Purposeful Leadership: What Nigerians need to ask of our political class. The present Nigerian political class is devoid of any ideology whatsoever. Our Political parties and their impotent manifestos need to be questioned by Nigerians. The key dividends that our great country has continually failed to deliver to the Nigerian society remains the same: Electricity, portable water, good roads....etc What Nigerians need to demand as 2015 approaches is not the manifesto of any party rather much more than the essentials: Electricity, water, good roads, which naturally flows with every purposeful government. Purposeful leadership is about being true to ourselves with the willingness to serve others and not ourselves. It about knowing the why of what we intend to achieve as a responsive government and having the courage to make manifest such intents. Some of the core values that come with a purposeful leadership are: preparedness for the task of governance, ability to look into the future and anticipate what might occur, optimum integrity and character. According to WINSTON CHURCHILL: “Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” A competent leader usually emerges to deal with every situation that requires leadership skills and not complain, criticize or pass the buck at every slightest possible avenue. The usual trend of always blaming the opposition for all the challenges facing this nation is unbecoming of a responsive government. Apparently, every society where purposeful and ethical leadership is lacking cannot experience meaningful development. Nigeria is a great country (The largest single geographical unit strategically situated on the west coast of Africa) but the disjointed political structure will not allow her achieve her full potentials. Having said that, a viable democratic state must have a functional and workable constitution which enables the law to regulate issues which affects every institution and individual. It is bad enough that our constitution does not reflect the aspirations of the Nigerian populace as our socio-economic rights remain non-justiciable. Our government has confirmed the non functionality of that document by circumventing express provisions with respect to the conditions for a valid removal of the CBN Governor. It is a shame that this flagrant disregard is happening under the government of a Ph.D holder”. A purposeful government must always draw the line between politics and governance. The silence of this government on the disgraceful and condemnable act of Reno Omokri aka wendell slimdin passes a resounding message. A government that has decided to play politics with such a serious security challenge facing the country cannot qualify as the purposeful leadership that we yearn for. Need I remind Mr. President that Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) reads: (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that- (a) Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government; ...... If after 4yrs in the saddle, nothing meaningful has been achieved in the area of security and welfare of Nigerians, why should we trust such a govt with another tenure? Innocent lives should not be compromised all in the name of playing politics. The Constitution further provides in section 15 that the concept of National Integration shall be actively encouraged by the government but what do we get from this government? The politics of Religion and Ethnicity has obviously reigned supreme than ever before. Ultimately, the 20billion dollar NNPC scandal will fade away like all other previous scandals that have rocked this government (Halliburton, Oduah-gate, PMS subsidy, Keresone subsidy...). There has been a tacit approval of corruption by this government. How do you explain the granting of presidential pardon to a convict and fugitive, who is now one of the delegates to chart a pathway for this country? Well, an APC led Federal government wouldnt have fared better since it is largely composed of the rogues who have merely changed camp to further their selfish interests. The proposed National Conference is another confirmation that we are under a confused leadership. This government told Nigerians that this confab will not be constrained only for the same government to turn around and carry out the exact opposite without any excuse. This is not in the character of a purposeful government. An English proverb goes thus: For want of a nail, a horse was lost. For want of a horse, a rider was lost. For want of a rider, the battle was lost. From the loss of the battle, an empire was lost. Oh what a loss for one small nail! As we approach the much anticipated electioneering year, the political class will come up with so many tantrums, but we as patriotic Nigerians must not submit to self-fulfilment, tribalism, ethnicity, or parochial opinions. Instead, we should stand up to be counted as part of those who ensured that our great country is set on the path of achieving her full potentials by simply electing a purposive leader to steer our affairs. Long live Nigeria! Tanimola Anjorin is an Arbitrator and a Lagos based Legal Practitioner. Tweets @ wu_knows tanimolaanjorin@gmail
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:11:31 +0000
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