Suggestions




Nigeria Needs Quality Leaders To Combat Developmental Challenges – Moghalu

August 13, 2021
by
moghalu
moghalu

Nigeria needs to go beyond the current dominance of politics without governance, to politics that takes good governance as its purpose and as priority of electoral platforms and candidates, former presidential aspirant, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has said.

At the 10th Emeka Anyaoku Lecture, Moghalu said three forms of leadership problems were preventing Nigeria from enjoying good governance.

Join our WhatsApp Channel

He described the problems as “the Us versus Them, the Power versus Responsibility syndrome and the Loyalty vs Competence syndrome.”

Speaking on the topic, ‘Leadership and The Challenge of Development in Nigeria’, Moghalu remarked that the country had spent five decades including 22 years of democracy since 1999 chasing shadows and had failed to focus on selecting quality leaders that could deliver good governance.

According to him, Nigeria has the problem of ethnic, religious and other atomistic identity that define the acquisition and exercise of political power in Africa and that are largely artificial creations from colonisation.

Moghalu said,  “Political power obtained on the basis of this kind of primordial worldview can hardly be deployed to broad transformative purposes. There is the issue of our cultural reality that has not adapted well to concepts of modern statehood, democracy, and checks and balances therefore offered by the separation of powers between executive, legislative and judicial arms of government.

“Also, the Us versus Them instinct, combined with a sense of absolute power and a psychological need to retain such power for as long as possible, often leads Nigerian leaders to place personal loyalty over competence in the appointment of aides and senior government officials. This leadership failure weakens the prospects for good governance.”

According to him true leaders envision, inspire, motivate, mobilise people or institutions for actions and must be able to take calculated risks.

“A leader’s task is to take societies, family units, organisations or institutions from point A to Z or whatever point in the 26 alphabets is relevant, necessary and possible. It is not, as we often misunderstand it in Nigeria, about merely holding positions of power or deploying authority mainly for self-serving purposes,” he explained.

Moghalu also called for a constitutional reordering that would lead to true federalism and improve leadership and governance by bringing governance accountability closer to the people.

The Emeka Anyaoku Lecture Series, an annual event, is in honour of a globally distinguished elder statesman, who served as the Secretary-General of the 54 member-State Commonwealth of Nations from 1990-2000, and for two decades earlier as Deputy Secretary-General, Assistant Secretary- General, and Director of International Affairs of the Commonwealth.

Anyaoku led The Commonwealth’s diplomatic political and economic support to its member nations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean over a period of 34 years.

+ posts

Kayode Shopekan

Related Posts

Ahmed Idris
Previous Story

Strategic Management Training Compulsory For Heads Of Govt Agencies – AGF

Sanwo Olu
Next Story

We Must Prioritise Funding Of Education Sector – Sanwo-Olu

Featured Stories

Related Posts

Latest from Top Stories

CIA-Guided US-Israeli Strikes Killed Khamenei — Report

CIA intelligence reportedly helped guide the US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the New York Times reported Sunday. The strikes on Tehran, confirmed by Iranian state media, came after the United States and Israel vowed to

Gumi Praises Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Death as ‘Jihad’

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi on Sunday lauded the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling him “a lucky soul” who “died in jihad” against those he described as killers of innocent civilians. In a Facebook post, the Kaduna-based
Dangote Cement

Dangote Cement Records 20% Increase in 2025 Revenue

Dangote Cement Plc reported a 20.3 percent rise in revenue to 4.31 trillion naira ($2.7 billion) for the year ending Dec. 31, 2025, driven by higher prices in key markets, the company said in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Limited. The

Iran Leadership “Safe” After Strikes – Foreign Minister

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country’s top leadership remains intact following large-scale strikes by the United States and Israel. Speaking to US media, he said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was alive “as far as I know” and that all senior
Minister of Works Engr David Umahi

Umahi Denies Sexual Harassment, N200 Million Debt Claims

Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Saturday denied allegations of sexual harassment and financial misconduct, including claims that he owes a businesswoman, Tracynither Ohiri, 200 million naira for campaign materials supplied during his 2014 governorship bid. The accusations, which have gained traction
Ahmed Idris
Previous Story

Strategic Management Training Compulsory For Heads Of Govt Agencies – AGF

Sanwo Olu
Next Story

We Must Prioritise Funding Of Education Sector – Sanwo-Olu

Don't Miss

Rivers Crisis: Speaker Declares Seats Of 25 Defectors Vacant

Rivers Crisis: Speaker Declares Seats Of 25 Defectors Vacant

In the latest development in the Rivers State political crisis,

List of States In Nigeria That Have Experienced State of Emergency Since 1999

President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers