Choice of The Next CEO of Nigeria PLC -By Tony Osakpamwan Agbons

Alas, the day is here, and the hour has come when millions of Nigerians go to the polls to se(elect) the next Chief Executive Officer (President) of Enterprise Nigeria. It is the magical 25^th day of February in the year of our Lord 2023 Anno Domini. The eye of the world is on Nigeria as we continue our gallant march in our journey to further solidification of our nascent democracy. Since the job portal for applications for the top job was opened last year, many candidates sent in their curriculum vitae, CV to the head-hunting Nigeria people. The current occupant of the office, President Muhammadu Buhari is concluding his tenure in a few weeks time. The enterprise needs a new man at the helm.

The veins and arteries of the enterprise called Nigeria PLC is bleeding profusely as a result of the continuous `Brutus stabbings` from the knives and swords of the criminal political gangs and charlatans who have held her hostage. The enterprise has been bedevilled by executive recklessness and profligacy. The entity is going/has gone bankrupt at the speed of light and the jury is out. The Chairman and Board of Directors (the people of Nigeria) desire a competent new CEO to take Corporation Nigeria out of the current mess it has found itself. The company`s debt profile of over 70 Trillion naira is anaemic and malignant. Budget deficit is at 33% and counting. Insecurity in the enterprise is at breaking limits. Over 133 million out of the 200 million staff (67%) of this enterprise are living in multi-dimensional poverty. They have no access to quality education, healthcare, housing, electricity, transportation, and simple amenities like portable water, good roads to mention just a few.

To make the right choice in the recruitment of the next CEO, the job specification is clear. The enterprise needs a qualified, mentally, and physically fit CEO. The job is a 24-hours-365-days role. A sick enterprise like Nigeria PLC cannot survive another four or eight years with a sick man in charge. Secondly, the enterprise requires a CEO with knowledge of the dynamics of a modern business organisation top-bottom, and bottom-top in line with current global best practice.

As we carry out the recruitment of our next CEO of enterprise Nigeria on Saturday 25^th February 2023, the challenge before the se(election) committee (people of Nigeria) is an attention to the fine details and small prints. The se(election) committee must change the status quo. The task before all is; are members of Nigeria PLC better off in 2023 than they were in 2015? The se(election) committee must use as their template the time tested maxim of; `you cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome`. In picking the next CEO for Nigeria PLC, religion, tribe or ethnicity cannot be the determining factor. It also cannot be narcissistic sense of entitlement coloured in the robe of `EMILOKUNISM or I HAVE SEEN IT ALL. Both the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the PDP`s  Alhaji Atiku Abubakar are on that trajectory in word and in deed. The choice of our next CEO of Nigeria PLC should be based on the essential vitals of Competence, Character, and Capacity. These aforementioned attributes can only be felt and seen in the LP candidate, Mr Peter Obi. I can tell you that for free without any equivocation.

Another significant addendum required for the Office of CEO of Nigeria PLC is mental and physical fitness. This is sacrosanct and we can only disregard it at our own peril. The job of a CEO is daunting, and energy sapping. The rigour to perform at that level of  organogram cannot be over-emphasized. You can ask any CEO of a company, be it a Small and Medium Enterprise SME, a National or International firm or Conglomerate. The role wears down both the brain and the body concurrently. It is not a job for the daft, faint, or physically weak person. Such will crash and we cannot to afford to take that chance. Time is running out for Project Nigeria and there is no time to waste time.

In conclusion, I want to urge all citizens of Enterprise Nigeria to understand that they (the people) hold all the aces. We decide who gets the job. The three shortlisted frontline candidates (in no particular order) – Tinubu, Atiku and Obi are applicants for the top job. These men are looking for a job. We (the Nigerian people) are the ones to decide their fate on 25^th February 2023. Our vote is our Power. Our instrument of authority is our PVC and the interview boardroom is the polling booth. So let us shoot our shot with all sense of responsibility. Indeed, A NEW NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE…

Dr Agbons is Lead Institute of Good Governance & Leadership @www.twin2.org