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By Chiedu Uche Okoye
That a country’s development is dependent on its having good and visionary political leadership is a truism that cannot be disputed. In today’s world, no country can rise above the aspirations, dreams, and visions of its political leaders. For example, Chairman Mao Tse Tung laid the ideological framework for the development of China.
Then Deng Xiaoping took over and put in place socialist market economy model that allowed for controlled private ownership of capital which ultimately produced the stupendous rocket-like accent of the present day Chinese economy to near global dominance that now challenges America everywhere, toe-to-toe. Again, the Singaporean leader, Lee Kuan Yew, a political ideologue and visionary, ignited the technological and economical development of Sihas prospered under good political leadership, too.
Incredibly, these aforementioned countries are not as endowed as Nigeria. Yet, they have outpaced Nigeria in economical, technological, and political development. For all our human and material resources coupled with our possession of many waters (seas, lakes, ponds, rivers), largearable landmass, and equable weather conditions, Nigeria has not become a truly developed nation-state.
Leadership crisis is the bane of Nigeria. It is our Achilles’ heel. Nigeria’s journey to sustainable national development is dogged with inept and unpatriotic political leadership. Didn’t the best novelist from Africa, Chinua Achebe, diagnose Nigeria’s problem as the failure of leadership?
I will not agree more with Chinua Achebe regarding his political diagnosis and prognosis of Nigeria as it is obvious to the generality of Nigerians that leadership problem is at the root of our national malaise. Until 1998, Nigeria had alternated between having vicious and despotic military regimes and being ruled by clueless political leaders, who were ethnic chauvinists and religious bigots. The military rulers ruled with iron-fist, violating our fundamental human rights while the political leaders deepened our ethnic and religious fissures and brought about the ruination of our economy.
However, sadly, since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999, our lot as Nigerians has not improved; neither has Nigeria realized its potential. Today, Nigeria is confronted with infrastructural rot and deficit. And its economy is in a doldrums and tailspin; consequently, millions of Nigerians have been rendered destitute.
More so, education, which is the cornerstone of national development, has been neglected by successive civilian governments in Nigeria. Did their budgetary allocations for education meet the UNESCO stipulation that a country’s budgetary allocation for education should be 26 percent of its national budget? Yet, we are not unaware that functional educational system is a fillip to the birthing of educational institutions, which will become bastions of scientific, political, technological, and economical knowledge.
But, here in Nigeria, our political leaders are not political visionaries and ideologues. Rather, they are thieving politicians, who are destitute of probity and leadership qualities. And they have warped views of political leadership. They perceive their occupation of exalted political posts as opportunities to loot our exchequer so as to become rich. Some past state governors in Nigeria, such as James Ibori, Rev. Jolly Nyame, and Joshua Dariye, who cooked the financial books of their states, were prosecuted and jailed. And till now, a majority of our political leaders, who operate at different governmental strata, are dipping their hands in the government’s coffers.
But we still have political leaders and appointees, who exhibit exemplary behaviour. They are actuated by the desire to transform Nigeria, positively, and better the lot of the common man. And they perform their duties with patriotic fervor. They are not cut from the same cloth as our corrupt, inept, and unpatriotic political leaders. Those politicians are few and far between, however.
Among the rare breed of politicians is Eric Anyamene, an engineer, trained at the University of Port Harcourt. He went ahead to earn Master of Science in Management and Administrative Studies and Master of Business Administration from School of Management at University of Texas in Dallas.
Armed with many years experience as an engineer, he was drafted into the cabinet of Gov. Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State. Anyamene, who hails from Obosi, Anambra state, was appointed Senior Special Assistant (Strategy & Communication) to Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State. And he has been discharging his duties with panache and elan to the admiration of his boss, Gov. Bala Mohammed. Not only is Eric Anyamene making significant contributions to the smooth governance of Bauchi State.
Nigeria can realize its potential and take its pride of place among the comity of nations if Engr. Eric Anyamene and his ilk are helped to access political power. If elected into political offices, their worldviews and perceptions of political leadership will influence their leadership styles and put Nigeria on the trajectory of irreversible technological and economical advancement.
Until we get it right, politically, Nigeria will continue to go round in circles. And it will remain the butt of jokes among the comity of nations unless and until we muster the political will to elect patriotic politicians, who possess leadership qualities and probity into exalted political positions.
• Okoye, a poet and civil servant, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra state
