Nigeria’s fundamental approach to leadership is troubling. The leaders have the capacity to influence public policies to make a difference in the lives of the citizens, but have failed to do so, because their primary goal of assuming a leadership position is self-enrichment. They have the power to educate, inspire, and provide the people with the resources to advocate for the causes they believe in, but like bad parents, they have failed in their responsibilities to lead by good examples. This article underscores Nigeria’s leadership problem (the failure of the leaders to make a difference in the lives of the people) and offers a solution.

Leading a nation involves solving national problems (security, education, health, etc), ensuring stability of the polity, improving the living conditions of the people, and guiding the society to economic prosperity. But most of the political leaders of Nigeria lack the vision, the passion, and the character to effectively govern the state and deal with the rising security issues and the crumbling economy. They do not have a clear understanding of their responsibilities, as most of them are insensitive to people’s sufferings. The masses are preoccupied with their daily struggle for survival as they are tired of complaining to the leaders who do not care about their welfare. As Bell and Smith (2002) noted in Developing Leadership Abilities, “leaders can point to many reasons why they aren’t good listeners, but none of these reasons excuses them from the obligation…to listen.” Leaders who listen are, however, known to respond well to criticism and crisis, build more loyalty, and increase the morale of the followers. Listening is a way of showing that a leader cares about others.

Most of the political leaders of Nigeria are not credible (not trustworthy) as they do not keep their promises. But because power belongs to the people no political leader in advanced democracies would retain his or her political office if found wanting. Thus they are constantly working on pro-people policies and with their ears on the ground for information (signs of shift in public opinion) that often guides them in policy formulations. The world’s leading economies are what they are today because their leaders are innovative and always searching for solutions to their social, political and economic problems. But evidence of bad leadership is all over Nigeria as the leaders have not gone beyond making false promises. In The Problem with Nigeria, Chinua Achebe avers that Nigeria’s problem is leadership; and evidence on the ground has consistently shown that he is correct. The rogues, who are masquerading as political leaders, are only good at drumming the nation’s problems without answer.

The story of bad leadership is the same in the society irrespective of who is in charge. The leaders are not meeting their responsibilities as required by the constitution. In their unending struggle to secure economic advantage they have failed to understand that “the end of the state is not mere life” but “promotion of a good quality of life” for the citizens (The Politics of Aristotle). They have long neglected the institutions and infrastructure that are the backbone of the economy, leading to a weak economy, rising unemployment and inflation, poverty, and crime. If the leaders care they should have known that many Nigerians are suffering (about 70 per cent of the population is living on less than one US Dollar a day) and tackle the longstanding infrastructural inadequacies that are strangling the economy. Nigeria has had a “servant-leader” for more than a year now without making a difference in the lives of the people. The long-standing erratic power problem remains, the roads are still death traps, inflation has pushed up to 14 per cent in July (the prices of kerosene, food items and building materials are skyrocketing) with unemployment is hovering around 54-70 per cent. The nation’s uncertain environment has negatively affected the capacity utilization of the manufacturing sector, which was recently reported to have dropped to 38 per cent from 42 per cent. The present administration does not seem to care about how to educate Nigeria’s children and improve their quality of lives, as public schools remain under funded, and teachers are still fighting for survival.

Nigeria remains a looters paradise. Corruption is becoming more virulent with the rising high-profile cases and the administration’s commitment to fighting the menace and “rule of law,” which is its mantra, is seriously questionable. The EFCC has only arrested a couple of the ex-governors and other looters who were quickly let go to enjoy their loots; their friends in the corrupt courts could issue frivolous injunctions to drag their trial ad infinitum. And this detracts from the integrity of the political institutions and their managers. 

The society is still in a deplorable condition with the new deceptive administration. The lies the government has been throwing around blew up on its face recently with the dubious manner with which the representatives of the Federal Government tried to cover-up the issues surrounding Yar’Ardua’s health problem and his 17-day absence from Nigeria. It is not a crime to be sick as any person can take ill. And as a president (and public servant) Yar’Ardua has no private life– his health is a public matter. Why didn’t the Federal Government formally inform the nation that Yar’Ardua took ill while away in Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj and thus decided to check into a hospital for a medical check-up?  How long will the fraud last?  

Nigeria’s system under which everything is secretly or by decrees is not a democracy, in the true sense of the word. Good leaders are transparent and always driven with the need to produce positive results. In Leading in a culture of change, Fullan (2001) notes, “Leadership, if it is to be effective, has to have an explicit [making-a-difference] sense of purpose ... and be ultimately assessed by the extent to which it awakens people's intrinsic commitment, which is …mobilizing of everyone's sense of moral purpose.” But Nigeria’s leaders are good at lying and shifting blame as they often surround themselves with godfathers and sycophants (aides) who always agree with their policies, even if they are not making a difference in the lives of the people. Consequently, the nation’s problems remain perpetually unresolved.

The people must, however, understand that they are part of the leadership problem confronting Nigeria today as they connive with the rogues to defraud the nation. Some would even try to re-write history to make bad leaders appear better than they truly are. This was the case recently when three ex-military generals tried to tell the world that General Sani Abacha was a saint. And they refused to listen when it was pointed out to them that they were standing the truth on its head. Because the public has not really demand accountability from them the shameless political leaders would not resign from office even if they were caught stealing public funds or implicated in a political assassination. The present political leaders are not “effective change agents” or real “change leaders.”

There is no perfect single solution to the leadership problem facing the society but Nigerians should stop tolerating corrupt and incompetent individuals as leaders. This behavior needs to be changed as positive change will not happen in the society without the people really demanding it. Nigeria needs a social revolution but the people should decide its direction and intensity. Since serious problems require serious solutions, this writer would recommend that any high-ranking public official convicted of looting the treasury should either be executed or given a long term sentence without an option of fine after recovering the loots. Thus changing the way Nigeria is governed would involve changing the people’s mind-sets, their values and attitudes that are inimical to national development. The society needs transformative and true democratic leaders who are enemies of corruption, hunger and poverty and distaste the nation’s underdevelopment status. Nigeria needs leaders who are transparent and accountable to the people and not to their godfathers; those who can engage in reasoned political discourse to strengthen the political institutions, the economy and for good governance, and invest in human development to boost the people’s productivity. As noted earlier, all these would happen only when the people demand accountability and change by recalling (or sacking) the political leaders who fail to play by the rule and make a difference in the lives of the citizens.

Victor E. Dike is the author of Leadership without Moral Purpose: Godfathers, Greed and the Obasanjo Administration, 2003-2007 (forthcoming).

Robot  Villager

# 1 Nigeria’s fundamental approach to leadership is troubling. Evidence of bad leadership is all ov...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 11.09.2008 23:10

NWANZA  Villager

# 2 Thus changing the way Nigeria is governed would involve changing the people’s mind-sets, their values and attitudes that are inimical to national development. The society needs transformative and true democratic leaders who are enemies of corruption, hunger and poverty and distaste the nation’s underdevelopment status. Nigeria needs leaders who are transparent and accountable to the people and not to their godfathers; those who can engage in reasoned political discourse to strengthen the political institutions, the economy and for good governance, and invest in human development to boost the people’s productivity. As noted earlier, all these would happen only when the people demand accountability and change by recalling (or sacking) the political leaders who fail to play by the rule and make a difference in the lives of the citizens. Thank you for doing a good research on the subject, but Nigeria cannot be fixed by this cumbersome presidential system. We need to get back to regional government or shrinking to 12 states. Posted by NWANZA| 13.09.2008 22:05

ebiasain  Villager

# 3 Your suggestion is nothing short of the 'Rawlings Doctrine.' But think again. Have you heard the rumor that James Ibori is penciled down as the next Minister for the newly formed Niger Delta Ministry? Ask yourself again: where are we going as a country? Posted by ebiasain| 14.09.2008 20:30

NWANZA  Villager

# 4 =ebiasain;4295097934>Your suggestion is nothing short of the 'Rawlings Doctrine.' But think again. Have you heard the rumor that James Ibori is penciled down as the next Minister for the newly formed Niger Delta Ministry? Ask yourself again: where are we going as a country? I will not be surprised when we hear of General Buba Mawa is going to be the Nigerian ambassador to South Africa. We not not stop our shameful ways even at the eleventh hour of an eminent catastrophe. Posted by NWANZA| 14.09.2008 22:37