The last three outings on this space were dedicated to finding the real trouble with Nigeria. I drew attention to how legendary literary icon, late Professor Chinua Achebe tried to encapsulate the whole challenges making development very difficult in our country on poor quality leadership. In the numerous interviews he gave while alive he didn’t quite clarify if the leadership question he meant was appropriate understanding of the concept of leadership or if it was in terms quality of leadership personnel often thrown up by an obvious terrible leadership recruitment process. Achebe just said “bad leadership.”
Some of us very knowledgeable yet critical observers, and to some extent major participants in the county›s governance process, are of the opinion that our challenge of development is far beyond the question of low quality leadership. It may be correct to state we have not really been blessed with with men and women who displayed outstanding leadership styles while in office, that would not be for reasons of lack of well trained people in the public space. We have had public officers who were educated in the best schools in the world, who failed to perform creditably when they had opportunity to step into public service, either by way of election or appointments.
The question is why? Is the political soil sulphur-saturated? Is the power so toxic it must swallow up the good alongside the bad? What is in the system that makes intending public office seekers speak so very well outside power and when opportunities present, they return to old songs and a state of total inability. General Olusegun Obasanjo we understand is an engineer, he is 78 years we are told, had the unusual privilege to have led this country on two different occasions, first as military leader and again as elected President for all of eight years.
As military Head of State, Obasanjo launched “Operation Feed the Nation” and President Shehu Shagari who succeeded him as the first executive president followed with “Green Revolution” agricultural development programme. More than 30 years after our country is still classified as a hungry and very poor country, to the point that Ukraine, a country at war, is sending us food relief. Shagari lamented over the bad state of Nigeria before he passed on.
On the other hand, Obasanjo is alive, talking about the regressed country and vigorously pontificating on pathways to a “New Nigeria.” President Bola Tinubu before he ascended the throne talked so much of restructuring the country. Almost one year in office he hasn’t gone near the word let alone muttering it. Could it be the concept was nonsense or overtaken by time and new realizations? How does one explain the phenomenon? What name do one give to such a set up? Does one call it progress, stagnation or retrogression? A country on the move or on in reverse gear? What is behind this? Is it system malfunction, culture of bad governance or poorly equipped leadership materials? Many us don’t think it has to do with poorly trained hands.
Today, Kaduna State is in the news for the very wrong reasons. We admit the truth that the state has been convoluting for quite a while, ethnic and religious bickery have been very high for a long time. But the real talk today would be the story the incumbent governor, protégé of the immediate past governor, Dr Nasir El-Rufai is telling anybody who cares to listen, that he can’t pay salaries to workers of the state; not because he doesn’t know that wage payment is a first line charge or is it a case wilful unwillingness.
None of the above is the issue. His mentor›s activities created landmines which are denoting with devastating effects after he left office. It is about borrowing and repayments. In fact, over borrowing and tying even projected incomes to repayment deals. The funds are coming in but creditors hold advantage, they have an agreement that empowers them to take agreed sums from source. Even future internally generated funds were not spared. The atmosphere is choking and Kaduna State has climbed into the first layer of classical development.
It is like most states across the country. Roads are not very fantastic. Healthcare is begging for good attention. We have had very recent experiences of school children kidnapped and most of the incidents happened in the state. The divide on ethnicity and religious differences has widened, the spillovers threaten the foundation of the country almost on a daily basis, yet our philosopher king once ruled this state for all of eight years. Ordinarily good and great education ought to be impetus for far greater achievements but we don›t get to see that in our clime. The Kaduna experience remains stunning.
Our brilliant leader kept very busy pursuing the mundane while complicating processes for sound development. Religious supremacy struggles got the better part of the time; this kind of disposition should not only be of huge concern to all, it ought to arrest out attention because they happened at a time the modern race already very advanced are doubling their efforts to have the world recreated in their visions.
At a time the developed countries were busy constructing speed trains that could move from Nigeria to Egypt, China into Europe, America to Japan in a matter of hours, our leaders keep us around the cycle of not only talking ethnicity and religious supremacy, they lead us to decimate one another on account of these. Kaduna, our reference state, has seen killings along religious lines, yet a well trained leader pushed for a Muslim/Muslim governorship ticket. You at it and can’t resist asking what kind of political engineering is this? Last week we spent all of three days to celebrate one religious festival. This is a country no where on the productive ladder yet the leaders keep telling us we must keep hope alive for tomorrow will be better. Unplanned, unforseen future will dawn on us all of a sudden.
Low quality leadership by which we mean ill equipped leadership personnel is no doubt a challenge but the biggest of them is ignorance of what leadership is and what purposes it should serve. Myles Munroe was very right when he told the world that, «where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.» To be a great leader one must be visionary. How many leaders of great vision have we seen traversing the land?
What is their vision of Nigeria in say 10 years time? What do they know about building one united people sharing ideals of one nation and of a common destiny? How many of them know it is antithetical to talk indigeneship at same time as citizenship. Americans talk of state of residence and not so much of the race one belongs. A great nation is possible within a very short time if those who govern and desire to lead know what to do and how to do it.
Unfortunately, the ones we see and have in hallowed places of power and authority know next to nothing outside mouthing copied development paradigms. Not about statecraft and not about programmes. A case of talk being cheap. They devote all attention to areas of development known by development experts as “social capital development indices” enablers of development, “road construction and rehabilitation.” Nothing more. On this they spend so much funds, nearly 80 percent of whatever constitutes the capital development component of their budgets. They would construct roads that possess no immediate economic value. President Buhari built roads and railway into Niger Republic when many areas of the country needed such. The misplacement of priority hasn’t ceased and won’t. We have increased the rate.
President Tinubu who is looking for loans has started the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from Lagos. The Lagos-Benin-Onitsha to Calabar and the popular East-West highways have been under construction for decades running. This is how we roll in waste. He would spend trillions at a time of massive hunger and deprivation to do 22 kilometers at trillions, no rail, to construct a road ending only in a part of Lagos. Which policy direction would have made great sense? To properly fix the Shagamu drive way to Calabar serving other states very well, or commit funds in hard times to embark on a project that will gulp huge funds and never be concluded.
When colonialists came it was very clear to them the role railway services would play in their negative political and economic enterprises. There wasn›t much funds available but they committed themselves to construction of rail lines from Lagos to the North and from Port Harcourt to another part of the northern axis. It served their purpose very well. Railway still does so much for people who desire to build true nation states where life is rich and abundant. This kind of thinking and action ought to be issues that engage attention of the nation’s leadership.
Instead,we engage on a continuous basis on policy flip flop and deliberate programmes designed to shortchange the country and keep it very down and nearly out.
No respect for true sovereignty. Our leaders hardly consult the power to whom power belongs. The country has been on the boil since independence, far majority desire to to see the harm done by the military undone so we make progress. But who among our leaders cares. Nearly all of them are involved struggling for partition of national patrimony.
If they stopped here it wouldl be fair but they still go ahead to take actions that end up compounding the already terrible situation. Since we found crude oil, managing it successfully like the Arab countries have done has become a big problem. We don’t explore it. Foreigners do it on our behalf. Refine and use we can’t. Yet we have over 150 universities. Currently, we just import refined products. Suddenly there was no money and the bubble bust. Our response is to throw wide the open market.
We don›t earn income yet we want to buy from international market. The little we earn from the crude we manage to sell goes back to buying a product we have on our land. Elementary economics teaches that when one produces and sells raw he loses because he ends up buying the refined product much higher. So why didn›t our leaders think about building new modular refineries? What was the sense in buying shares in a private refinery not in a hurry to commence operations? What is in there to suggest if the private ones start the price of petrol will be cheap?
Market economy applies and everything is shaken to its roots. Businesses are folding up. Hunger is multiplying each day. The vogue is increase in price as tool for motivating excellence in service delivery. It is very difficult to say how many countries take this path to develop. Companies waiting for payments, to make gains before they can upgrade their services. Now a private company, Geometric Power plant Aba built a private power plant for 800 million dollars. Those who know say it is 10 billion naira today.
Now the other day the Federal Government gave out 90 billion naira to subsidize Muslims pilgrimage to Mecca. It was perhaps not budgeted for, the most painful is that those who know insist that amount hurriedly pulled out from God knows where is enough to establish 10 of the Geometric kind of plants in different zones across the country. Anyone interested can calculate the immense economic benefit if we took a recourse to this route. Other sectors that drive real development are known to our leaders but unfortunately they don’t know what to do to bring development to them.
Watching and moping we allowed education to nosedive. Our leaders deliberately ran down public schools in obedience to World Bank and International Monetary Fund who teach them that “government has no right being in business.” Federal government wants to give students loans when cost of education has grown above the ability of most parents to pay. At a time too there is infrastructure decay. The Finance Minister or Governor of Central Bank told us the other day that medical tourism eats terribly so deep into our foreign exchange earnings. Few days ago a medical doctor practicing in United States told us our health system is not properly organized, that emphasis is not being placed where they should. Does one talk about agriculture and industrialisation? This is a country where English language is compulsory and agriculture optional. Terrible. It raises questions and posers really.
Is this leadership inertia as alluded to by Chinua Achebe in his book, The Trouble with Nigeria? Or is it about quality of leadership personnel? Could it be lack of vision or lack of resolve to develop the space? Many of us don›t know really. A young Ghanaian girl we met somewhere in the country who told us she got married to a Nigerian was asked what she found different from her country. She didn›t waste time to say «light. «in my country they don’t take light.” We still don’t believe her. But we don’t need disbelief or believe to be appalled by the horrible situation in which we walk daily. Very disgusting to say the least.