LEADERSHIP: THE NIGERIAN PROBLEM Nations are built by man and women with vision and resolve; it just doesn’t happen by historical accident. Unfortunately, our national importance is represented by some people who designate us with the title “giant of Africa” however, this is a pseudo designation; because we are seen as giants’ not necessarily as a result of the quality of our national institutions and ravels but simply by virtue of our large population and oil wealth. There are several perennial issues militating against nation building in Nigeria. Tribalism, corruption, indiscipline, social injustice, preference for mediocrity over excellence… are paradigms of such issues. Nevertheless, without good leadership, none of these problems stand a chance of being tackled, let alone solved. Sequel to this fact, it is pertinent at this juncture to give a critical appraisal of leadership in Nigeria. MEANING OF LEADERSHIP According to Ann Marie E. mcswain, leadership is the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision making, to establish processes and transparency in decision making, to articulate their own values and vision clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and reacting to agendas, indentifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantial improvement rather than managing change”. Following the above concept of leadership, Leadership demand qualities of mind and discipline of body and will far beyond the needs of the ordinary citizen. Consequently, anyone who offers himself or is offered to society for leadership Must be aware of the unusually high demands of the role and should, if any doubt whatsoever, firmly refuse the prompting. LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA Sequel to the great wave for independence that swept across Africa in the middle of 20th century, Nigeria was granted full independence in October 1960. Since the self proclamation of Nigeria as a Federal Republic, and the former Governor General Nnamdi Azikwe becoming the country’s first president, the country has witnessed the regimes of Heads of Military Government, an Interim National Government, and is currently witnessing its fourth Republic. After many years of independence, the task of nation building in Nigeria has been so difficult, and its fruits so patchy despite our enormous human and natural resources. As a result of the historical legacies of colonial rule in Nigeria, regionalism has been a major challenge to nation building in Nigeria. Nigeria never had a central rallying figure like kwame Nkrumah in Ghana or Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Instead, each region threw up its own champions during the period of the decolonization struggle. Unfortunately, the quality of leadership that has confronted the challenges posed by the environment for nation - building in Nigeria over the years has left much to be desired. Since her independence in 1960, Nigeria has been perpetually confronted with the challenge of history, the challenge of Socio- Economic Inequalities, the constitutional challenge, the challenge of Building Institutions for Democracy and Development, and most obvious, the leadership challenge which in my opinion is the root and the solution to the aforementioned challenges. Leadership in Nigeria has been unable to consolidate Nigerian federalism around commonly shared values and position hence, making the challenge of divisive historical legacy to continually undermine our efforts at nation - building. In Nigeria, not only are many of our citizens denied basic rights, i.e the right to education and health; there exist also a serious variation in the enjoyment of these rights across the country. The challenge of crafting a constitutional arrangement that has the backing of an overwhelming majority of Nigerians has been a problem of Nigeria since her independence. Majority of our leaders who speak of federalism act in a unitary fashion by brushing aside all division of powers between different levels of our federalism. Why should the federal government have the right to deduct monies due to state without their permission? Should state governments continue to control local government allocations? The nature of our democracy also speaks volume of the lack of good leadership in Nigeria. Either in terms of accountability or respect for the rule of law, or the holding of elections, our conduct in the recent past has been a big challenge in the building of institutions for democracy and development. The standards for recruitment and the performance of our leaders have left much to be desired... Over the year in Nigeria, majority of our leaders are those who see themselves as champions of only some sections of our population; leaders who do not understand the economic and political problems of the country talk less of solving them; leaders who prefer to silence their opponents than to pursue justice; leaders who place themselves above the constitution and laws of the country; and leaders who have no sense of tomorrow, other than their private bank accounts. CONCLUSION According to Chinua Achebe, “there is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian Character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which is the hallmark of true leadership”. A leadership that is committed to the rule of law and has a demonstrable sense of fair play and democratic tolerance; a leadership with ability, integrity, commitment and vision is an extremely important factor in solving the Nigerian problem. Quality leadership is the key to nation building in Nigeria. The struggle for quality leadership is a prerogative of every concerned citizen of Nigeria. BY: AUGUSTINE ABIAGOM, CM.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 10:22:41 +0000
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