There is no denying the fact that there is a very weighty crisis of leadership in Nigeria today at all tiers of government. However, this blatant flaw continues to be demonstrated mostly by whoever exerts his or her political power from any of the country’s government houses; be it in Aso Rock, State Government Houses, and Local Government Secretariats. It is not an exaggeration to say that since Nigeria adopted a democratic system of government in 1999 that successive political parties, namely the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), have in their own respective ways perfected the art of winning elections, which is fast becoming a science. Regrettably, they have both failed, so far, to provide effective governance.
Undeniably, if Nigerians are to use the litmus test collectively established by Nigeria’s founding fathers, and the quote attributed to Tafawa Balewa in 1957 that says, “I am pleased to see that we are now all agreed that the Federal system is, under present conditions, the only sure basis on which Nigeria will remain united. We must recognize our diversity and the peculiar conditions under which the different tribal communities live in this country”, then it is fair to say that the unanimous verdict is a failure.
Sadly, it has been difficult for the political elite or party to say with certitude and pride, “Mission accomplished.” Even when they are failing woefully, they would still be seen unashamedly beating their chests, and announcing to both the gullible and cynical Nigerians that they have achieved more than their predecessors.
As a result of this continuing failure, there have been the resultant recurring problems of persistent poverty, particularly among the lower class, the attendant high levels of crime, indiscipline, corruption, and increasingly a general sense of hopelessness.
Out of the cauldron of Nigeria’s adoption of democracy in 1999, the PDP emerged, while the APC was formed in February 2013 as a result of a merger of Nigeria’s three biggest opposition parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP, a faction of then ruling People’s Democratic Party. The resolution was signed by Tom Ikimi, who represented the ACN; Senator Annie Okonkwo on behalf of the APGA; Ibrahim Shekarau, the Chairman of ANPP’s Merger Committee; and the Chairman of CPC’s Merger Committee.
In fact, the two main political parties, the APC and PDP; which were literarily both cousins were to create a permanent divide, which would later be described as the two mega parties fighting over scarce benefits and spoils. Despite a marked decrease in political violence over the years.
In this context, our political leadership has tended to be transactional, rather than transformational. As gathered from Wikipedia; an online encyclopedia, transactional leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on supervision, organization, and performance. Transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which leaders promote compliance by followers, through both rewards and punishments. Unlike transformational leaders, those using the transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they aim to keep things the same. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as for projects that need to be carried out in a specific way. However, this calls for a fixity of purpose, vision and discipline, qualities that are, for the most part, not endemic to Nigeria’s political culture.
The marked difference with transformational leadership is that such leaders lead by example. Their style tends to use rapport, inspiration, or empathy to engage followers. They are known to possess courage, confidence, and the willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good. They possess a single-minded need to streamline or change things that no longer work. The transformational leader motivates workers and understands how to form them into integral units that work well with others.
Transformational leaders work to change the system, maximizing their teams’ capability and capacity, while transactional leaders prefer to work within the system. The term “transformational leadership” was coined by sociologist James V Downton in 1973. Leadership expert James Burns defined transformational leaders as those who seek to change existing thoughts, techniques, and goals for better results and the greater good. Burns also described transformational leaders as those who focus on the essential needs of their followers. It is my view that if our leaders in the body politic were to use this corporate template, then Nigeria would be on the road to being a truly prosperous nation, not one that is embedded in a culture of dependency and clientelism.
Peter Drucker, a renowned professor, and management consultant espoused balanced management, which called for a balance between short-term needs and long-term plans, as well as profitability and other elements of business, meshing innovation and entrepreneurship. He saw high-tech as a vehicle for change, in attitude, values, and behavior.
Transformational leaders are excellent at communicating new ideas, good at balancing short-term and long-term goals, are adept at building strong coalitions, and establishing mutual trust. Most importantly, they must have integrity and high emotional intelligence (empathy with others).
Without resorting to calumny in this nexus, it is expedient to say Nigeria is very far from attaining transformational governance; even when traced from 1999 when democracy was adopted.
Given the foregoing, it is not a misnomer to frankly assert in this context that Nigeria is facing a crisis of political leadership, particularly as the country’s economy from one political dispensation to the other has defied transformation as a result of mismanagement through bad leadership style been demonstrated by our political leaders that are majorly affiliated with either the PDP or APC or both.
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