By Ishaya Ibrahim
Oby Ezekwesili combines two advantages on January 19 presidential debate. She is oratorical and understands the issues of economy and security which Nigeria currently grapples with.
She is contesting Nigeria’s presidency as the candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).
The presidential debate comes up on January 19 among five candidates selected by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG).
They are; Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Fela Durotoye, Kingsley Moghalu and Ezekwesili.
Fondly called Madam Due Process, a nickname she earned while as a cabinet member in the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, she combines the broad knowledge of global economics and security.
After leaving the services of the Nigerian government in 2007, she was appointed the World Bank vice president for Africa region where she headed the bank’s operations in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and supervised a lending portfolio of over $40 billion.
Ezekwesili also served as a senior economic advisor for Open Society, a group founded by billionaire George Soros which advised nine reform-committed African heads of state, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia.
On the security front, Ezekwesili may speak with a high degree of authority due to her involvement in the Bring Back Our Girls movement, a body she co-founded to demand the release of the Chibok girls abducted in 2014 by Boko Haram.
Her role in the organisation has taken her to the troubled Borno State and the dreaded Sambisa Forest where the girls are believed to be held.
She has interfaced severally with the security agencies, putting them on their toes and the parents of the girls. It is unlikely if any of the other candidates may have the kind of insight she has garnered through her efforts. She is likely to come top in the debate.
Candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Kingsley Moghalu is among the few candidates running for the office of the president with a high level of preparation on how to fix the country.
He specifically authored a book, BUILD INNOVATE GROW (BIG), which is his economic blueprint on how to make Nigeria prosperous.
Moghalu is a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He had previously worked at the United Nations (UN) for 17 years.
Based on his work at the CBN and UN which he compiled into a book – Emerging Africa: How The Global Economy’s ‘Last’ Frontier Can Prosper and Matter, he was appointed a Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA.
His perspectives on the economy and foreign relations will most likely bolster his rating at the debate.
The man that may likely come third in the debate is Fela Durotoye.
Durotoye is a business consultant, leadership coach, and public speaker, skills he garnered from his vast academic qualifications.
He may, however, come behind Ezekwesili and Moghalu because of his lack of practical knowledge of Nigeria’s two greatest problems – security and economy. He is, however, a good speaker, and that may count for him.
Atiku is not an orator. He is also not an expert in economics like Ezekwesili and Moghalu. But he has the experience of serving as Nigeria’s vice president, a knowledge that may come handy in the debate.
Atiku can also articulate his thoughts. This will give him some advantage in citing what the government in which he served as the number two man did while they were in office and how he can make things better. He is expected to be rated fourth.
The man that may finish last is President Muhammadu Buhari, although there are speculations that he may not show up at the debate.
He is not as articulate as the other candidates, not good with figures and may sometimes mispronounce names. This much is evident in the Arise TV interview where his aides insisted that the interview be prerecorded. That may mean they were afraid of gaffes.