Nigeria at 49: Leadership as Epidemic

Dwight D. Einsenhower (1890-1969) was the President of the United States of America from 1953 to 1961, once defined leadership as “The art of getting another person to do something you want because he wants to do it.” This simply explains that a leader is someone you trust to get things done successfully. Good leaders are characterized by their competence, patriotism, dedication, commitment to excellence, confidence, enthusiasm, openness to change, and recognition of the value of change.

These are the main criteria or ethos components for understanding Nigerian leadership. Nigeria’s military and democratic leaders for forty-nine years have performed below expectations considering the largely untapped natural and human resources, limitless possibilities and opportunities that abound in Nigeria. In fact, our leaders are nothing more than what the Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah has recently labeled “accidental leaders.” They refuse to organize, unite and act to put their name in the great story of transformation and development of this great nation. They do not harness our oil and gas to improve the lives of all Nigerians, instead we are faced with a national psychosis of kidnapping, embezzlement of public funds, religious and ethnic conflicts, widespread bribery and corruption, and massive electoral fraud. with our reserves that make us the tenth richest nation in oil? Isn’t it a shame if we can’t boast of a regular power and water supply after forty-nine years of independence? Isn’t it a shame that our leaders can’t resolve the federal university workers’ strike that has been going on for more than three months? The students are going to suffer from this long-term strike action.

Leadership behavior should be a natural part of performance. It is doing things and not wasting human lives. The leader does not tell his subordinates (ministers) what to do, but rather he keeps inspiring them to see what they are capable of, or encourages others to do their best, and then helping them get there. The opposite is the case in Nigeria. A leader will come to power by coup or electoral fraud, he will prefer to appoint a Yoruba graduate to head the ministry of agriculture and natural resources. This head of ministry will in turn appoint his relatives, some party members and friends, even if they are not. qualified to complete their team. Do we expect miracles from them? A round peg in a square hole is nothing but a misfit. Many skilled Nigerians fall victim to this misfit.

It makes sense to recruit the best individual, an achiever who will do whatever it takes to ensure success and not some cowardly Professor type who has come forward after SIXTEEN years to tell us the winner and the most acclaimed, most canceled. free. and the fairer June 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief MKOAbiola. He would have announced the result (either in Nigeria or abroad) and made history for himself and Nigeria by laying a good foundation for Nigerian democracy for the first time where all Nigerians spoke with one voice. What is Ghana or Dubai like sixteen years ago? I have been living in Spain for the last few years. Spain was ruled by General Francisco Franco for almost forty years of military dictatorship. Most of the Spanish left their country in search of greener pastures during the turbulent forty years of dictatorship. The death of the dictator in power on November 20, 1975 was a turning point for the Spanish people. The country obtained its first democratic Constitution in 1978 (21 years ago) which gave way to a parliamentary government headed by Mr. Adolfo Suárez, with favorable effects on its economy.

For its part, leadership is a demonstrative skill. Good leaders always show sincerity, credibility, integrity, intelligence, competence in all their actions. They make timely and appropriate changes in plans and methods of thinking to carry out their tasks successfully. A good leader does not need up to 365 days to start performing with good results, he knows what is important to the people he represents. We have witnessed that briefly in Nigeria with a man named after our old Lagos International Airport, and we still witness very little of the performances of our current democratic governors. His brilliant performances are a reflection of true leadership characteristics and values, telling us that a new Nigeria is possible. Either you are a bad leader or a good leader. Good leaders are very clear about their missions, objectives, priorities and preferences, the poor will always refuse to do anything after many promises made in their political campaigns and voluminous party programs. Since October 1960, the only thing we get from most of our leaders is destructive leadership styles in which they violate the legitimate interest of the country and thus sabotage the socio-economic transformation for the development of the country. Now we must clarify that the behavior exhibited by a leader may or may not be reflected in his personalities. What do you think of a leader who traveled to witness the inauguration of a university when he could not find a solution to a three-month strike by the workers of the federal universities in his country? Let our leaders know that the foundation of every state is the education of its youth.

Looking back in history, poor leadership in Nigeria appears to be an epidemic, a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely among a particular population. The time of this epidemic disease is over and we have to get rid of it with the help of immunization and quarantine of modern democratic principles and conceptions. According to Joseph Folkmania, “Bad leadership in good times can be hidden. But bad leadership in bad times is a recipe for disaster.” We have to act now to avoid an imminent disaster in our political society. What has happened to the deliberations and recommendations of the national conference on political reforms? Don’t we need true federalism? Don’t we need a meaningful balance between federal jurisdiction and the development needs of the states?

Sometimes, I am very sad when I read and hear from some Nigerians who believe so much that it is very difficult to have a new Nigeria with non-stop electricity, regular running water, good road network. All of this is POSSIBLE with good political leaders with physical vitality and stamina, intelligence and action-oriented judgment. A leader who understands his followers and his needs. The days of “godfathering” in politics should be a thing of the past. We must have learned our lessons by now. We have everything it takes to build a strong foundation for a great nation. Let’s vote for a winner, a statesman with exemplary character of reliability with a good vision to carry out a political process that has political consequences in relation to government and politics.

I will not do my article justice if I forget the words of the great author Chinua Achebe in his book titled: The Trouble With Nigeria, where he emphasized that there is basically nothing wrong with Nigeria’s character, climate, land or water. or the air, but: “Nigeria’s problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the defiance of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership… I am saying that Nigeria can change today if she discovers leaders who have the will, the ability and the vision.” We need leaders who provide for the welfare of the led and provide a social organization in which people feel relatively safe. Besides this: We are not poor because we lack natural or human resources or because nature was cruel to us, we are poor and we are in this mess because we lack ATTITUDE and good LEADERSHIP God bless Nigeria.