S.O.S ALIEME

The crucial and major challenge confronting Nigeria and other developing countries of the world is leadership. The issue of getting the right leadership to propel good governance has been a recurring challenge in Nigeria. The present and past leaders of Nigeria seem to have failed to provide quality leadership capable of addressing numerous challenges confronting the country. Governments are unable to set in place transparent and accountable institutions capable of securing economic progress, governing effectively, and protecting their citizens. This lack of capacity is amplified by recourse to authoritarianism and repression, dramatic economic decline precipitated by indiscriminate corruption, and the adoption of exclusive (ethnic) policies to assure self-succession tendencies. Inefficiency in governance has further deteriorated the Nigerian economy. Political instability and lack of proper accountability in the country have severely impeded the ability of successive governments to implement economic policies for the common good of the people, thus creating a lot of hardship on the people. 

In Nigeria, leadership has failed to harness the resources and the ingenuity of the people for national development. The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. The nature of political leadership became a problem as most of them lost or lacked control of effective leadership. This led to the scramble for state resources to suit their personal desires. Corruption and lack of vision among past and present leaders of Nigeria culminate to hamper any meaningful effort in the quest for good governance in the country. It is often said that no country can develop beyond the level of its leadership. Nigeria needs committed leaders who will govern with integrity and doggedly influence its human and natural resources toward the actualization of sustainable national development.

Leadership is an essential oil that keeps the wheel of government working without any difficulty; it makes the difference between success and failure in a country. The qualities of good leadership include transparency, accountability, honesty, diplomacy, etc. Governance entails the procedure through which governments are selected, monitored, held accountable, and replaced; it is government’s ability to judiciously manage resources well and formulate, implement as well as enforce good policies and regulations. Generally, good governance does not call for ordinary type of leadership but it requires tolerance, breadth of outlook, intellectual comprehension, hard work, selfless devotion, statesmanship, a burning sense of mission, etc. to make a success of leading Nigeria as a nation.

Nigerian leaders do not show respect to the rule of law, especially, judicial decisions. This hinders the judiciary from discharging its duties effectively. The judiciary is so unpredictable because the political elites still undermine the independence of the judiciary through patronage appointments, and judicial administration is marked by weak enforcement capacity.

Good governance in Nigeria is essential to its stability, growth and development. Most of the policy makers as well as those involved in decision making are engaged in bribery, egoism, power, and trade liberalization. The Nigerian State is a victim of high-level corruption, bad governance, and political instability. The country’s authoritarian leadership faced a legitimacy crisis, political intrigues, in an ethnically differentiated polity, where ethnic competition for resources drove much of the pervasive corruption, and profligacy. The history of a great nation is linked to purposeful leadership. Such leaders have played significant roles in the socio-economic development and political emancipation of their nations.

A country where corruption is entrenched can never have a transparent and accountable system. Transparency and accountability are absent in Nigerian leadership. An accountable government is one that is responsive to the demands of the citizen. Accountability is best enforced through the instrument of an independent judiciary and of the rule of law. Citizen can seek redress in the courts for acts of omission or commission by a government and its officials.

However, Nigeria has not done well in this regard; it has been corruption at all levels. And this corruption is not unconnected with profuse index of weak accountability and lack of transparency. Nigerian leaders abuse public office for private gain. Although corruption is a global problem, Nigeria appears to suffer greatly from this menace. Currently, Nigeria ranks very high in the league of corrupt nations, and as stated by ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron, Nigeria is a “fantastically corrupt” country with corrupt leaders. The primacy of leadership in the governance project rests on the ability of the leadership to ensuring good governance for achieving peace, security and sustainable development. Securing the properties of the people is one of the most important characteristics of good governance. Players of Good Governance at every level at the national, international, and corporate level should be able to secure people’s properties.

To truly clean up the bad leadership and corruption, Nigeria needs sound ethical leadership that is rooted in respect, service, justice, and honesty. The country needs people who are educated, sincere and honest both in administration and leadership styles. In the Nigerian leadership situation, self-less and charismatic leaders are needed to amend the wrong. The most fundamental measure required in confronting the challenge, and averting the Nigerian state from failure and collapse is strategic and progressive leadership. The importance of strategic leadership is that it identifies and harmonizes national capabilities to achieve the national interest. Our leaders should undertake concerted development, broadly understood as progress towards stable and accountable society. They should restructure the polity to ensure equity, justice and fairness. They should be creative. Indeed, creativity plays an important role in the quality of decisions: the ability to propose innovative solutions is essential to decision-making process such as the development of new opportunities and problems diagnosis. Leaders should have good moral conduct and ethical responsibility to enable them to attend to the demands, concerns, needs, and problems of the citizens in the country.

God Bless Nigeria!!!