LEADERSHIP FAILURE AND THE DILEMMA OF FOLLOWERS IN NIGERIA

 

The leadership of a nation reflects directly on the wellbeing of the nation and her people. The action or inaction of leaders determine the progress or otherwise of their societies. They determine the course of events that shape the state of the nation.

The heights that nations reach and how low they sink is a direct function of the kind of leadership they have. The success recorded by any society or country is dependent on the kind of leadership it has at any point in time

Leaders set the direction and pace of the development of a nation.

A fish, it is said, starts to rot from the head.

Followers follow the leaders.

So it all rests on the leaders.  It is all about leaders.

Nigeria is greatly endowed with natural and human resources, which should earn her a prominent place among global giants. Nigeria however remains a dwarf in the comity of nations. Compared to some of the countries like Indonesia and Malaysia who got independence around the same time, Nigeria remains far behind in development.

Nigerian leaders are bedeviled by self-centeredness. To them it is not about service but about self-aggrandizement.

Most of those who occupy or aspire to occupy leadership positions are driven by selfish motives. They do not see public office as an opportunity to better the lot of the people but an avenue to feather their own nests.

Nigerian leaders are more interested in running government with little or no appreciable success despite the huge resources involved.

Many leaders get caught up in thinking about power rather than their responsibility to those they lead.

Some of the reasons for the failure of the Nigerian state include

• ·         Corruption
• ·         Poverty
• ·         Ethnic conflicts and civil unrest
• ·         Political Instability
• ·         Effect of inconsistent government policies on businesses and economic development

All the above rest on the shoulders of Leadership.

The trouble with Nigeria is the failure of leadership.

According to Olusegun Obasanjo “Leadership is a critical factor in nation-building and it should be understood in two important but related ways.  Firstly, there are the personal qualities of integrity, honesty, commitment, and competence of individual leaders at the top.  Secondly, there are the collective qualities of common vision, focus, and desire for development of the elites as a whole.”

Therefore the solution to the problem facing Nigeria is Good Leadership With Integrity, Honesty, Focus, Dedication and Total Commitment

This, the once acclaimed giant of Africa has in acutely short supply.

When the Leadership fails, the followers bottle up their anger hoping the leaders will rethink and reinvent.

When it is obvious this has not happened, is not happening, is not likely to happen and may never happen they become frustrated.

They then have two choices, either follow the Leadership in their journey of self-destruct, or revolt and take their destinies in their hands.

Both are not easy options and can be precarious and disastrous.

The people are disillusioned and frustrated. The leadership class is yet immune to the realities of dwindling life of the citizens. Intoxicated by perks and lucre of power, they have lost vision and mission.

Elections have come and gone. And now there is a harvest of all kinds of leaders and pretenders, people with no idea of governance and the prerequisites for leadership. Majority are worse than their predecessors who have plundered the country this far.

The laws and norms are sinisterly skewed in their favour making any amendment of both herculean.

This puts the people in a conundrum, a labyrinth, a heinous dilemma.

Follow the Leadership in their journey of self-destruct, or take their destinies in their hands.

Either way, the people are in a quandary. Head or tail they are in trouble.