Leadership without Ideology
ACHO ORABUCHI
Dallas, Texas
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
As the 2007 elections draw nearer, the gong for credible leadership dings interminably and more loudly. The sound is reverberating globally among Nigerians. In some quarters, credible leadership among elected officials is a necessary condition for sustaining the current reform efforts of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Still, others maintain that Nigeria needs a credible leadership at this juncture for its second successful transition from civilian to civilian administration.
In any case, Nigeria needs credible leadership for the maintenance of current reform efforts and sustenance of democracy. Most importantly, Nigeria needs leadership grounded in ideological underpinnings. Unfortunately, leadership without ideology has permeated the fabric of Nigerian culture to the extent that it stretches beyond the shores of the country and across the Atlantic. Sadly, the gong for leadership without reproach in the Diaspora or in Nigeria, whether in parochial organizations or in political parties, continues to echo unabated.
Pitifully,
Nigeria lacks selfless and responsive leaders, but has abundant human and
natural resources, including selfish leaders who want to hold on to power;
people who want to see themselves as perpetual leaders of no consequence.
Professor Dennis Odionyenfe
Balogu wrote recently, “Today, NdiIgbo
still need, but lack leaders that have clear mission and vision, and can be
trusted like Nnamdi Azikiwe,
leaders that would be as dedicated and selfless as
Mbonu Ojike and Michael
Okpara. We need leaders that would call (on us)
and NdiIgbo would come running because of the
trust vested in them.” This aptly depicts what the entire nation is going
through—the abundance of selfish leaders. These selfish leaders have at
various times promised to be responsive in managing the resources of the
nation only to renege right even before the elections are rigged in
their favor. As
a result, we’re being governed by a political class of marauders and
gangsters, whose primary goal is to satisfy their venal horde of personal
accounts while a few credible, but powerless people watch in loathe. It’s,
therefore, incumbent upon the President Obasanjo
to ensure that he’s succeeded by a person with impeccable character.
Unimaginably, the executive governors of various states in the country seem to control public treasury as private one to the detriment of the masses. Managing the scarce resources of the state to maximize the common good should have been the primary responsibility of these executive governors. However, the rabid neglect of the economic well-being of the masses, while these leaders impishly gloat in affluence, is unconscionable and should be checked. 2007 elections would provide Nigerians the opportunity to elect transparent leaders into various elective offices.
Leadership, in the absence of war heroes, monarchies, oligarchies, dictators, and in the presence of democracy, is inherently a function of group dynamics, undeniably not individuals. There is always a symbiotic relationship between leaders and the led under normal circumstances. This relationship seems to reinforce the state of equilibrium. However, when there is no equilibrium in that relationship, the level of agitation for change would increase, especially where the led have the political power to effect change. In Nigeria, this scenario may be farfetched. However, our leadership in Nigeria is a reflection of all of us. We’ve been tamed to timidity.
Our political culture and structure breed mediocrity and corruption and in so doing, inhibit the spirit of selfless leadership. In other words, our political culture and structure do not only support the ideology of common purpose, but also do not have the incentives for creativity in providing the common good. Since there is no direction emanating from the burden of ideology, our country is sadly left with leadership of self-confusion and spirit of limitedness.
As a result, Nigeria has been inundated with myopic and recycled leadership that is neither responsive nor have a sense of common purpose. These self-proclaimed leaders have no intention of meeting people’s needs. Their philosophy runs starkly counter with the concept leadership enunciated in the words of James MacGregor Burns: “The ultimate test of practical leadership is the realization of intended, real change that meets people's enduring needs.”
There should be a real change in the culture of Nigerian leadership. In order to turn the corner, we must methodically start creating and restoring a sense common purpose, fomenting ideological formation, and engaging young people in politics and public service. It’s also critical that every action must meet with an equal consequence. Bad leadership should not be rewarded. It’s imperative that the country should change its political culture by increasing the level of political maturity and rapid filling of the leadership vacuum.
Leadership in vacuum precipitated by the structural flaws and lack of ideological underpinnings lends itself to unsavory activities that go unscathed. The jinx of corrupt leadership would continue to plague Nigeria until ideological principles start to permeate the culture. It’s our hope that the jinx of bad leadership would be broken in 2007 by a combination of diligent work of EFCC and free, fair, and violence-free elections.