“If bad and inexperienced politicians control power in Nigeria, my wealth may turn into poverty, and I am not ready to become a poor man.” – Aliko Dangote
It was in 1972. This columnist departed his hilly hometown, somewhere tucked in the south west section of Nigeria, for Ibadan, the then capital city of Western State. It was an experience exuding elation and excitement beyond description for a village boy making such a euphoric entry into the city having heard a lot of fascinating stories about Ibadan and Lagos – two cities he yearned or longed to visit or reside in! The trip from the hinterland of Ekiti to Ibadan was a pleasurable one with fewer vehicles on the well tarred road. The greenery of the uplands adjoining the stretch of inter – town highways and roads was so alluring as well as adoring to be ignored. Yours sincerely settled in Ibadan with a close relative who doubled as my guardian. Life was good in those days of yore as power outages occurrence was seldom, and shorter in duration, if and when they occurred as the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was better managed. Our water taps were not dry either as water supply, though not regular, was not in short supply from the Asejire Water Works, near Ibadan. Moreover, foodstuffs items were really affordable for my guardian who was a junior level civil servant of Western State. We were eating the best of meals as yours sincerely would be the one going to the market to get food items and sometimes cooked for the house having undergone the proper tutelage. Notably, and of significance to this essay was the information platforms of those days of yore. The radio, television and newspapers – nothing of digital social media as we enjoy these days! There were two newspapers that my guardian subscribed to – the Sunday Times and New Nigeria. The latter was a delight for my guardian and he encouraged me to be an avid newspaper reader as a primary school pupil. He instructed me to read the New Nigeria newspaper as well as novels to better my mastery of the English language. It paid off as I was later representing my secondary school in debate and essay competitions even from my penultimate years in the college. The New Nigeria newspaper! Wondering now, why the tabloid should be named: New Nigeria? What was new in Nigeria then? Or, were the visioners who set up the tabloid envisaging the emergence of a better country than what was being savoured at that season of life? Can one wish, albeit regrettably or inopportunely, a reverting to such a time as in the early and mid-70s? Are we truly nearing a New Nigeria of the dreams of our forefathers, in colour, content and context with the vagaries of the plethora of problems pillorying this country presently that could apparently dim the hope of incurable optimists imagining a beautiful, better and brighter Nigeria?
Let Leaders Learn
There is no gainsaying the fact that our political landscape lacks real and rugged transformational or servant leaders that Nigeria is in dire need of at this time to usher us in that New Nigeria that our forefathers envisioned. There are many transactional leaders or dealers in political garments: they are in the scene for pecuniary cum partisan gains, not really about the betterment of the people. It is high time many of our aspiring political leaders lined up to learn leadership processes, philosophies and practices. The true heart of leadership is altruistic – selfless service. In addition, leadership is about vision. Moreover, leadership is not only influence but the ability to embark on a journey carrying along other participants – followers – focusing on a mutually agreed destination. In essence, leadership is a journey; if undertaken without followers, such a leader would just be on a walk! In the private sector, globally, leaders are trained within organizations and even sent to certain high-grade institutions like Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, etc. It is unsettling and naive for aspiring political and public leaders to think that they can lead successfully without the requisite training to prepare and package them. It was Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Professor, Barbara Kellerman, author of “Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters?”, that once curiously posited: “Why is it that we educate and train our doctors and lawyers with great care and competence, but not our leaders.” Not done, she submitted succinctly and saliently: “The American military … recognizes that to be effective it must educate leaders, train leaders, and develop leaders.” Any one still wondering why American soldiers can hold their own anywhere, anytime or anyhow duty beckons? If Nigeria would stop stagnancy and steer the ship of state towards a better rather than a battered Nigeria, it is high time our aspiring leaders deemed it fit to learn leading ethos not just within the four walls of schools but in organizations and public offices, whether they are aspiring to be voted as chairmen of local government councils, state or national assembly members, governors or president! It should be as sacrosanct as that in order to nip in the bud the emergence of upstarts that could down Nigeria into a leadership abyss drenched and drowned in tears and throes!!
Fitting Functional Followership
As 2023 beckons, it is imperative on the followers to wake up to their functional roles and responsibilities in the polity and politicking process even as the campaigns commence from 28th of September 2022. If leaders need education and enlightenment, to become fitting and functional, followers within the polity also need political education and engineering to choose wisely at the polls. Is it the time for followers to play into the whims and caprices of the dealers in leaders’ garb by accepting overtures thrown at them? It is upsetting and unsettling to see some analysts siding with these set of followers pandering to these transactional leaders (dealers) citing or fixating on poverty as the raison d’être for such indecorous and odious mannerism. In essence, it is not just leaders that needs to be trained and equipped, followers need enlightenment and education that will empower and embolden them to become fitting and functional followers that cannot be induced or coerced to electing bad leaders, though wealthy, but lacking and lackadaisical in competence, character, capacity, capability and charisma. In order for Nigeria to accomplish and achieve the dream of a “New Nigeria” of her forebears, as 2023 beckons, functional and fitting followers must arise to be active in the electioneering campaigns by interfacing, interacting and interrogating aspirants or flagbearers jostling to be elected irrespective of their political parties. Who are they? Where are they coming from? What are they presently doing? Do they have professions or careers? Have they served in organizations or public offices meritoriously or creditably before? Do they have mentees or proteges they have worked upon in the past, and presently are working upon? Where are those mentees or proteges now? What are their vision statements, core values and strategies? What are their seeming trajectories in the ladder or lattice of leadership hitherto?
”Lessons Learnt”
In the emerging field of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), students and scholars have professional lens depicting developmental deliverables in terms of policies, plans, programmes and projects. These are otherwise referred to as interventions. Invariably, these are visible to followers or citizens as there are key performance indicators (kpis) culminating in outputs, outcomes and impacts in tracking or monitoring these interventions. MEL practitioners and scholars, in going through the cycle and closing the loop, adopted a terminology referred to as “Lessons Learnt (LL).” In essence, LL contextualizes the content of: What works? What does not work? Why it works? Why it does not work? The bottom-line tinkering, if our case in Nigeria would not be as a barber’s chair often engaged in motion without movement, then, we should be asking retrospective or reflective questions in line with LL. Truth be told, as it is said and stated in Yoruba common parlance: “omode gbon, agba gbon, ni a fi da ile Ife” (meaning: the combination of the sagacity of the gray headed as well as that of the toddlers culminated in the founding of the ancient town of Ile – Ife, the cradle of the Yorubas), it is high time altruistic aspiring leaders and functional followers came to real terms in collaborating to move Nigeria forward and upward. The more we (followers) tolerate bad leaders to hoodwink us, the more we seemingly and surreptitiously sink Nigeria into the abyss. Reading the lips of the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, who posited thus “if bad and inexperienced politicians control power in Nigeria, my wealth may turn into poverty, and I am not ready to become a poor man”, one would have thought that the wealthy also worry! However, the wealthy in the likes of the Dangotes, Elumelus, Otedolas, Alakijas, Dantatas, Ezes, Adenugas, Danjumas, etc. should be more wary in waddling through the world of wild wilderness of politics and politicking in Nigeria. This columnist’s tinkering is that Dangote and co-travelers should be more concerned about our common patrimony rather than their personal possessions. If they all reason to tow this line of thought, which is not too late anyway, then, they would be more fixated on educating, enlightening, emboldening, empowering and ennobling more followers to become fittingly functional so that in the process of time, some of these citizens will aspire to core and crucial leadership positions. In my four years sojourn in Singapore, this columnist could see Lee Kuan Yew’s instinct in inculcating and institutionalizing leadership development programmes with a view to raising many leaders within the public service and going further in enrolling certain cerebral citizens, in their youths, into such high-grade schools such as Raffles College, Singapore to groom them for future leadership roles. To this columnist, if adopted or adapted in the context of Nigeria, this is one sure path to a better and brighter Nigeria; a New Nigeria, possibly with more progressive, prosperous and positive prospects than the prime perceptions of our forefathers. These patriotic frontline wealthy men and women could champion this crucial and core course of action that could enhance our common trajectory towards a glorious New Nigeria! It could be nearer than one could imagine!!
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John Ekundayo, Ph.D. – can be reached via 08155262360 (SMS only) and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com