Abysmal Leadership: The Nigeria Experience

Leadership has been adjudged by many as not holding posts or positions only but also the act of putting things into order and getting people along in activities or projects. Leadership abilities are innate in many while many have grown to become leaders through the eagerness to learn and put things right.  Sun Tzu posited that Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline.

Leadership according to an online journal is the practical skill of an individual encompassing the ability of such individual to "lead" or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations either profit or non-profit oriented organizations.

A leader is expected to be a honest person, confident, have ability to delegate, positive attitude, commitment, huge sense of humor, focus, respectful, collaborative and ability to inspire others. Leadership cuts through all facets of life, at schools, hospitals, politics and businesses. Nigeria as a nation has been faced with a plethora of problems which has its roots in the abysmal Leadership. The Country’s political system has produced leaders who have failed in the capacity of leadership while this cankerworm has also spread to other sectors of the country. The education, health, oil and gas, and entertainment sectors of the country are not left out.

The myriads of problems the country is faced with at the moment needs new flocks of leaders who are poised to make things better to fill the vacuum and address the problems. History will absolve leaders who fought for the development and liberation of the people they lead from the hands of imperialist and colonial masters. The leadership spirit of Kwame Nkuramah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Samora Machel, Thomas Sankara, Patrick Lumumba, Haile Selaisse and a host of others has brought development to the continent and their respective countries.

Abysmal leaders do not have clear direction of the future goals and vision, and current direction vague at best. This type of leaders drag development of countries, businesses and majority of the projects go away with no explanation or communication to project team members or citizens. Firms with unprecedented growths and achievements have been said to have good leaders at the helms of affairs to direct and coordinate activities of the members.

It is said that the development and growth of any country is dependent on the type of leaders it produce at all level. The Nigeria experience is that of a country with wallowing and crippling after years of independence. A Country which after many years of independence still experiences instability, insurgency and retarded growth. Our story these days is that of a dejected populace living in abject poverty and sleeping without food on the table. The tales of university graduates without jobs and youths with ammunitions in the Niger Delta fighting for emancipation of the Ogoni people from the oil spillage and neglect of the national leaders. The unsavoury stories of a judiciary with biased judgement and an education system that produces half-baked graduates are the stories you hear in a country with abysmal Leadership.

In a saner clime, leaders exemplify and portray good trait of a leadership by investing in the citizens and have positive impact on the society at large. However, in a country like ours, the society is plagued by vagrant leadership, where it is dominated by treasury looting, election rigging, political brigandage and assassination - in such circumstances decent and public-spirited individuals who possess the leadership traits are disparaged and discouraged from participating in the politics of calumny and deceit that are being played by this accidental leaders. The country's current predicament cannot be distanced from the abysmal Leadership which has characterized the country's political system, government parastatals, and business ventures.

No wonder Rev.George Ehusani was quick to identify the problem faced by underdeveloped countries most especially Nigeria. Despite all the tools and resources available to our society, the evidence abounds that what leadership we have in place at the critical national level and at other levels is often self-serving and opportunistic. In recent years so many public funds have been siphoned while many of the nation resources have been wasted on grandiose projects and grandstanding endeavours, with no resource spared in massaging the gargantuan egos and feathering the nests of the leadership class at the expense of the masses whose welfare they swore to labour for. History has it that many policies and developmental projects were executed by pre independence leaders who see the need for investing in the future. Names like Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikwe, Tafawa Balewa, Murtala Muhammed comes to mind when talking about these leaders.

There is need for paradigm shift from the current Leadership style in the country to a more ideal and experienced leaders. Current leaders and aspirants to leadership both in the political sphere and business arena will do well to read the signs of the times and heed the admonition for change in leadership style so as to save the face of the country among the league of corrupt countries. The change from current unfortunate condition will not only bring development but also actualise such positive dreams that will pull this country from the brink. 

Time is running out for our leaders, the days of reckoning are near but the only hope of the nation the Youths are not something different from the present crops of the leaders. 

About the Author

Abiola Durodola is a final year student in Obafemi Awolowo University who has passion for writing and journalism. He is a campus journalist with so many articles and news report to his credit.

Abiola is a football nerd, social critic and a political enthusiast. He currently writes for a widely read campus news agency oaupeeps.com. You can reach him via his mail nouroudineabiola@gmail.com.