Kingsley Moghalu is not a money bag, but connects with the people easily, writes Nduka Nwosu
Many Nigerian elders and seniors keep wondering why the name Moghalu is still trending among young people, the youths of today, the millennial generation that is, who constitute a significant voting
population in the electoral register. The answer lies in his ability
to connect with the man down the road, that next door neighbour if you like, who can connect with his promises to the Nigerian people in
search of the solution to his everyday problem.
In 2019 when Kingsley Moghalu threw his hat into the Presidential ring, many were stunned at his boldness and how he easily sold his manifesto to an electorate that is used to the bag of lies coming from the old
stock of politicians. Moghalu’s politics is not the politics of money
bags. He is not a money bag and does not pretend to be one. Having had a unique exposure locally and globally thanks to his diplomat parents who took him round the world, Moghalu knows the enormous possibilities open to today’s millennials whose access to knowledge and skill acquisition are all they need to live a good life. He has made himself a brand interpreting and offering solutions to the myriad of problems created by politicians and technocrats who steal our collective commonwealth without looking back.
When the convener of the Moghalu 4 Nigeria Movement talks about SWAG, the millennials follow him with a passion, a ‘swagalicious’ passion that is. And what is SWAG if one may ask? SWAG is Moghalu’s four-point agenda he has promised to deliver in four years while in office. There is no mystery there except that everything this present Fourth Republic and its drivers have failed to deliver, he tells you is deliverable with greater opportunities for all. Moghalu knows a system or country bedevilled by insecurity cannot get it right fighting
poverty and getting the millennials the right skills to attract the
right jobs at home. The consequence is job loss, massive unemployment and an economy that is low on innovative ways of doing things. SWAG is all about offering a standard health care system that will draw the confidence of Nigerians to get treated at home rather than run to foreign countries in search of good Medicare. It is about quality education and good governance that is people oriented, accountable and with deliverables.
That is the Moghalu brand for 2023 and a 21st century agenda. That is
the language of the millennials. So, when Moghalu tweets that the ban
on twitter is anti-youths and regressive, he knows what he is talking
about, just as he lent support to the EndSARS peaceful movement asking the government to get rid of police brutality and wanton waste of our young lives. When he talks about the prohibitive cost of living, the Keke Napep driver or Okada rider tells his colleagues, we must vote for this brother. He understands us. That is a movement in the making.
Moghalu has expressed his disappointment over the brazen passage of a bill by the National Assembly seeking to cancel electronic transfer of votes while endorsing electronic voting, a contradiction former INEC chair, Attahiru Jega condemned in very clear terms. As 2023
approaches, Moghalu is asking the middle class, the intelligentsia,
entrepreneurs, and every sector of the polity interested in re-writing
our national discourse for positive change, to join what he calls a
Movement of the People, borrowing from Bob Marley. He has also
vigorously campaigned for a new electoral law for Diaspora Nigerians
to register and vote in all elections, from abroad.
“I am only one face of a movement. A movement of hopeless, silent and suffering Nigerians,” captured in Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s hit
track-Suffering and Smiling, he had said in his “I will Run,”
manifesto, In selling his brand of a politician who is deeply
committed to turning around the fortunes of the average Nigerian man
or woman for the best, Moghalu does not shy away from the national
conversation that it is time for Ndi Igbo to present a President for
the country, having waited and supported the other five geo-political
zones of the country to produce a president. There is no argument that
the choice of the best candidate for the complex job of a president
should be thrown open but only after the six zones representing the
major ethnic nationalities have had a taste of the Presidency. That
has always been the unwritten agreement since 1999 at the inception of the Fourth Republic.
Moghalu has always argued the agitations for sovereignty and
separation can be seen because of bad governance and the perpetuation of all the wrong things going on in the system. Having served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Moghalu saw firsthand how bad governance and the wrong fiscal policies can derail the economy of a country and the other way round. His spearheading the Bank Verification Number (BVN) at a time financial technology was
till evolving in our banking system, took the Nigerian financial
system to 21st century banking technology. It offered a new
opportunity for massive jobs provision and prepared the banks in
insulating themselves from financial technology malpractices. For the
five years he served the CBN, he introduced innovative systems that
were hailed by his boss Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the entire banking
and finance sector practitioners. He is quick to remind you that under
his supervision, no bank failed. Sanusi by the way found it convenient
to endorse his contest the same way the Oni of Ife did as well as
Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, the coalition of northern Keke NAPEP
operators and Okada riders did, followed by Senate Minority Leader
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, from the Southeast of the country, which is Moghalu’s home constituency. What this means is that Moghalu is a de-tribalised Nigerian who would approach issues of governance from the perspective of equity, justice, and inclusiveness. Moghalu is a de-tribalised Nigerian who has built bridges across the Niger
socially, economically, and politically.
How about aligning with other parties especially the two major parties
the APC and the PDP? Is it realistic to run as an independent
candidate in Nigeria or some fledgling political party that obviously
cannot get you there? No. Moghalu has succeeded in making himself a brand for the highest bidder. Unfortunately, politics considers many
factors other than branding in handing the flag to its Presidential
standard bearer. As the days unfold an Igbo candidacy for the Nigerian Presidential contest, will be a major issue in terms of who the cap fits Moghalu has no doubt made a bold presence that demands attention. Yet, Moghalu’s biggest task right now is how to break into the complex Southeast disparate politics still in search of a unifying candidate. Who would fly the flag in 2023?
Until then, the Moghalu appeal for the millennials remains an
attraction for political watchers. Moghalu believes the two main opposing parties have failed the polity and that gives the people reason to look in his direction, although he
is yet to declare the political party platform that will drive his
re-entry into the arena for the 2023 presidential contest. The
millennials and Nigerians yearning for positive change are waiting.
Nwosu is Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Moghalu 4 Nigeria Movement
