Buhari: The portrait of a President trapped in Leadership dilemma -By Muftau Gbadegesin

The intricacy, urgency and  constancy of change challenge us all both the leaders and the followers.Transformative change for instance requires that all hands be on deck. But specifically, change poses serious challenge to leaders who are saddled with responsibility both in human and resource management. More reason leaders are looked up to not just at critical moment but also in crucial decision making. American Poet Robert Frost must have envisaged this dilemma in his 1916 classic poem, the Road Not Taken. Describing his dilemma, the poet confessed “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. And sorry I could not travel  both” apparently alluding to two critical decisions that lay bare before him in which he must choose one to further his journey. “I took the one less traveled by” the poet concluded “And that has made all the difference”.

Transformational leaders or those who intend to bring about change are like Robert frost in that choosing the road less traveled might not just be chaotic, dispiriting but might be antithetical to the change grounded in their minds.

“It is dangerous to lead with a change idea in mind” Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky averred in their book Leadership on the Line “you need both a  healthy respect for the values, competence, and history of people, as well as the changing environment, to build the capacity to respond to new challenges and take advantage of new openings”. But for President Muhammadu Buhari, the healthy respect for the value, competence and history of Nigerians seems to be counterintuitive to his change agenda. This has manifested in appointments shrouded in cronyism and favoritism, worsen insecurity in the country and gale of sleaze ongoing in his regime. It has also shown in the poor handling of the economy and most importantly in the handling of coronavirus pandemic.

Indeed President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has created more confusion than any other regime in history. The President; a retired military General seems to enjoyed aloofness than any other leader elsewhere in the world.

The president it also seems derived joy in stranding on the fence even when his cough is the dose needed to calm the nerves of his combatant party members and warring Ministers. But why is the president trapped in Leadership dilemma at this time in our country? Even in matters of party politics, the president seems to always rely on the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before he nostalgically dip his fingers into the murky water of party politics. Two explanations might suffice. One is the presence of the cabals who seem to have pocketed the president and confined him into the golden cage thereby blocking him from the reality. Or how is it possible to know what’s going on if you don’t know what’s going on? The second is said to be the nature of the president which believes that things will naturally settle whether he intervenes or not. These two postulations are dangerous for the nation as it for the president. For posterity will hardly smiles at the president’s for his ‘siddon’ look posture especially at a time the Nation needed him very fast and with force especially on his bootlickers.

Muftau Gbadegesin

muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com. 09065176850