2019: Our Sad Tales of Bad Leadership Must End -By Abiola Durodola

Muhammadu Buhari on campaign ground in 2015

As 2019 beckons, it is expedient to critically take a cursory look at the leadership trajection of Africa’s most populous country. A brief glance over the country’s past leadership experience will give a clearer picture on the what the antidote to solve the plethora of problems that have stung to our neck and refuses to leave look like.

Since 1960, the dramatis personae in political arena are still same-minded political gladiators while the octogenarians and septuagenarians among these players retire to bring their offsprings into the political fold. The country have suffered immensely due to ineptitude, maladministration and abysmal leadership.

Recently, National Population Commission announced a new population figure. It shows there is an astronomical increase in the population yet no corresponding development and growth measure.

Poverty perched like the vulture on the tree and the people embraced it cordially. The esoteric voice of the deities are what the hungry youths listen to to quench their thirst for Rich and luxurious life. Death trapped roads, bug-ridden hostels, mundane education system, unemployment are the end result of the poor Leadership in the country.

While all efforts to salvage the county have go down the smith yard on different occasions, nothing have been done to remedy. Every four years, our hope are raised, we remain firm hoping the saviour will come to get things back on track, only to see all the electioneering promises smothered after some days in office.

Nigeria as a nation has been faced with plethora of problems which is has it root in the poor Leadership. The country’s political system has produced leaders who have failed in the capacity of a leaders while this cankeworm has also spread to other sectors of the country. The education, health, oil and gas, and entertainment sectors of the country are not left out.
The myriads of problems the country is faced with at the moment needs nothing but new flocks of leaders who are poised to make things better to fill the vacuum and address the problems.

History will absolve leaders who fought for the development and liberation of the people they lead from the hands of imperialist and colonial masters. The leadership spirit of Kwame Nkuramah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Samora Machel, Thomas Sankara, Patrick Lumumba, Haile Selaise and a host of othershas brought development to the continent and their respective countries as African leaders.

Since the historic change from the military era to the democratic dispensation, little success have been recorded in the growth meter of the country.

It is said that the development and growth of any country is dependent on the type of leaders it produce at all level. The Nigeria experience is that of a country crawling and crippling after years of gaining independence from the colonial Master.

The country after many years of freedom still is still in shackles as it experience instability, insurgency and retarded growth. Our stories these days are that of dejected populace leaving in abject poverty, and sleeping without foods on the table. The tales of university graduates without jobs and youths with ammunitions in the Niger Delta fighting for emancipation of the Ogoni people from the oil spillage and neglect of the national leaders.

The unsavoury stories of a judiciary with biased judgement and an education system that produced half baked graduates are the narratives available for the future generation.

In a saner clime, leaders exemplifies and portray good trait of a leadership by investing in the citizens and have positive impact on the society at large. However, in a country like ours, the society is plagued by vagrant leadership, where it is dominated by treasury looting, election rigging, political brigandage and assassination – in such circumstances decent and public-spirited individuals who possess the leadership traits are disparaged and discouraged from participating in the politics of calumny and deceit that are being played by this accidental leaders.

The country’s current predicament cannot be distanced from the abmysal Leadership which has characterized the country’s political system, government parastatals, and busines ventures. This is a pointer to the fact that our countrymen must salvage the country from the hands of windvane politician who are after their own interest – me, myself and I.

Rev. George Ehusani pinpointed the multitudes of problem faced by underdeveloped countries most especially Nigeria. According to him, “despite all the tools and resources available to our society, the evidence abounds that what leadership we have in place at the critical national level and at other levels is often self-serving and opportunistic”.

In recent years so many public funds has been syphoned while many of the nation resource has been wasted on grandiose projects and grandstanding endeavours, and no resource is spared in massaging the gargantuan egos and feathering the nests of the leadership class at the expense of the masses whose welfare they swore to labour for.

There is need for paradigm shift from the current Leadership style in the country to a more ideal and experienced leaders. Current leaders and aspirants to leadership both in the political sphere and business arena will do well to read the signs of the times and heed the admonition for change in leadership style so as to save the face of the country among the legion of corrupt countries.

The change from current unfortunate condition will not only bring development but also actualise such positive dreams that will pull this country from the brink of collapse.

Arise O compatriots. We must stand for the truth and contribute to the development of the country. We must be armed with our PVC so we can write me stories about our dear country in years to come.

Abiola Durodola is a writer, public analyst and an advocate for Qualitative Education. He currently writes from his country home in Ibadan. He can be reached through nouroudineabiola@gmail.com.