Nigeria And The Desperate Need For Visionary Leadership

Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading countries, is usually described as a country endowed with huge human and material resources.

 From region to region in the country could be found different kinds of natural resources like barites, Gypsum, Kaolin and Marble. There is also iron, copper gold, lead, limestone, crude oil, columbite, zinc, magnesium and coal.

The interesting thing is that much of these are yet to be exploited fully.

Over time, analysts have had to conclude that the missing link in Nigeria’s survival as a country is the absence of quality leadership.

And instances are usually made of other countries with comparatively same or less natural endowments, but which have gone ahead to achieve sustainable development.

Reference is usually made of Malaysia in South-East Asia which has become very proficient in palm oil production, yet borrowed her initial seeds from Nigeria,

There are many more instances of comparatively or less endowed countries with Nigeria but which have gone ahead to experience development.

The obvious thing that has made the difference is leadership as attested to by many people..

One of the people who believes that Nigeria’s problem is that of leadership is the paramount ruler of Tiv Nation, Orcivirgh James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse.

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He stresses the fact that there had become a real need for Nigeria to elect leaders who possess sound education needed to steer a country of Nigeria’s status.

In addition to sound education, he also mentioned exposure and experience, saying that these are needed to salvage the country from its present state.

 He made thsese submissions early in the year, while receiving  the presidential candidate of the Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN), Dr. David Isibor Akhimien, in his palace in Gboko, according to a report in Leadership newspaper.

Nigeria needs visionary leaders, says Ex-DSS boss

Also, a former Director-General  of the Department of State Services, Mr Dennis Amachree, had equally identified visionary leadership at the different sectors of the society as necessity to advancing the course of the nation’s development.

Amachree said so while delivering a paper at the 8th Annual Lecture/Presentation of the 3rd Memoir of Afrikan Watch Media on Saturday at the Yaba College of Technology, added:

 “What Nigeria needs is a new form of leadership. Just like the early politicians, none of the military leaders had a vision for Nigeria. They operated a government of annual budgets and spending and accusing each other of being corrupt.”

Decrying the level  of corruption in the country, ethnicity and  religion as the major threats, he added:

 “The country actually has about 371 ethnic groups. The leaders of these major ethnic groups lost their cohesion after independence was granted and started an unhealthy rivalry.

“Our rulers have arrogated to themselves the right to act in ways counter to  the  interest of the public.”

  “After 58 years of independence, Nigeria is still at a  crossroads. We have not been able as a nation to have a representative government because of the two cankerworms in our national life –corruption and insecurity. No government has been able to fight corruption to a standstill. We must tackle the menace  headlong by restructuring and reinforcing our institutions to have zero tolerance for corruption. Corruption is a fundamental flaw in our national life that needs to be corrected”, he said in a report monitored from Punch newspaper.

In the case of Iliyasu Gadu, a social commentator, the great countries of today did not come about by happenstance.

Instead, they were the result of painstaking endeavours of great statesmen who laid and pursued relentlessly, a grand vision of the future and the strategies to attain it.

“Japan which today is the third largest economy in the world would not have been what is today, had the Meiji restoration not happened in 1867 to chart a vision and strategy for its future greatness.

“Similarly, the United States of America which today ranks as the greatest power on earth was the product of the vision of its founding fathers to create a civilisation out of the grand ideas of the European enlightenment in which mainly peoples of European descent will pursue and find happiness and fulfilment in the vast continent of the Americas”. .

What then is the fate of Nigeria. What  options are there for her?

“For Nigeria the roadmap to achieving this desirable potential lies in three critical strategic areas; massive industrialization, a new military and foreign policy. An industrial economy is a sine qua non in order for Nigeria to be an industrial power.

“In this quest, iron and steel, power, energy and infrastructure are imperative to create a strong manufacturing base to fabricate and produce industrial goods. All the great countries of today are leaders in all these areas and for Nigeria to be reckon with among these countries, it must by all means acquire this”, he declared.