The nation has been brought to her knees. Internally, the blaring media
testimony needs no augmentation. Beyond her borders, Nigeria is the tale
of citizens designated pariahs of the global community for whom special
dossiers are opened, and units of security agencies are specifically
assigned. Online transactions are programmed to reject basic usage once
the word ‘Nigeria’ is inserted in the Data profile. There are few nation
left, within or outside the continental borders where – no matter the
codeword – a Nigerian ‘room’ has not been designated. Her humanity litters
the sand trails of the Sahara, it lines the Mediterranean sea-bed with the
bones of a desperate generation, seeking ‘green pastures’. Lines from my
poems have been appropriated and embossed as epitaphs on the tombstones of
Nigerians washed up the isle of Catania and accorded dignified burials by
total strangers, certainly paid more respect than Nigerians themselves
consider due to their own humanity. Other would-be migrants have been
slaughtered by religious fundamentalists on the shores of Tripoli, while
waiting for their precarious crossing on suicidal boats. Yet others end up
as commodities in the slave markets of Libya and Mauritania, hundreds
recently rescued and airlifted – credit where credit is due! – repatriated
by government.
“It was not always thus. Numerous Nigerians believe that it need not
remain so. There is always a choice to be made outside any presumptuous
orders – in reality associations guaranteed to perpetuate social disorders
and the politics of inequality. This is not the thinking of any one
individual but of a large section of this populace. If it were not, there
would not have been a record number of nearly a hundred political groups
aspiring to take over the reins of governance. We do not need any
instruction however to estimate that several of the aspiring groups are
mere plants, raised to sow confusion. It redounds to the credit of a few
individuals, including some of the candidates themselves, who embarked on
efforts to winnow down their own ranks, then seek a consensus candidate as
standard bearer for the battle against the two political behemoths.
“They did not succeed, but that is no cause for despair. They still
deserve the gratitude of Nigerians for their uniquely principled efforts.
The CITIZEN FORUM – last heard of during the time of the dictator, Sani
Abacha – was pulled out of retirement to join in their effort to arrive at
peer consensus. The Forum worked peripherally with them. It made no
attempt – I stress this – no attempt whatsoever to impose its own
preferences, but utilized material from the deliberations of at least four
such selection groups. It remained on the fringe, except on invitation.
Our mission today is simply to present the result of that effort by
Citizen Forum which, I am especially gratified to reveal, coincides with
my own personal preference. The CF conclusion is obviously not binding on
other groups or individuals involved in the exercise. May I take this
opportunity to advise the public that neither Citizen Forum nor myself,
belongs to any Third Force or other Consensus seeking councils by any
other name. Please ignore any such attributions.
“Over the past few months, we studied the careers, experiences and track
records of most of the presidential aspirants, and most intensely those
actually short-listed by the opposition parties themselves. Like millions
of Nigerians, we watched the debates. I physically interacted with some of
the acknowledged top contenders, in some cases several times. We
participated in HANDSHAKE ACROSS NIGERIA, where some candidates presented
their briefs. Among others, I delivered a keynote address. We watched
television interviews. We have exchanged notes with highly respected
international Civil Servants. The drive towards Consensus among these
dedicated groups sometimes took the form of test questionnaires to the
aspirants, including items such as: ‘Who among the contestants would you
choose, if you did not emerge as the ultimate preference?’
“There was nothing complicated about assessment parameters: mental
preparedness, analytical aptitude, response to the nation’s security
challenges, economic grounding, grasp of socio-political actualities,
including a remedial concern with the Nigerian image in foreign perception
etc. etc. not forgetting a convincing commitment to governance and
resource decentralization – commonly referred to as Restructuring. The
Forum rejected retrograde propositions of a political merry-go-round,
which urge the electorate to choose this or that candidate in order to
ensure “our turn” at the next power incumbency. Overall, the exercise was
exacting but also – therapeutic. It proved yet again that there is
over-abundant leadership quality locked up in the nation, and that it is a
collective shortcoming that the political space has not been sufficiently
opened up to let soar such potential. Well, to cite the Chinese proverb: a
journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
“Let me reiterate: there is over-abundant, but stifled leadership
material, and there can be no excuse, now that that potential of high
quality is being manifested, for constricting the political space in a
population that is nudging two hundred million. And that statement is of
course specially addressed to those who took part in this exercise, those
who deliberately opted out of it, some of whom were assessed anyway. Such
potential compelled us to exercise utmost rigour in what proved to be a
most daunting exercise. The final determination however is – the
flag-bearer of the Young Progressive Party – KINGSLEY MOGHALU.
“I shall conclude with a somewhat interesting aside. I met Moghalu again
on Monday morning, February 4th, and informed him of the Forum’s decision.
During our discussion, I happened to ask him – what is the meaning of
Moghalu. I was curious, because it had taken quite some time along the way
for me to know to which ethnic group the name belonged. He replied, it
means – “Evil Spirit, Leave me Be!” Then I asked him for his other names
and he spelt them out: “Actually my full names are Kingsley Chieedu
Ayodele Moghalu”. Eyebrows raised, I asked, How come, Ayodele? A piquant
revelation resulted: “Oh, that came from Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. She
was friends with my father. Mrs. Kuti was my godmother, and she gave me
the name Ayodele”.
“I was learning this for the first time. Moghalu’s CV is however in the
public domain – his publications, record, and vision. The above is just a
side-note that contains its own mild, thought provoking instruction, for
those who care to examine the distractions of ethnic equivocations, and
the rigid mind-sets and stereotypes imposed on products of circumstance.
“That immediate task being now completed, Civic Forum will now join forces
with those who pray, “Evil Spirit, leave us be!” – at least those who
subscribe to the belief that political elections are not a Do-or-Die
Affair!
“Wole SOYINKA Convener, CITIZEN FORUM 2019”