In the view of this writer the only reason everyone wants the Presidency is the widely-held belief that it will bring to them greater political power, influence, leverage and more developmental projects than all other sections of the country. This pre-supposes pre- ferential treatment for a section of the country by the appointee, to the disadvantage of the other sections. This is sad.

It has almost become as if the Presidency is a plum position, to be 'acquired' at all costs. If one may ask, why is it that there is so much interest in the post? Should it really matter where the President comes from, as long as he is performing, moving the country forward and ensuring that the proceeds from the nation's resources are evenly distributed among the constituent parts of the country, that is, without preferential treatment for his ward? In my view, as long as checks are put in place to ensure that whoever is President does not unduly benefit himself, family, friends and his constituency/ward, then it should not matter at all. In reality, the mere fact that the issue has become so contentious pre-supposes that Nigerians still believe that once 'their man' becomes President, they can have anything they want.

The main problem for the country today is that there are no proper structures in place to ensure hitch-free appointments of leaders at the helm of affairs. The current 36-state structure and 'geo-political' divi- sions do not create the right atmosphere for a condu- cive process of choice of people to run the nation's affairs and until this is addressed, things will continue as they presently are. There is a need for people to dis-engage from the ideas of 'my tribe', 'my state'[as presently constituted] and begin to see the country as one entity for us all. This calls for a proper structure to be put in place which will ensure that, following any election, the political parties and constituent parts [properly-run states] of the na- tion will have a clear-cut method to be followed, without resorting to violence, rancour, plotting, bri- bing, blackmailing, all in an effort to become Presi- dent. In this regard, this writer has suggested, in a previous write-up, the re-division of the country into only 8 or 10 states, with each comprising elements of southern, middlebelt and northern territo- ries and people and so, with boundaries running north/ south. Under this setting, the choice of President and Vice-President will be rotational among the states [with the President from State A and the Vice- President from State G in one term or life of an administration and two other states taking over the next time until all states have had a chance - the parties that emerge victorious in elections making the appointments]. On the state level, Governors and their Deputies should be rotated between the northern and southern halves. This is a practical solution to the problem and should bring to an end all the hullabaloo we, as a nation, are having to endure, for honestly, it is a shameful development in our democra- cy and history. We can work towards implementing the above proposal between the May 2007 election and the one following, if we do not want a repetition of what is now happening. Perhaps, Nigerians need to consider the awful neglect the country's development is experiencing as a result of politicians diverting their attention from gover- nance [which they are paid for] to wasting valuable time and resources in order to achieve their selfish objectives, while the country is left to rot. Is it any wonder that a 3-mile stretch of a major motor-way from the west to the east has been impassable and a death-trap for months and no one seems to care? [There are hundreds of such abandoned or forgotten projects and infrastructure all over the country, all because, for two years, politicians are concerned only with fighting for positions].

Lastly, it is pertinent to note that in the developed economies [which Nigeria should by now be emulating], it is unheard of that people form groupings or organi- sations with the sole aim of championing the cause of any one person to become President or Prime Minister. If Nigeria truly wants to lead Africa, it has to set standards, in this regard, put in place a system that ensures a rancour-free choice of leaders.

Comments/rejoinders are welcome.