Fellow Nigerians, last week, I raised a
lot of posers about how to find that man, or woman, who can lead us to
our Eldorado. I was very happy to see that many of the readers were
favourably disposed to my thesis on Leadership. This week, let us
continue the chronicle from where we stopped. Nothing is more important
than finding the best President for our great country.
Nigeria is almost 50 or more years backward in infrastructural
development and requires sharp vision, supreme sacrifice and total
dedication of a leader prepared to work at the speed of light. A
ceremonial figure is not who we need at this time when we are all hoping
for a bloodless revolution on all fronts in order to catch up with the
rest of the world. A feel good rocker is far from what Nigeria requires
to rise up from its deep slumber.
Nigeria needs a brilliant, clear-head plus a team of our brightest
brains. Most professional politicians will never be able to do it. They
are too careless and reckless and fail to think outside the box. We have
so much money available, as well as untapped mega-resources already in
place, for a supersonic take-off whenever we are seriously ready for the
liberation flight. What is lacking is that one man at the very top, a
competent Captain in the cockpit, who is able to reorder our priorities
from the present regime of brutal profligacy to a government of
concerted frugality. Nigerian politicians have curiously continued to
live in fool’s paradise while majority of the citizens live in wanton
discomfort. The poverty level has reached such a dangerous level that we
need to see some semblance of concern on the part of the
privilegentsia.
Our presidential system has further compounded our problems. It confers
too much power in the hands of one man who may be naturally tempted to
see himself as God. The zoning system favoured by the ruling party, and
the principle of Federal character enshrined in our laws, have also done
substantial damage by promoting and institutionalising mediocrity and
irrational competition for the national cake. Political appointments
have become opportunities for total assault on the treasury. And
whenever critics complain these days, government apologists will
intervene by asking if the acts of brigandage started with the present
government. As if that can ever be justification for the continuation of
the mindless looting of our treasured assets. The decline in the
quality of leaders is the final tragedy to befall our nation.
I wish to single out Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the greatest performing
leader of Nigeria for all times. His achievements remain evergreen
everywhere you look in what used to be known as the Western Region. It
is difficult to find such a man of uncommon brilliance, incredible
sagacity, boundless vision, humane passion, selfless discipline and
unmatchable genius around today. Even those who disagree with his
politics cannot but acknowledge that he has inspired many generations of
upwardly mobile leaders. In death, Awolowo’s sparkling ideology remains
intact. Both sides of the political divide regularly proclaim his name
as mantra in order to be seen as serious political contenders. His
intellectual works speak volume about a man who certainly was not an
accidental leader. He was born a genuine transformational head. And he
lived up to his iconic image.
A short reign made it impossible to see how much General Murtala
Muhammed would have achieved. But within six months, the fiery officer
was able to show signs of a visionary leader who came fully prepared for
something close to a Jerry Rawlings revolution in Ghana. The first
thing that endeared him to many was the stripping of himself of
ostentation and returning most of his material acquisition to the State.
He recognised the need for parsimony in the Government where there are
several competing developmental needs. That was totally against
tradition, in a country where leaders acquire what they would never need
in arrears and in advance. Nigeria is in dire need of such leaders who
know that the first task is atonement of sins and a total rededication
to a life of humility and simplicity.
We are not likely to have perfect leaders but we can make do with a few
aspiring heroes we have on ground. Therefore, let me add very quickly
that the search does not preclude the incumbent President, Dr Goodluck
Jonathan lest I’m accused of unbridled bias that is commonplace in our
country today. His profile would have been perfect for the type of
leader Nigeria needs because of his humble background and the manner he
was catapulted on to the national stage. However, he seems to have been
totally hijacked by the demons of power by becoming one of the most
expensively flamboyant leaders in Nigerian history. The time and funds
being wasted on politicking at the moment could have been judiciously
spent on delivering his promises to the people and his quest for a
second term would have been far easier to achieve. Unfortunately, he has
chosen the same path of most of his predecessors and I seriously doubt
he can obtain a better result. My main thesis is that there are
Nigerian leaders who actually know the solutions to our myriad of
problems but several factors impede them from doing the right things for
the Nation.
Lack of confidence in their ability to do things differently is a one
of the major problems. As soon as a leader attains power, the hawks that
made it possible for his predecessors to fail will pounce on the new
one. They will reel out a long list of dos and don’ts. They will
persuade him not to tinker with the status quo and remind him about how
someone like President Olusegun Obasanjo was able to consolidate power.
They will assure him of their support if he can play the ethnic and
religious cards. But they studiously forget to tell him the outcome and
result of those who employed the same methods and methodology and how
they failed woefully. This is the bane of Leadership in Nigeria.
The typical Nigerian Leader does not believe the country deserves to
develop at the pace of other nations with similar human and material
resources. He believes we were born in squalor and must die in filth.
His priority is to share and allocate our commonwealth among his
cronies, elites and godfathers. The money he would have spent on
monumental development is often wasted on a few people and pressure
groups. For example, sending pilgrims to Mecca and Jerusalem in a
supposed secular State has become a spectacular drain on the economy. It
is that fear of rocking the boat and acute visionlessness that makes a
leader to continue the tradition of waste. A good leader would have
known that we can turn Nigeria to our own Mecca and Jerusalem with all
the resources being frittered away on the altar of fake piety and
religiousness. Those citizens who wish to go on pilgrimage are very free
to do so on their own terms and according to their financial standing.
There is absolutely no need for government involvement.
A good Leader would embrace minimalism in power but ours are different
human beings who see power only as invitation to treat and turn
government houses into a house of commotion and promotion of selfish
interests. The very composition and composure of many of these leaders
suggest a people without ambition or direction. To them, every day is
Christmas. A serious leader must be focussed and purposeful. This is
what I admire most about the office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr
Babatunde Raji Fashola. The ambience around the Lagos State Government
House clearly projects seriousness and no room for frivolity.
The
surrounding is designed to reflect a professional environment where
philosophers are at work. The quality of work being churned out is not
fortuitous but that of great thinkers and forward-looking technocrats.
Most of his projects are relatively comparable to international
standards. Beyond the spanking clean atmosphere, Fashola has guts. A
Leader must have the strength of courage to take difficult decisions
even when feathers would be ruffled.
Another Leader who has shown excellent attention to qualitative service
is the fine and charismatic man of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke.
Nigeria can do with such urbane and cosmopolitan human beings. I
remember, when as Governor of Cross River State, people used to accuse
him of being very stingy. Indeed, he had good reason to be thrifty. He
knew his State was not one of the richer States but was determined to
make the best out of the limited allocations available to him. As
President, a Donald Duke would have cleaned up our nation and put us on
the road to true transformation and industrial revolution.
We also remember with nostalgia how Nasir El Rufai nearly turned Abuja
into the Hong Kong of Africa before his hard work was truncated and the
city fell into the hands of carpetbaggers. Hate him or love him, El
Rufai is the epitome of the modernist approach to governance. I think
the secret lies in his ability to read widely and voraciously and imbibe
the spirit embedded in those voluminous books. The world has changed so
much that a nation like Nigeria can no longer be governed by those who
still reside in antiquity.
I must confess my special admiration for Obiageli Ezekwesili. It is a
shame to think Nigeria is blessed with cerebral beings like Oby and yet
we are operating such a backward system of Education. When she left
Nigeria as Minister, she was promptly employed by the World Bank as Vice
President, strictly on merit. She’s never carried power on her head and
has maintained a dignified soberness despite her sterling
qualifications and stunning accomplishments. Many of our current Leaders
would become instantly unemployed and unemployable outside power, the
reason most prefer to die in office. If Nigeria must make progress we
need consummate technocrats like Oby in the highest positions in
Nigeria.
Not every Leader combines Leadership skills with political acumen, but
Godswill Akpabio, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, is in a class of his
own. He is rated as one of the glowing stars of PDP, the ruling party
and has mastered how to swim in the shark-infested waters of Nigeria’s
political ocean. I wish he could translate what he has done at the State
level to National platform but he knows better than to touch the tiger
by the tail and has decided to kill any real or imaginary ambition.
They can call Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi whatever name they like but there
is no doubt that the Governor of Rivers State is a man of impeccable
taste and superlative drive. Even some of his most vociferous critics
acknowledge the fact that it would be difficult to match the quality of
projects he has started and is about to complete in Rivers State against
all manner of frustration and intimidation from those who accuse him of
obstinacy and arrogance. Truth is Amaechi has demystified power in a
country where power is the god many worship. Amaechi’s simplicity, to
more objective people, is disarming. He has courage in abundance and
this is a key ingredient needed to succeed as a Leader.
I love and crave for bridge-builders like Aminu Tambuwal, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives. Nigeria is too complex and complicated
to be handed over to ethnic warlords and irredentists. This was the type
of character that made Chief Moshood Abiola extraordinarily special.
Anyone who seeks to lead Nigeria today must believe in the unity of
Nigeria and work assiduously to keep the country together as one.
Those
seeking the destruction of Nigeria are few and far between and it is
only for personal and selfish reasons. Tambuwal has demolished the
artificial barriers of tribe and religion by working across boundaries.
He does not carry his number four position on his head but moves about
his State duties with minimal disruption to the lives and activities of
fellow citizens. His plainness, grace and humility are complimented by
his intelligence, astuteness and vision. He is truly a veritable Leader
worthy of entrusting the affairs of our great Nation to if the
opportunity presents itself.
There are many other great Nigerians on my waitlist.
There are many other great Nigerians on my waitlist.
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