LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA

The success of the development countries of the world is not only attributable to their technological and infrastructural development, but the human elements of their societies that are saddled with the responsibility of managing both the human and material resources in a productive manner. This is leadership. But regrettably despite the abundant human and material of Nigeria, the social, political land economic quagmire confronting the people, reflects poor leadership and bad governance.

Nigeria is a country populated with over 150 million people of which 92% of the population are subjected to the dictates and manipulation of the other 8% cutting across the notion with its membership drawn from the military, politician, business classes and the traditional institutions. And by extension, the sons and daughters of member of this group are part of it. They have greatly influence leaders style and processes in Nigeria over the years this has been a problem to the masses.

Worst still are the resultant consequence of high rate of inflation, unemployment, poverty and crime that are prevalent in Nigeria because we lack a mental physically and morally credible persons as leaders with the vision and political will to move the country out of it present situation. Therefore corruption, indiscipline and lawlessness have become an acceptable norm in our society. While the educational, health, technological and industrial sectors have over the years suffer  great neglect due to bad governance. Thus Nigeria ahs been described as one of the poorest countries of the world. And transparency international, an international organization also qualifies it as one of the most corrupt countries of the world.

Nigeria has been bedeviled because in the past it has been unfortunate to have wrong people centre state of our political life as leaders with political power run the government. Even though the present leadership of president Obasanjo is embarking on series of political and economic reforms, he still has a morality question hanging over his victory of the has 2003 presidential election. Therefore his crusade for transformation is seen by a lot of people as suspect.

However not until the people come to terms with this realities of the associated problems of bad leadership, they will continually pay the price of having wrong people as our leaders lacking in the appropriate qualities suffix to say that there is yet to be light in the tunnel with regards to the efficient management of the resources of the country. And thus in due to the fact that the leadership selection process and style has never been transparent and appropriate. The consequence has been having “square pegs on round holes” politically, with greedy, selfish and morally bankrupt people as leaders because they have the barrel of the gun or fabulously rich at the expense of the generality of the people with the wealth that can not be substantiated by them and with this they have held majority of people political and economic hostages.

Unequivocally, Nigerians have never had the privilege of good leaders whose good works have been justified by history. Rather they are often credited abuse of office without the regards for code of conduct and decency required of public office holders as in a civilized society. Unfortunately these same people are often given recognition by way of titles and award by the society for their ironical performances.

This has been due to social decadence and the defect in value system, where merit in slaughtered in the alter of mediocrity. Regrettably, mediocre have been largely chosen to be the leadership pathfinder for Nigeria, because unprincipled, visionless and unproductive people have been given the responsibility of piloting the leadership affairs of the country.

While leadership has been considered the biggest problems of Nigeria, if will not be complete at the system that has been responsible for good leadership and government rendering the country. From independence there has been series of military rule and democratic rule yet we have not been able to substantiate the advantage of one over the other because of the caliber of people who are in charge of the administration of the country due to the selfish idealistic tendencies of our past leaders, lacking in the political will and commitment to move Nigeria forward in terms of political and economic development.

This is as a result of the fact that corruption, mismanagement, nepotism and the lack of nationalist tendencies has over the years associated with past leaders. They have always been very hypocritical about the social and political system. They say a thing and do another accounting for the failure of good government policies in time past. For instance they are quick to condemning corruption, tribalism and violation of human right. Bu what do we see? They are the one who will fraudulently enrich themselves with public money, having huge sum of money in several foreign banks, propagate tribalism for their selfish interest and using their financial power and position to oppress and exploit their people such that those who venture to oppose them, they descent on.

Sequel to the above and without prejudice in Nigeria we have always have rulers and not leaders because no matter the democratic status that may be attached with civilian leaders, they often manifest attributes of despots, qualifying them for near maximum rulers. Rather than they being servants of the people they carry themselves as masters and over Lord of the people. This is why a very few individuals, cabal imposes their decisions and will over the generality of the people also wage it is in their personal and group interest.

Having recognized that the lack of good leadership is the problem with Nigeria the situation or very pitiable and frustration because it has resulted in a lot of financial and economic wastages, leaving majority of Nigerians to contend with the problem of poverty and hopelessness.  And the reaction any social and psychological consequences do met support meaningful development.

However we can meet full about good governance in Nigeria as long as good leadership continue to elude us. If the had is sick the entire body suffers it therefore if the entire process and system of government must be productive, those who be presidents left exclusively for Nigerians with proven qualities and ability to hold such position and not on an all corners affairs.

The political and economic mishaps in Nigeria are principally products of bad leadership. Rather than been very practical, political leaders at the local and national levels are better than rising without making progresses that will justify them and finds expended by government  resulting in relative retrogression of our national life as people particularly as government has not sufficiently been responsible to its citizenry. And because leaders have often failed to lead by example indiscipline, disorderliness, lawlessness flagrant disregard for constitutionality has been their characteristics.

The quest for better leadership by Nigerians instigated the struggle for democratic rule as against military dictation in Nigeria to ensure good governance. And since the resurgence of democratic rule, our political indices have not shown any clear cut difference in the attitude of leaders whether democratic or military rulers, because it is insufficient to posit, that having a legislative organ guarantees the operations of democratic principles and sustainable democratic rule. Which is the case in Nigeria where the legislature is almost becoming an extension of the executive arm of government.

With regards to leadership and good governance, the political developments in recent times are a contradiction of the fundamentality for our struggle for democracy. Rather we have only succeeded in allowing a group of primitive thieves masquerading as politicians to take over the leadership of the country. Therefore no matter how much effort the present leader chief Olusegun Obasanjo may put in place, it may not be easy to achieve the desire results except there is the genuineness of intension and purposes with strong determination to make the system work. Suffice to say that the political class as it is today cannot be extricated from the display of irresponsibility in governance.

Most policies of government fail not because they were not good enough but due to political “god fatherism” and ideological short sightedness on the part of politicians and leaders. Policies are not allowed to work when they are against the interest of those perceived to be friends and relatives of political leaders. Some leaders are first to defile them, to allow them enrich themselves through corrupt and fraudulent practices. But ironically we often hear them sing songs of anti-corruption with hypocritical lips embarking on the fools ventures of finding a “dead man’s shadow”.

Nigerians have been suffering the effect of bad governance due to bad leadership for a long time because of the corrupt, selfish and greedy altitude. Leaders because majority of them lack good pedigree and also suffer from poverty of the intellect as expressed in their pursuit for material wealth, without quitting society with any legacy. Hence do not mind if all the political, society and economic sector of Nigeria paralyses. The facial expression of poverty and hunger of most Nigerians does not border them money and properties abroad.

This ugly trend has continued because the leadership selection process in Nigeria is characterization by fraud. Political moneybags has hijacked the process, and election massively rigged in favour of ruling parties. Therefore having disciplined, visionary, progressive, intelligent and qualitative leadership has become a mirage to the Nigerian people. And the transformation to meet the challenges of the modern globalize world of competitiveness has impossible.

This unholy and fraudulent process of leadership and imposition on the generality of the people by a very few, has never encourage the political development of Nigeria. And because the notion is politically unhealthy there is economic and social perspective also suffers. Unequivocally, leadership problem has been an albatross to developing Nigeria due to its structural defect, with a leadership selection process that is merely a public office holders, both on military and civilian governors, ministers, head of states still control the political leadership of the country directly or indirectly even when they had performed poorly while they were in office and credited with the present over bearing political, social and economic woes in the country.

Nigerian leaders do not care about the multiplicity of problem facing majority of the people, food, education, employment and poverty alleviation rather they are more concern about how much money they can make using their public offices. Because the system in Nigeria is very porous nothing is impossible. No political discipline, accountability and probity amongst the people and political class. In Nigeria past governors, ministers, and president or head of states are rich enough to buy the entire country if put up for sale due to their unjustifiable wealth. Suffice to ay that in Nigeria whether public or private sectors, leaders end up richer than organizations and institutions which they have been given the opportunity to manage and living same in worst conditions that they have been given the opportunity to manage and living same in worst condition than they ever met it and people now perceive politics and government craze for political applicants and power by politicians at whatever cost.

And a look at the concept of leadership with the Nigeria context, this will ordinarily incite a provocation against leaderships because political leaders in time past have failed the people before they become political leaders keys solving the Nigerian problem, but unfortunately greed and excess of undue benefits accruing to their office soon separates them from the people, leaving in a new world of class desires much aspiration. This is demonstrated in government policies and actions that are unpopular.

Political leaders in Nigeria whether military or civilian past and present has always desire political offices because of the benefits accruing to the office and not because they love their fatherland. This is why ting would even employ diabolical instruments of ethnicity and religion to achieve this in ordinate ambitions. Unfortunately majority of the people are yet to know that religion, ethnicity, and political zones of any candidate as a prerequisite for their choice of leaders both portend a stable and progressive polity for the country.

This is because there is nothing to show that one would be guaranteed a better social and economic benefit because of the governor or president performances and qualities, rather from antecedence only the immediate family member and close friends are those to be favoured. This has over the years created the element of suspicion that has characterized the relationship between government and the people. And it is attributable to the political and elite class of our societies and especially those who cannot stand competitions from boarder perspective of a Nigerian entity. Due to illiteracy, misinformation the people are indoctrinated by local leaders with false claims of protecting their religion and ethnic interest, while they are the true enemies of their own people.

From antecedence the role of political leaders have not been able to galvanize all elements of the Nigeria society for the desired development. Regrettably this is because the pool of leaders in Nigeria is largely dominated by people who ordinary have no business in holding political office, political misfits with ideological deficiency, without any defendable political vision for Nigeria, hence having good governance has been a mirage therefore it is pertinent that leadership at whatever level should be of men and women of credible leadership qualities and judged by the content of their character.

Unfortunately, in this country successive head of state and government have never been gotten on a just and equitable basis. Constitutions have been severally suspended and amend but it has always been to protect and give more powers to president and governors and this in turn fdo not support good leadership and governance. This can be traceable to the peculiar administration circumstances of late Gen Sani Abacha and Gen. Abubakar Abdul salami and president Ibrahim Babangida. Although they were military leaders, their working document as constitution of the president civilian government in their product.

From the lowest to the highest position of authority, Nigeria is constrained to develop by political cabals that have been clogs to the wheel progress in Nigeria. Our kind of Leadership and governance has always been the product of cabals that is influenced by greed, selfishness, and primitive wealth accumulating tendencies. This they have made nonsense, the potentials of greatness for Nigeria. These inadequacies over the year have resulted in huge financial and material losses such that resources, which could have been put into profitable ventures end up in the private foreign and local accounts of individuals leaving the masses to bear the brunt, like the ceaseless price increment on petroleum products to be able to meet financial commitment to international creditors.

The situation was that bad that the ugly head of bad leadership were also expressed in the Nigeria military and Para-military institutions, with so much political decadence and power intoxication Nigerians were held political hostages in their country, with the internal security agents operating in a Gestapo manner. Yet only the beneficiaries and apologists of military rule never saw anything wrong with the system. Though common to all military rules but was very typical of Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime.

Due to the inability of the political class in Nigeria to provide good leadership and governance, this military severally sized power to institutionalize military rule all over the country and unfortunately in Nigeria. Suffice to say that the political class is our albatross to national development as alternative to the military. Ye the “worst civilian regime is better than the best military rule” however the military leadership and governance in Nigeria has been catastrophic.

Regrettably, the unfair and unjust democratic process in Nigeria today is a product of the military’s doctored democratic process, characterized by misfits and leaders who are largely embarrassment to the nation, pointing to the structuring problem of democratic dictatorship in Nigeria by leaders and other public office holders and unfortunately there are no indicators that effort are been geared towards redressing the ugly trends in the Nigerian polity. Otherwise how can the Independent National Electoral Commission contemplate a rejection of international organizations from observing elections in the country?

Unequivocally, military rule or leadership lack the content and ability to provide a country like Nigeria the leadership it deserves, that will socially, politically and economically transforms it. The Military dispensation in Nigeria was a charade. Rather than improving the lives of the people, they made them poorer than they met them for about 20 years of military rule and destroying our value system.

The issue of corruption and fraud, the military in connivance with top civil servants and politicians who were apologist to every new military government in power, plundered the resources of the country. Their instrument employed by them, can be best described in a headmaster pupil-relationship where the peoples right and though were often abused the superior one of the military leadership. Their concern was how to remain in power using guns to enforce compromising behavior from the people.

As a result the military handed the constitution for the operation of the fourth republic, which has characterized excessive concentration of power at the centre. For security and police operation, even if the state governors are the chief executives of their respective states ironically the police commissioners are not answerable to their governors.

Fraudulently, there is the provision of an exemption clause in the constitution, which protects president, and governors while in office from prosecution, pending the expiration of the tenure in office. And this does not help to promote probity and accountability in a society like ours.

With this type of development, large-scale corruption and other  fraudulent activities is associated with political leaders in Nigeria revenue allocated to states and Local government a third tier of government as recognized by constitution are not only mismanaged but primitive embezzle or shared among major political players that is “godfathers” under one disguise or the other which is transferred to their foreign account and the acquisition of properties which they can not justify before Nigerians. Yet the people still desire good governance under this comatose system.

Evidently, all structural factors of the Nigerian society for development are defective, Rather than progressing we have relatively retrogressed in our national life because of poor leadership. Yet there are no sign to ending this reoccurring decimal in our polity, since accountability and transparency is yet to have its place in “Nigeria democracy” characterized with massive rigging of election results by political parties orchestered by the ruling party at the federal and state levels which was the case the 2003 elections.

This ugly trend in our electoral process contradicts good leadership selection process in Nigeria, where the electoral body Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) became a near department of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its electoral and returning officers were dominated by the ruling party’s card-carrying members and sympathizers. How then could elections to be free and fair in Nigeria? And unfortunately benefactors of this unjust system have failed to perform due to mediocrity, arrogance and sarcasms with which they often conduct themselves, suggesting they are not accountable to the people because they are not in office with the peoples mandates.

In the interest of our polity, INEC was dependent and cannot be a true and unbiased umpire because the appointment of its top management officers and funding makes it subset table to the influence of the party or government in power that will do everything possible to hold on to political power in the country.

Today, Nigerians are at a cross road in their inability to know which system would guarantee a better leadership, hence this confusion is demonstrated the agitation for a return to the parliamentary system of government or better still a hybrid of parliamentary-presidential systems. Though one is not unaware of the many gains of these systems of government, unless there is a serious effort to change the status quo our kind of leaders and value system whether political or social will always contradict a just and equitable democratic process where leaders are rather selected than elected by the people. Regrettably our leaders have not only embarrassed Nigerians but prove that they are mentally and psychologically inferior to their counterparts in Europe and Asia.

Under this present circumstance, the leadership of our political parties lack the credentials for providing the nation with good leaders given he condition under which the parties operate, without much emphasis on the qualities and credibility of their candidates but on their ability to financially gratify party leaders “godfathers” and pay other sum of money for ridiculous reasons, thus principle and discipline are of little or no consequences. And ironically people with better qualities or endowment are often relegated for parochial reasons as dictated by party leaders.

For good leadership and governance in Nigeria, the society and leadership selection must be anchored on sound value system for probity and accountability because Nigerian politicians are not guided by progressive ideologies let alone politics of decency. Thus politicians and political office holders are often seen as political businessmen investing and spending so much money to win elections, expectedly their investment yields them dividend through corruption and embezzlement of public fund at the detriment of the generality of people. Hence politicians are ready to kill their opponent to be in office because of the limitless and undeserved benefits that are associated with political offices in Nigeria. It is very imperative that if the country must develop, only those with the interest of the people and the right pedigree of leadership that should be allowed the opportunity to serve and not those selfish, wicked, criminally minded and parochial members of the political class whose intellect and imaginative power is suspect with preference for primordial values as leaders in Nigeria.