Leadership is one word that is difficult to aptly define because of the many responsibilities a leader holds. As difficult as it may seem, there are three famous ways of giving a definition of leadership, coming from different perspectives – first, leadership as accomplishing tasks through others; second, leadership as having the dominating power over people; and third, leadership as directed to change and better a group, society, organisation or nation.
In Nigeria, leadership is at the centre of our problems as a nation. But just as it is a general Nigerian problem, so it is a global phenomenon. The New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman writing in June 2012, identified two components of the global leadership deficit prevalent in many countries — generational and technological. When this is applied to the situation in Nigeria, it becomes apparent that the disconnect between our leaders and the rest of us has much to do with the little generational change amongst those responsible for aggregating and articulating our aspirations, with mostly the same people who have been in the thick of things since some of us were in diapers, whom we’ve read about in social studies textbooks in primary and secondary schools, still dexterously recycling themselves continuously back in power – as governors, ministers, legislators, permanent secretaries, board members of parastatals – still calling the shots today.
The incredibly persistent longevity of many die-hard power-brokers has ensured that few neophytes have been genuinely groomed as successors. This situation of course is connected to the technological dimension of this leadership deficit which beyond the use of modern technology in governance, refers to the stale, archaic and retrogressive approach to leadership as a consequence of this generational gap, with little input of fresh ideas and approaches to governance. Therefore, the same top-down, gerontocratic and quasi-feudal approaches to leadership of decades past is very much the norm in Nigeria today, increasingly incapable of addressing present-day 21st century challenges. In fact, a former head of state once (in) famously remarked that Nigerian youths are not ready for leadership.
The danger now is that as the problems and aspirations keep being misdiagnosed, ignored and misunderstood by our leaders, with wrong solutions prescribed to non-issues, our problems continue to intensify rapidly, entrapping us further into the cavernous stranglehold of poverty, underdevelopment, political instability and conflict while other parts of the world forge ahead.
As our leaders and elders have chosen to focus on non-issues, pointing the blame outwards rather than looking inwards, conducting sincere assessments and proposing solutions, even the narrative about Nigeria outside the country is changing to the negative.
As a way forward, we need new approaches to our multifaceted economic, social and political problems as the current stale and archaic ways of thinking are grossly inadequate and incapable of addressing our numerous 21st century challenges. In order to do this, we ought to realise that leaders like all human beings are driven by self-interest, and as such they are not by default prone to accountability or altruism. It is pressure from citizens that forces leaders to act in the collective interest. It is agitation by ordinary citizens, especially labour and trade unions in post-war Western Europe that was instrumental in pressuring the political elite to make inclusive social reforms of hitherto exclusive and aristocratic political systems and implementation of welfare policies (such as health care, housing and employment benefits which exist to this day) to cater for the less privileged.
Thus, a huge responsibility lies with the academics, intellectuals, commentators, analysts, professionals and just about anyone concerned about their own future (or lack of it) and that of their children to continuously and consistently speak up on these burning issues that affect us all and ensure they are brought back onto the agenda of our leaders and elders. It is just not enough to assume our characteristically fatalistic position of ‘Allah Ya isa’, ‘Chukwu Di’, ‘Oluwa wa’, ‘God dey’ or whatever you call it in your dialect and then resign ourselves to this sordid fate that certainly awaits us!
Our intellectuals and columnists should beam their spotlight more on what state and local governments are doing with the same vigorous consistency that the activities of the federal government are scrutinised – how revenues and resources are managed, how investment decisions and contract awards are made, etc. because our governance challenges are mainly under the constitutional purview of states and local governments, and for the most part, information on the activities of these sub-national governments is a black hole of sorts.
Civil society organisations, journalists and all other public opinion moulders should provide information to ordinary citizens on what these governments are doing, whether they are living up to their responsibilities, highlighting and applauding the efforts of political leaders who are performing well so that a performance benchmark would be set for others and proposing concrete recommendations no matter how idealistic they might seem. Public debate and public opinion moulding are enabled when conversations are started on important issues that others can relate with, build on and carry along and thereby creating mechanisms for vigorous discussions, actions and demand for accountability.
For our leaders, they ought to realise that the situation today is completely unsustainable and doesn’t require the clairvoyance of a seer to foresee the imminent disaster of chaotic proportions that awaits us all. Thus, it is in their own interest that Nigeria is brought back from this dangerous precipice, by providing good governance we tirelessly complain about and being true representatives of the people and their aspirations at best to ensure Nigeria does not tear itself apart. Indeed, it is time we woke up from our deep slumber and started playing our various roles in rescuing not just our future but our present from this steady free-fall into the dark pit of misery and underdevelopment. May God help us!