Addressing a gathering in Taipei in August 1995, Prof Samuel Huntington of Harvard University was, among other things, asked about his impression of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s effort to develop Singapore and he simply said: “The honesty and efficiency that Lee has brought to Singapore are likely to follow him to his grave.”
However, not only did Lee’s efficiency survive him, but also history has since assisted in providing answers to the correctness, or otherwise, of Huntington’s declaration.
Two years after the observation, Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product of $3billion in 1965, increased to $46billion in 1997, making it the eighth highest per capita GNP in the world, according to World Bank’s ranking. This was clearly unprecedented.
What is left for those who are living to do is either learn a lesson from such history and become wiser or ignore it and continue to wonder in a dilemma.
Essentially, the crux of this piece is to use Prime Minister Lee Quen Yew’s account to analyse and understand the essential ingredients of foresight in leadership and draw a lesson as to how the leadership decision making process involves judgment about uncertain elements and differs from the pure mathematical probability process.
From accounts, aside from the fact that the story of Singapore’s progress is a reflection of the advancement of the industrial countries, their inventions, technology, enterprise and drive, a united and a determined group of leaders, backed by practical and hard-working people who trust them made it possible. It is part of the story of a leader’s search for new fields to increase the wealth and well-being of his people. From this new awareness, comes the major difference.
When one juxtaposes the above account with the current situation in Nigeria, without minding what others may say, it points in one direction: Nigeria’s current security and socio-economic challenges are more man-made than natural, more of leadership gaps than lack of resources. The challenges are further compounded by a misguided view of amalgamation by some segments of Nigerians as more of a historicised occurrence without any advantage to the nation, a mindset that further promoted the deliberate demonstration of impunity and superiority by one group or region against the other.
But in dramatising this superiority, the point that the people seem to have forgotten is that never should one be so foolish to believe that you are stirring admiration by flaunting the qualities that raised you above others. By making them aware of their inferior positions, you are only stirring unhappy admiration or envy that will gnaw at them until they undermine you in ways that you may not foresee. The sad news is that this avoidable situation was allowed to complete its gestation and finally gave birth to what is now known and addressed in our political domain as ‘call for restructuring’ or agitation for resources control.
But on a more significant level, it is the leadership performance deficit that has plundered the socio-economic affairs of the nation to a sorry state, an occurrence that stems from an unknown leadership style described by analysts as neither ‘systemic nor method based’ without anything exemplary or impressive.
While this appalling situation daily unfolds on our political landscape, the global leadership stage is littered with telling evidence about leaders that have demonstrated leadership sagacity and professional ingenuity that our leaders have refused to replicate their resourcefulness on our shores.
For instance, in 1932, Franklin D Roosevelt, the Democratic Party candidate, United States of America, was elected president in the midst of the great depression. At the time of inauguration in 1933, one-quarter of the labour force was out of job, with many impoverished. Industrial production had fallen and investments had collapsed.
But within two years of his administration, he revived the economy and moved to the next stage of his agenda. He signed the social security act, which introduced the modern welfare state into the United States, pension at retirement, unemployment benefits and some public health care and disability benefits. When asked how? he responded: ”Extraordinary conditions call for extraordinary remedies” To me, this is leadership accomplishment worthy of emulation.
Regrettably, here in the country, the leadership challenge is given a boost by our ‘leaders’ penchant for corruption and nepotism since independence, a development that is gradually becoming a norm and a state of affairs vast majority of Nigerians claim was responsible for the inability of the nation’s successive leaders to alleviate the real condition of the poor, the deprived, the oppressed or get into their lives and participate in their struggle.
Looking at commentaries, one can discern that the above fact is largely responsible for the youth’s restiveness and tribal aggressions as the masses continue to fight in order to register their grievances against state-sponsored socio-economic deprivations.
As Nigeria races towards the 2023 general election, it is also of considerable significance to this discourse to note that this leadership challenge has visited Nigerians with not just poverty, but what analysts described as ‘Island poverty’ or poverty in the midst of plenty; which has in turn promoted both hopelessness and powerlessness among innocent Nigerians.
But, in all, one thing seems to stand out: Our leadership challenge or bad governance was implanted by the leaders, encouraged by our unquestioning obedience to the authorities and can only be reduced or erased by Nigerians.
Having discovered the challenge threatening the continued existence of our country, it becomes imperative that whatever measure the nation may want to use in tackling this challenge can only succeed if it probably puts in place steps that will guarantee leadership restructuring.
Above all, to completely put things right, the Federal Government must recognise and position Nigeria to be a society of equal citizens where opportunities are equal and personal contribution is recognised and rewarded on merit, regardless of language, culture, religion or political affiliations. If we are able to achieve this, it will once again, announce the arrival of a brand new great nation where peace and love shall reign supreme as no nation enjoys durable peace without justice and stability, without fairness and equity!
Part of that effort will entail recognising that the solution to our leadership challenge may afterward not be based on argument or debate, but by the quality of the people in charge. This will be followed by frantic effort to create a ‘civil society’ that will help to sort out the irresponsible from the response in terms of leadership. Another solution to this leadership problem will demand the development of a mindset for details and history necessary for today’s leadership.
Above all, in this electioneering season, Nigerians must not wander in a dilemma. They must recognise that poor leadership is their common enemy.
Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA).
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