Hannatu Musawa
All Nationals in a country are expected to look up to their Leaders
as a source of guidance and inspiration. When there is an apparent rift
in perceptions and ideals in ways to execute the mission and vision of a
country’s agenda; there will be cracks in the harmony of national
coexistence.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently in Warri at a conference
when a question was asked relating to the terrorist group Boko Haram,
stated clearly that it was important for President Goodluck Jonathan to
be decisive in tackling insecurity, as he himself did while tackling the
militancy in Odi, Bayelsa State in 1999. After that statement was made
the former Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon during the launch
of a book, “Stay At The Top”, spoke against former President Obasanjo,
saying he is “weak and highly irresponsible”. The book was written by a
fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),
Omoniyi Komolafe. In what seems to be a war of words, former President
Obasanjo fired on Saturday, 24th November, 2012 by stating through his
spokesman, Malam Garba Deen Mohammed, “When did General Gowan become the
spokesman of the Jonathan administration?” He further stated, “There’s
nothing irresponsible about my comments on the insecurity in Nigeria. I
was only interpreting the reality. I expressed an opinion on the way the
Boko Haram crises is being handled and said if the current strategy is
not working, then there has to be a change of strategy to achieve
results. If the strategy were working, then there has to be a change of
strategy to achieve results. If the strategy were working, Boko Haram
would have become a thing of the past by now.”
For a country in desperate need of a decisive and positive anchor in
leadership direction, both present and former leaders are expected to
have common strategic objectives of fighting crime and corruption. The
people expect distinctive competence while proficiently guiding them
towards a more hopeful future. A highly educated society with ideals
would be forced to eliminatepartiality of religion, ethnicity or
regional diversity. Our leaders in Nigerian are no doubt Nigerians
themselves, therefore our leaders are a reflection of what we ourselves
are. A more objective assessment of our Nation’s public affairs would be
more welcome in today’s society. The acclaimed writer, Chinua Achebe
has said that Nigeria’s problems can be attributed to bad leadership.
But can a country of 160 million claim to be pious and blame total
corruption and insecurity on the government? The answer has to be no,
for in us the people lies the solution to all our problems.
As leaders and followers we are collectively responsible for
fairness, honesty and integrity. The laws of the land should be just and
transparent. There should not be an encouragement of financial
dictatorship by endorsing the powerful and wealthy to be even stronger;
and this can be done with the imposition of an efficient tax system.
Commendably, the Federal Inland Revenue Service has done a courageous
job of collecting 3.5 trillion naira in 2012 alone. The law enforcement
agencies need to be restructured. Instead of pointing accusing fingers
at security forces for not doing their jobs properly, why not replace
that criticism with a system that rewards officers for preventing any
form of criminal activity taking place while they are on duty? Major
changes and reforms should take place with a specific emphasis on
economic activity while encouraging consumer demand and job creation.
Essential infrastructures such as roads, ports, schools, hospitals, and
information technology machinery should be prioritized. The rebranding
and rebuilding of Nigeria’s seemingly lost glory should be achieved
passionately, with a sense of great national pride. A solid legacy
should be left for the future generation of Nigerians to come.
After the advent of the oil boom in the 1970’s, Nigeria’s ranking in
the world has declined considerably. Nigeria is faced with numerous
economic problems including a serious decline in its agricultural sector
and a claustrophobic external debt situation; one that seems to be
mounting. According to the World Bank Economic Review,“ While some
decline in nonoil traded goods sector reflects efficient adjustment to
the oil boom, policy with regards to public expenditure, exchange rates,
pricing, and the trade regime could exacerbate such decline and impede
readjustments as the boom subsides.”
Nigeria is the largest producer of oil in sub- Saharan Africa and a
member of OPEC since 1971. Yet appallingly, Nigeria has the third
highest number of poor people in the world, after China and India. We
are plagued by low levels of human development (two out of five children
are stunted in growth), regional, religious and social conflicts as
well as environmental challenges. It has become apparent that the vast
natural resources at Nigeria’s disposal have apparently not advanced
human development at all. The discovery of crude should have afforded
Nigeria an advantageous opportunity to generate national income and the
living standards of its people much improved.
Leadership is a continually evolving responsibility that requires
creativity and positive energy; with certain principals and techniques
adopted as tools to manage people and the economy. The most valuable
aspect of its economy are its human resources. These human resource
capability factors relate to the possession and use of human resources
especially specified skills that have a bearing on the economic capacity
and ability to implement productive strategies. Relevant factors
include extensive manpower planning, public corporate image, quality of
public office holders and public/civil servants, union managements and
relations, employment, and importantly the satisfaction and moral of the
people.
My fellow Nigerians should be empowered and motivated to achieve
common goals for the good of the country as a whole. Transparent
leadership recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of their people. They
strengthen the weaknesses and build on the strengths. The society must
be educated enough to share information for the sake of nation building.
We want to follow and trust our leaders to lead us on the right path to
follow. Mistakes are made by all nations of the world but Nigeria
desperately needs to acknowledge its short comings and highlight them in
the most plausible way. The reality of the situation of Nigeria today
is a far cry from the qualities listed above.
All past Heads of States and Presidents of this great nation have
contributed various positive policies to build Nigeria. The passion of
Nigerians should be engaged to deliver on the core values of our
founding fathers. John Maxwell has defined leadership as influence. The
trust in entirety of the past and present leaders by Nigerians is a
burden they have to bear. There is no room for the breach of that trust,
neglecting transparency or the compromise of integrity via a failure to
act positively or the unwholesome practices of unethical violations.
The pride of our leaders should be ignored for innovative
implementations to achieve success. We are ideally to be committed by
one common goal: The security, economic strength and pride of national
sovereignty of all Nigerians. But when the influential leaders of the
giant of Africa are engaged in a caustic public display of accusatory
words, it does little for the moral of a desperate society other than
highlight the tussle of the dragons.
Saharareporters
