The Director General of the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute, Dr Nathan Obasi has attributed the leadership crisis in Nigeria to mediocrity and irresponsibility of so many men and women in power.
Speaking during the Fellowship Awards of the Institute in Lagos, Obasi said Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth, adding that, it has been said that everything rises and falls on leadership.
His words: “Leadership has a crisis today in our society simply due to the mediocrity or irresponsibility of so many men and women in power, and leadership rarely rises to the full need for it. The fundamental crisis underlying mediocrity is intellectual”.
“If this statement is a given, what then is leadership? One of the celebrated leadership scholars, James MacGregor Burns asked: Is leadership simply innovation – cultural or political? Is it essentially inspiration? Mobilization of followers? Goal setting? Goal fulfillment? Is a leader the definer of values? Satisfier of needs? Some of these questions and more are the burden of thought, theory and practice of leadership, our Institute seeks to lift”, he said.
Also speaking while delivering his lecture “ Leadership As Transformation’, the Dean College of Leadership Studies , Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Professor Charles Ogbulogo said Leadership is an art of transformation, as leaders move their people through visionary pathways to attain predetermined goals.
He said Leadership styles, resources and strategies may differ, but that the people remain the focus.
He further said that leadership success is measured by the degree to which the lives of the people are transformed.
Ogbulogo who is also the President/ Chairman of the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute said transformation is enhanced by deep preparation which spells out the step-by-step design of action.
According to him, ssuccessful leaders are knowledgeable about: the purpose of authority; the nature of resources at their disposal; the responsibility that comes with the assignment, and the standards of performance expected.
“Indeed, great leaders see the covenant connection with leadership. The servant leader inspires followers and provides the moral guard”, Ogbulogo said.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
