- A blueprint for rebuilding Nigeria and transforming it from a nation on the brink of collapse into a thriving and high-performing country.
As the newly elected government settles into office amidst mounting concerns about the nation’s declining security and economic conditions, the burning question on the minds of Nigerians is: Can the new administration lead a successful rescue mission to save the nation from the brink of collapse?
In this exclusive interview, Bolaji Olagunju, an accomplished entrepreneur, author and advisor to Business Leaders and Companies in Africa shares his radical blueprint for rebuilding Nigeria and catalyzing its transformation from a nation in crisis to a thriving, high-performing powerhouse.
Question: It’s been a few days since the inauguration of the new President. Reflecting on this same period eight years ago, during Muhammadu Buhari’s initial days in office, there was a sense of hope and optimism in the air. But now, things seem different. The overall mood of the country seems unsure and uneasy. In your opinion, how would you describe the current mood of the nation?
Answer: In one sentence, Nigerians are tired and frustrated beyond endurance. As a country, Nigeria is barely conscious and fighting to stay alive, which is tragic when one considers the immense potential of our beloved country.
The perfect analogy to convey the nation’s current situation is to liken Nigeria to an elephant that’s eating like an ant. If you have elephants eating like ants, you know that it’s only a matter of time before malnutrition sets in, and then death. Right now, in my opinion, Nigeria appears to be in the final stages of malnutrition, and a major cause of this is traceable to the way the country has been governed for decades.
What we have in Nigeria now is a situation whereby politics appears to have kidnapped and is holding performance hostage. This is not to say that politics has no value; it has its place and no doubt its significance. After all, we’re in a democracy, and politics is crucial to maintaining a democratic environment. What I am saying is that Nigeria can no longer afford a situation whereby politics overshadows running of the government to the point where performance is completely undermined.
Nigerians are fed up with the perpetual underperformance of their leaders, and we are all desperate for real change. This desperation was well conveyed in the last election. On the surface, the last election appeared to have been a contest between three dominant parties. But at the very core, it was a fierce battle between two ideologies: Politics and Performance.
The question that dominated the entire political atmosphere during the elections and the question on the heart of every Nigerian today is simple: Will the new administration perform and save our dear country, or will they ruin the country even further by playing politics with critical issues?
Nigerians are desperate for a courageous and capable government, one that will dare to dance to a different tune. We need leadership that is bold enough to chase mediocrity out of the building and go all out to prioritize performance, drive it, invest in it and celebrate it. The question then is: Can the new administration be that government? Will it prove to be the government that Nigerians have been longing for?
Question: Going by his post-election statements, it seems that the President also believes that the time for politicking is over and the time for nation-building has come. If he is to live up to his promises and do better than his predecessors, what, in your opinion, must he do differently to succeed where many others have failed woefully?
Answer: I firmly believe that the key to the president’s success will lie in his ability to reinvent the government by prioritizing performance over politics and running the government like a high-performing business. By operating the Nigerian government as a business, performance will be given the preeminence and prominence it needs to transform the nation. This approach is the only way forward!
The president’s statement that the time for politicking is over inspired hope in some of us. However, previous politicians have made similar promises and failed to deliver. If the president will do better than all his predecessors, he must be willing and prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that performance rises to the level it needs to be for the nation to benefit from it.
Some may argue that governmental and political organizations differ from the private sector and cannot adhere to the same rules. They may claim that businesses and governments serve different purposes and have distinct structures, with businesses aiming for profit while governments cater to all citizens and respond to various competing interests and political considerations.
However, when I suggest running the government like a business, I do not propose disrupting its mission. Instead, I advocate for utilizing market economy principles, practices, and systems to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. After all, don’t we all agree that whatever the government does, it should be efficient, effective, and deliver on its mission in the least costly way possible?
One thing that the business world excels at is designing for and driving performance, which the Nigerian government can learn from. No organization can succeed by remaining inefficient, expensive, bloated, or out of control, and the same is true for the Nigerian government.
By adopting principles and practices from high-performing businesses, the new administration can greatly benefit Nigeria. The overbearing politically driven agenda of previous governments must give way to a performance-oriented approach, striking a strong balance. Politics has always had its place in Government. It is now overdue to give performance its well-deserved place as well.
Question: Going beyond ideologies, how specifically can the new administration run government like a business successfully? How do you propose they make this happen? What is the first step in this direction?
Answer: The current operating model of Government is disproportionately skewed towards leaving performance at the mercy of politics. This will no longer serve our beloved nation. Politics and performance are not mutually exclusive and the two can and must co-exist to ensure the nation makes progress. It is time to shake things up. It is time for transformation, it is time for a radical change. And this is what I know for certain: Change begins with design.
So, my proposition is that the new administration should run the government like a business, by design. By this, I mean restructuring and resourcing the critical areas of government in such a way to eliminate or at least minimize undue effect of bad politics.
Every institution is designed to achieve the result it does. If an organization is failing, it’s because it was designed to fail. In the same way, organizations that go on to achieve remarkable results succeed because they were designed for success.
To run Government like a business, the first step for the new administration would be to get really clear about the purpose of their government and communicate this compellingly to all stakeholders. Purpose seeks to answer the question: Why do we exist? Why were we elected and what does this mean for the country and its citizens?
This is critical because without an understanding of its “why,” there can be no alignment, uniformity and consistency of action within its members, and such an establishment is bound to underperform. As a matter of fact, there’s ample evidence to suggest that purpose-driven organizations outperform their market by at least 42%. The same evidence also suggests that institutions without a sense of purpose within their vision/mission underperform the market by 40%. The same principle applies to government.
Luckily for us, the purpose of a democratic government is clear and unambiguous. It is to ensure that policies reflect the wishes of the majority of citizens, provide essential services, promote equality, fulfill the fundamental duties of safety, prosperity, and justice, ensure the rights of each human, and protect the country so that its citizens, businesses, and organizations have the ability to pursue happiness, live a healthy life, and make the most of opportunities.
If the new administration truly embraces this purpose, then the path before them is clear. They must then embody it, and communicate it clearly and consistently throughout the entire body of government.
This is imperative because it is dangerous to assume that everybody knows the purpose of Government and is in alignment. We’ve all too often seen situations in Nigeria where it appears like elected officials run government agencies as if it is their own personal property. This has to stop. And clarifying purpose, communicating it consistently, and ensuring alignment is the way to do it. Some of this might be done by ensuring that there is a structured reorientation program for everybody in government. This is essential toward ensuring that the new government performs at the level that is desperately required for the nation to thrive.
It is also imperative to note that the communications machinery of the new administration must demonstrate a significantly higher level of maturity and evolve beyond solely engaging in empty rhetoric and spending a significant proportion of its time reacting to the opposition. This is suboptimal, and Nigerians are tired of it. Effective communications will be extremely crucial to the success of this administration both within the government itself and with various stakeholders.
The new administration needs a performance-oriented communications function, dedicated to effectively conveying the government’s purpose, ongoing initiatives, performance updates, engaging stakeholders, organizing town hall meetings, gathering feedback, and listening to the grassroots.
Question: After the new government clarifies its purpose for being in power, what should be its next steps?
Answer: Once the purpose for the new administration is clarified and effectively communicated, the next step is to carefully review their planned agenda with which to accomplish that purpose and ensure they confront the brutal realities of the nation. The agenda should seek to ask and answer the questions: How will we achieve our purpose? How do we earn the right to govern the country? What and what must we do successfully to fulfill the reason for our mandate? This is crucial.
I have closely studied the new government’s high level 16-point agenda and it is evident that the agenda was competently put together. It is holistic, well thought through, and has the potential to transform the country. However, as we all know, potential does not necessarily translate to reality.
Although a lot of great work and thought must have gone into creating the 16-point agenda, additional work is required to ensure strong alignment between the agenda and the reality on the ground. Therefore, the second key responsibility of the new government is to ensure very strong alignment of their agenda with harsh grassroots realities. This is essential because for successful implementation, the high-level agenda needs to be unpacked and deep issues at the grassroots level need to be confronted and duly addressed.
The most effective way to achieve this is to engage various stakeholders extensively to diagnose and identify the core issues and prioritize resource allocation to drive the 16-point agenda.
Medical professionals know that prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Therefore, a comprehensive diagnosis of the deeper issues and root causes of challenges is necessary, so that these issues can be addressed at the grassroots level and not just surface level. This is the only way to achieve lasting and sustainable change.
After effectively unpacking and fleshing out the agenda, the next step is to build structures that can execute the agenda. This is probably the most important, if not the most crucial step in effective governance. In structuring the government, they should ask questions such as: how will we organize to deliver on our mandate so that we can fulfill our purpose?
As far as the 16-point agenda is concerned, here’s what I know: to have any hope of executing the agenda, like the day follows the night, structure must follow the agenda.
The shape or structure of any organization plays a significant role in determining whether the organization performs or not. Therefore, how the new government chooses to structure and organize will determine whether there will be performance or continued struggles with politics.
Considering the extreme importance of structure to the success of any organization, if the new administration is to differentiate itself and perform at an unprecedented level, it is crucial that the President thinks differently about the structure of his cabinet.
My design proposition is that the new government intentionally structure to guarantee performance by appointing, for example, two Chiefs of Staff. Chief of Staff A should be responsible for driving the political agenda, and Chief of Staff B should be responsible for driving the performance agenda.
Question: Having two Chiefs of Staff is definitely an unconventional approach. Wouldn’t that constitute an unnecessary duplication of roles and create further problems?
Answer: Look, I recognize that this is a radical approach but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nigeria is in a desperate situation.
Understand that we’re talking about the critical measures that the new administration must put in place to ensure that performance does not suffer at the hands of politics as it has for decades.
When it comes to designing for performance, one of the most difficult challenges that organizations face is a concept known as Role pollution. A role is polluted when that role is expected to fulfil too many diverse and unrelated objectives, like politics and performance.
Here we have a situation whereby the government needs to structure to ensure that performance happens, and handling the responsibility of managing politics and performance to a single role is a recipe for non-performance. One cannot serve two masters. No matter how good or lofty the intention of the new government is, at the end of the day, their success will be a function of whether they have structured and organized for success. Performance require focus, period.
The 16-point agenda will not stand a chance if the government does not structure to execute it. It is as simple as that.
If the constitution of Nigeria does not allow for two Chiefs of Staff, then at least there should be two deputy chiefs of staff, with one focused on politics and the other focused on performance. I am just using the role of the Chief of Staff as an example due to its significance. This same logic applies to other important roles that are mission-critical to the successful execution of the new government’s agenda.
Some people may worry, and rightly so, that this approach might result in the government becoming even more bloated. On the contrary, a performance-oriented structure is an optimization strategy. If implemented competently, it will help identify and streamline areas of inefficiency within the government, freeing up resources for areas of strategic significance.
However the new government chooses to do it, the president must ensure that he structures for performance, because success requires structure. You don’t succeed by wish or by hope, you succeed by design.
Question: Given the complexity of the 16-point agenda and the possible challenges that may accompany its effective implementation, what specific approach would you recommend to the new administration to ensure unprecedented success?
Answer: To tackle each item on the agenda, a powerful question to begin with is: Where specifically must performance happen to guarantee that we achieve this agenda?
This is where the government will need to ensure alignment between its agenda and the different Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government. There has to be a clear line of sight between the mandates and activities of the MDAs and the 16-point agenda, and the structure of the government must reflect that.
The implication of this is that the new government cannot afford to design its structure based on people or titles; rather, it must design a deliverable-based structure if it is to succeed. For instance, the deliverables for the Chief of Staff or Deputy Chief of Staff responsible for performance must be well-defined before selecting a candidate. This is crucial.
To cite a more concrete example, one of the items on the 16-point agenda of the government is youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. The question to ask is which ministries, departments, and agencies of the government will directly impact that mandate? And what exactly are they expected to do to impact it? It’s important to think this way because success requires structure and only by structuring for results can you structure for success.
Once there is clarity regarding how the new government will organize to execute on its agenda, the next step is to identify the critical roles required to implement the structure and execute the agenda. And so here, the new administration should answer the question: What roles are mission-critical to successfully achieving our agenda? Note that every one of these roles should be deliverable and performance-based. The government must be clear on what every role is expected to deliver upfront.
For each of those roles, there should be a clear definition of success. They should be able to say for this or that role, “this is what success looks like.” The key responsibilities, key accountabilities, key performance areas, key performance indicators, and metrics for success for each role within government must be clearly defined. This is how to drive performance! You must be clear. There must be no ambiguity whatsoever. No role clarity, no appointment!
Once role clarity has been achieved, the next step is people. And it seeks to answer the question: Who are those people with the differentiating competencies required to fill the critical roles identified as essential to success?
It is instructive to note that the “people” component comes after “role” and “structure”. You do not put people before structure! First, you define the structure, the role, and what you expect, and then you go find the people that are fully capable of executing the deliverables of the role. Find people with the expertise, the experience, and the behavioral profile to competently and consistently get things done. No institution succeeds by putting people before structure, and none ever will.
Consider the formation of the human body. Which comes first, the flesh or the skeleton? Without the skeleton, the body will be deformed. And that is the biggest challenge that the Nigerian government faces today: previous governments put people before structure. When there is no structure and the roles are not defined properly, performance is deformed, and you don’t get the required result.
Question: Now, let’s delve into the all-important topic of people. The president emphatically stated that he needs ‘every hand from wherever it may come to be on deck.’ Just how vital are the right people to the success of a government? And how can the new administration effectively attract the best and brightest individuals to fulfill its mandate? Are there any proven people acquisition strategies that can be employed to achieve success?
Answer: In 2019, I authored an Amazon best-selling book titled Hiring Right: A Matter of Life and Death for Businesses and Business Owners. The book should have been titled Hiring Right: A Matter of Life and Death for Nations and Businesses, because we need to have the right people in government driving performance for our nation to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, the process required to get the right people appointed into key positions in past administrations lacked the required level of rigor and due diligence it deserves. This shouldn’t be the case.
The term “political appointment” deeply concerns me. While it is necessary to make appointments based on political considerations, we must also prioritize “performance appointments”— where individuals are selected based on their ability to deliver results. In such instances, it is crucial for the new government to make every effort to identify individuals with the proven track record, expertise, and capability to perform. This is of utmost importance because when decisions regarding people are driven by politics only, rather than in conjunction with merit, the consequences can be devastating, as history has shown.
One does not need to be a long-time student of history to recognize that some of the least productive leaders have been those who prioritized personal agendas and politics over performance, engaging in blatant nepotism to the detriment of the nations they were entrusted with.
In contrast, there are compelling instances of exceptional presidents who prioritized making people-related decisions based on performance rather than political considerations or personal biases. One prime example is Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. In the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, you’ll find a detailed account of how President Lincoln, after winning the elections, was determined to justify the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people. When assembling his presidential cabinet and department heads, his strategy was crystal clear: find the best and brightest. He sought out the most qualified individuals for each role, regardless of their political affiliations. As a result, he extended invitations to three formidable rivals who had competed against him, enlisting their collaboration in nation-building and appointing them to influential positions such as Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Head of the Treasury Department.
With these surprising choices, Lincoln created a team of rivals and demonstrated his absolute commitment to prioritizing performance over politics. In instances where those entrusted with significant responsibilities betrayed the nation through corruption, he promptly took action to replace them. History remembers him favorably for this, hailing him as a courageous and visionary leader who, instead of selecting close friends and allies who would blindly support his opinions, chose a group of intelligent and ambitious individuals capable of voicing diverse perspectives to help him make the best decisions. His political brilliance, capacity to inspire, and unwavering vision transformed his country significantly. It’s no wonder that even today, over 150 years after his death, the American people still consider him their greatest president.
I delve into these details to prove a simple yet profound point: history remembers those whose performance elevated lives and impacted the state of the nation, not those who only played politics. If this administration aims to be remembered for generations to come, it must make room for performance.
Just imagine a newly elected administration asking this question: “If the opposition party had won, whom would they have chosen for strategic roles in their government, and how do those individuals compare in terms of competency and capacity to the shortlist of people we plan to appoint?”
The significance of this question is simple: If a new government is truly committed to performance, then their focus should be on ensuring that only the best people—regardless of political affiliation—occupy strategic roles within the government to transform the nation.
But will politics allow that? Will the new government rise above politics and refrain from saying, “That person didn’t vote for us” or “That person is LP’s ally or PDP’s loyalist,” when those individuals are undeniably the best for the job? For the sake of our beloved country, we certainly hope they do.
Now, to the question of strategies for finding highly skilled people. In the private sector, we employ a strategy called the 6Bs for making people decisions, and the government will benefit significantly from adopting this strategy as well.
The first B, “Buy,” means to invest in hiring people with the right expertise. The second B, “Borrow,” is to temporarily hire skilled individuals and tie their pay to performance. The third B, “Build,” is to empower talented individuals within government institutions. The fourth B, “Bounce,” is to remove unproductive employees and replace them with skilled young individuals. The fifth B, “Boost,” is to promote and motivate capable junior officers. The final B, “Balance,” is to maintain a balanced approach between all the other Bs as well as politics and performance in appointments.
To sum it up, hiring must be competency-based, as opposed to being strictly quota-based. Using the quota system can be criteria number one. Criteria number two must be competence. We must begin to prioritize the people with the knowledge, skills, and the right behavior that the government needs to drive this agenda. The right people will make all the difference and they will be game-changing for the nation.
Question: Beyond having the right agenda, deliverable-based structures and the right people, is there anything else that must be put in place to ensure the new government’s success?
Answer: There certainly is. In addition to all that has been said, two more things are imperative for the new administration’s success: the right culture and systems.
Let’s talk a bit about culture. The late management guru Peter Drucker left behind a critically important piece of advice: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. In my two and a half decades of building and advising businesses, I have witnessed the unwavering truth of this advice: culture eats even the most brilliant strategy for breakfast.
One of the most detrimental effects of prioritizing politics over performance is its impact on the culture and work environment within the government. When excessive politics permeates the work culture, it not only hampers the government’s ability to optimize the talented individuals within its ranks but also significantly impairs its capacity to attract the best people.
Here’s a thought-provoking question: Why weren’t accomplished individuals like Atedo Peterside, Fola Adeola, Dr. Chichi Aniagolu Okoye, Ibukun Awosika, Tony Elumelu, Adebayo Ogunlesi, Herbert Wigwe, Tope Awotona, Abubakar Suleiman, Austin Okere, and many other Nigerians, who have achieved remarkable feats and possess the necessary qualities to propel our nation forward, actively involved in the previous government administration?
Many of these individuals are business icons who have achieved great success and built solid institutions, even in challenging circumstances. They possess the skills and know-how to drive the much-needed changes in Nigeria. So, why aren’t they in government? As a matter of my personal opinion, I am willing to bet they are aware that the culture and environment within the government would hinder their ability to perform effectively, and they do not want to subject themselves and their reputation to unnecessary ridicule.
Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, but our most valuable resource is our people. We have some of the brightest minds in the world, and it is crucial to harness their abilities and talents for the nation’s progress. However, would these individuals be willing to join a politically-driven government that lacks commitment to performance? I think they will be wary of doing so without a level of assurance that they will be allowed to perform.
Without the right culture, even the most exceptional individuals will struggle or fail outright. Regardless of the quality of people the new government recruits, if the environment is unfavorable and those individuals have to contend with politics or the cabal system, and if they cannot be shielded from these influences, then even individuals with the right competencies, drive, commitment, and patriotism will underperform. It is a known fact that environment trumps will. That’s why fostering a culture of performance is vital for the new government.
The crucial question the President must address is: “What kind of environment or culture must we create to enable the right individuals we appoint to excel and perform without being hindered by politics?” This is not just important; it is everything. The new administration must answer this question and commit to building a supportive environment for the right people to perform and transform the nation.
Fortunately, the right culture can be built, but it will need to start from the top. The President must lead by example. He must demonstrate his commitment to performance, and not just politics. All eyes will be on him, and it will not matter what he says. All that matters will be what he does. So he must be determined and remain resolute to establish an environment that not only attracts the very best but also empowers them to contribute their talent and expertise to drive our nation forward without being hindered by political games.
His must be a government that encourages and celebrates performance. We need role models. We need more inspiring leaders like the late Dr. Dora Akunyili—a brave woman who was aptly described as the scourge of drug counterfeiters. She exemplifies how a single visionary leader can transform a government agency and create immense value. When she started out, there wasn’t much confidence in her. She was young, knew little about regulation, and had no party political affiliation. Yet, consider how she fearlessly took on the drug counterfeiting cabal in Nigeria, saving countless lives in the process. Under her leadership at NAFDAC, the structure and system she built was so powerful that the proportion of fake drugs in Nigeria dropped from 70% to about 10%. Just imagine the possibilities if we have 16 leaders, like Dora, driving each of the 16-point agenda of the new government—individuals with a performance mindset, tenacity, commitment, and patriotism. They would revolutionize our nation. I firmly believe there are thousands of people like Dora Akunyili among us today. If the President dedicates himself to identifying more of this breed of individuals, the challenges of corruption, poverty, insecurity, and unemployment will fade away, giving rise to a new Nigeria.
Finally, in addition to fostering the right culture, it is crucial to establish robust systems to support this new government. In the realm of business, a powerful maxim holds true: “The system is the solution.” When it comes to developing effective systems, the key question we must ask and answer is: What policies, processes, procedures, and principles must we put in place to drive our agenda? This is the clincher.
It is essential that the government operates in a manner that relies on systems, not individuals. When an organization becomes overly people-dependent, it starts to run based on body language. This can be dangerous since human beings are inherently unpredictable and influenced by various subtleties and issues. People should operate the system but people must not and cannot possibly be the system.
To guarantee a successful tenure, the President must run his government based on systems, agreed and signed off systems. And one of such systems should be a robust performance management structure that sees MDAs operating monthly performance reviews, working towards their scorecards and reporting on their deliverables.
The performance reports of the MDAs should not be viewed by a few eyes within government and then shelved. They should be published quarterly; the nation should be informed and updated on the performance of each area of government. Without exception, the people appointed to fill every role in government must give an account of what exactly they are doing. Every one of the government’s projects must be monitored to ensure that promises made are promises kept.
Implementing such a transparent “name and shame” system may seem hardline, but it is essential for keeping politicking in check and establishing a performance-driven culture.
To achieve all of the above, the new administration needs to set up a fully autonomous Agency focused solely on ensuring Policies, Projects and People Performance. This agency can be Performance Management and Reporting Council of Nigeria with responsibility for ensuring that the government performs and successfully delivers on its mandate.
This is the only way to ensure that policies, projects and people are working and performance is at the level of quality that is expected. It is also the most effective strategy to raise awareness and hold the entire public sector accountable for meeting expectations. That is why the system is the solution. People don’t scale, systems do. And you can’t manage what you can’t measure
Question: What direct and unfiltered message or advise do you have for the new President of our great nation?
Answer: This will be my direct and unfiltered message to him:
Mr. President, sir, Awa l’okan, and by this, I mean it is now the turn of all Nigerians. The long-awaited moment to heal Nigeria and its people has finally arrived. You, sir, have passionately sought the opportunity to lead this great nation, and now that chance has been entrusted to you. It is an extraordinary privilege that comes with the significant task of reshaping the trajectory of our nation’s future. The crucial question is: How will you approach this sacred responsibility?
Mr. President, sir, for too long, one of the biggest challenges facing our nation is the extreme imbalance between politics and performance. You are aware of this, sir, and you must not allow this menace to continue. It is clearly time for performance. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It is time to do something different. The potential devastation resulting from a failure of your government to deliver effective performance would be etched in the annals of history, considering Nigeria’s already declining economy and society. Your Excellency, the enemy we face is not politics itself but rather the extent to which politics has permeated our system and hindered performance. The passionate outcry of Nigerians during the elections stemmed from their deep frustration with the Nigerian governance system and lack of performance. You made a solemn pledge to address their grievances and concerns, and it is crucial that you honor that commitment, no matter what it costs you.
Mr. President, sir, you have what it takes to get the job done! Your early career has equipped you with not only the necessary experience to lead at a world-class level but also the capabilities and intelligence needed to accomplish the task at hand. I dare say that you may be the most astute businessperson to ever grace Aso Rock. This is why our expectations are high, way higher than those placed on any of the leaders who have governed our nation since its independence. We implore you not to disappoint us.
Your Excellency, sir, you have been in the political arena long enough to understand the detrimental consequences of sycophancy. You must not surround yourself with sycophants, sir. You will not succeed in leading our nation towards redemption if you do. Already, sycophants are flocking around you like vultures, ready to prey upon any opportunity to flatter and deceive, blurring the line between right and wrong. We need your discernment, strength, and determination to lead us on the path of true progress.
Mr. President, Nigeria is at an impasse; a deadlock. Your government stands in the position to either mend Nigeria or break it beyond repair, and I daresay it will be upon your conscience if Nigeria were to break. You have to make a choice, sir: what do you want to be remembered for? You need to see the failings of prior governments as lessons in what not to do and convert these lessons into progress. Ninu ofi, ninu ola, ni omo pandoro n’dagba.
A lot of people expect you to fail, Mr. President, but I have a feeling that you will pleasantly and positively surprise the entire Nigeria, prove your critics wrong and leave a legacy to rival Nelson Mandela. Call me a dreamer, but this dream is Nigeria’s hope because the alternative is too dire and scary to even fathom. Sir, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. This is an opportunity for you to be immortalized, not because you became President, but because you awoke a sleeping giant and achieved what seemed impossible by changing the fortune of this country for the better. For the sake of our beloved country Nigeria, I pray that God grants you true courage to apply the drastic measures we desperately need. On behalf of all well-meaning Nigerians, I am enthusiastic to say ‘Awa l’okan o’. ‘Performance l’okan o’.
Interviewer: Your insights have been truly enlightening. Thank you for generously sharing your valuable time and wealth of knowledge with us. Is there anything else you would like to add before we conclude?
Answer: Only this: the Nigeria that we all long to see, the Nigeria of our highest dreams, is possible. However, it can only be realized through a leader who is driven by performance and patriotism and citizens who play their part in fostering good governance by contributing their quota, monitoring and holding leaders accountable for their performance.
The heartfelt desire of every patriotic Nigerian, from the market woman struggling to make a living to the influential captain of industry, is for a leader who possesses a genuine commitment to change and progress, accompanied by the strength of character to achieve it. Will the new administration be ready to make the necessary sacrifices and embody such leadership? Will the President have the courage and determination to prioritize performance over politics? If he is willing, then it is imperative that the Nigerian government be run like a business under his leadership. The potential benefits of adopting this approach for Nigeria can prove to be profound and game-changing.
Nigeria must no longer remain an enigma or an object of ridicule in the eyes of the world. It is time for politics to step aside and for performance to take center stage. I pray and hope that the President possesses the strength required to turn this vision into reality. By implementing the seven transformational disciplines of Purpose, Strategy, Structure, Roles, People, Culture, and Systems, he can liberate Nigeria from the constraints of reckless political maneuvering and place performance at the core of all government decisions and activities. It is worth noting that this blueprint can also be adopted by other branches of the government, including the Legislative, State, and Local government.
I am certain that if we apply the principles, practices, and performance-driven mindset with which businesses are run to running Nigerian government, we stand a chance to transform Nigeria from an underperforming nation with huge potential to a high-performing one that is truly the pride of Africa.
Bolaji Olagunju brings over 26 years of expertise in empowering African organizations across the private and public sectors, helping them achieve a distinctive advantage in the areas of policies, practices, projects, and people performance.
As a trusted advisor to CEOs and organizational leaders, he provides invaluable insights for formulating and executing high-level strategic initiatives while fostering the growth of high-performing individuals and teams. To connect or provide comments, please send an email to hello@governmentasabusiness.org
