To prevent politicians from using public office for personal purposes, we ought to do certain things, including requiring all those who want to seek public office, from city council to the presidency, to write a booklet, of no more than 200 pages, in which they delineate exactly what they plan to do in office and how they plan go about doing so.

The political economy has many areas; political aspirants should tell us what they plan to do in most areas of it. The candidate for public office should tell us what is his economic plan for the level of governance he wants to participate in? What is his educational plan, his industrial plan, his agricultural plan, in short, what he is going to do in most areas of the political economy? The aspirant ought to delineate his plan, his visions and goals for the country; their costs and how exactly he intends to get the money to finance them. He ought to give us time lines when each of his goals would be accomplished.


Taking the time to write ones goals and objectives down on paper and publishing them helps the public to know what the political aspirant wants to accomplish for them. Moreover, this also enables the public to hold him responsible and accountable for accomplishing them.

In subsequent reelection bids, the public would then say to the politician: this is what you said that you were going to do for us, and this is actually what you did for us, so we think that you are a good or bad leader and reelect or reject the politician accordingly.


I am really sick and tired of Nigerian politicians seeking public office, not because of what they want to do for Nigeria but because of psychological reasons. It is obvious that most of what passes for politicians in Nigeria feel inadequate and seek high political office to give them compensatory sense of adequacy. They seek office as a means of attaining prestige. Office is restitutory for their underlying sense of inferiority.

One should not seek public office as therapy for ones psychological deficit. One should seek public office because of what one wants to do for the people.


Consider Governor Orji Kalu. His performance as the governor of Abia state is abysmal. One cannot honestly see anything worthwhile that the man has done for his people. The man cannot even pave the streets of Aba and Umuahia. Yet this man wants to be given the opportunity to become the next president of Nigeria. So why should he be the president of Nigeria? He tells us that it is because it is Igbos turn to rule Nigeria and that he is “the most qualified Igbo to rule Nigeria”. In other words, he wants us to elect him because he is an Igbo not because of what he plans to do for us.

Actually, Mr. Kalu probably wants us to elect him to give him the opportunity to steal more money from Nigeria and for him to export that money to the West. The man probably assumes that we are all imbeciles and cannot read between the lines. Apparently, the man assumes that we should offer him an opportunity to be a political 419 criminal at the national level.

(If you come close enough to the man and assess him, you recognize what a nincompoop he is; he lacks political gravitas; the man is probably mentally challenged, and is emotionally crippled. Yet this nothingness of a being wants to rule Nigeria, what travesty!)


In conclusion, I am recommending that as a matter of public policy, Nigeria require all aspirants to political office in the country, at all levels, to first write a blueprint that tells us what they plan to do for us.

Any literate man can write, edit and publish such a booklet within a month. Therefore, it is not asking too much to require those planning to rule us to write down on paper what they plan to do for us.

What do you think about this suggestion?


Ozodi@africainstituteseattle.org