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Have you heard about the late, great Peter Drucker, widely respected as the iconic teacher of modern management and strategy? Mention his name and many an ear in the business forest and political arena stand up straight. He had an extraordinary grasp of the big picture and a clear understanding of the challenges that modern leaders and corporate executives actually face. As early as the 1980s, Drucker had warned that leaders who take decisions without deep thoughts and wide consultations would pay the price for their ill-advised actions. Ignore his wisdom to your peril.
Today, there’s a consensus that the relevance of his perspectives, and heeding his wisdom might have helped avoid – and will help leaders navigate the present turbulent times that many corporate executives and political leaders face in governance. He, it was, who wrote that, “Leadership is something that must be learned. So, when the headline of this column asks: Do accountants make horrible leaders?, I need to make a few qualifying disclaimers to avoid misinterpretations. First, put aside your preconceived ideas of what a great leader is. Second, not the smartest kid in the class who turns out the successful leader. The point is this: Many accountants could be great leaders if they want to put in the work and discipline necessary for leadership.
However, research has shown that many accountants fail to be successful leaders. That’s why Neal A. Maxwell, a renowned American researcher and educator wrote that, “trying to describe leadership is like having several viewers struggling to compare what they see in a kaleidoscope when the mere act of passing the kaleidoscope shakes up the design”. Although these days, modern presidents have the ability to command the nation’s attention, and are perhaps the only leaders with the ability to select issues for public discussion and set the terms of that discussion, time is far gone when presidents behave as they like without coming under the searchlight of public scrutiny.
Some accountants who make a foray into politics and become leaders of their country, research has shown, have failed to impact the necessary changes outside their immediate function. This caught my attention. In the last couple of weeks, I have been tried to find out why President Bola Tinubu, said to be an accomplished accountant and auditor with the Mobil Oil, has so far failed to make a successful leader in the last 18 months of his presidency. Instead, things have gotten worse in Nigeria than he met them. The economic wellbeing of Nigerians has also got much worse than they were before he was sworn in on May 29, 2023.
The lead story of Business Day on Sunday(Dec 1) was a grim account of how Nigerians are ignoring phone calls as desperate requests for assistance become rampant. That’s what government’s harsh policies have caused. Is the President only interested in generating revenue without deploying same to improve the standard of living of the people? A few days ago, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun disclosed that the government has realised about $20 bn from the removal of fuel subsidy. And you ask, where’s the money? Currently, the tax reform bill is generating so much controversy and high-octane condemnation from the North.
There’s no denying the fact that accounting and finance exist to serve the interest of companies and nations. But, it has been proved that sometimes, accountants and tax experts forget that and become too self-interested. If you have listened to comments by Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the architect of the Tax bill and Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, you would understand how some Accountants/Auditors could make horrible leaders. But the central message of servant leadership is that a leader exists to serve the interests of those he leads.
The president needs to chart a new course for the country, which in the words of Chief George, “is now in Intensive Care Unit”(ICU). Truth be told, Nigeria is collapsing under Tinubu’s watch if urgent steps are not taken. It’s about leadership style and deficit of sound ideas. Nigerians are tired of the present lies and deceits that they are fed with almost on a daily basis. Imagine last week’s false claim that the Port Harcourt refinery has come on stream. But the deceptive excitement lasted for only two days. It turned out it was all a scam. How low can the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) go?
Time and again, we have seen the political leadership with a briefcase of excuses to explain away their inefficiencies and no none is held accountable. And this is why. In his internationally bestselling books, “The Servant Leadership” and the “World’s Most Leadership Principles”, American author James C. Hunter, gave compelling reasons why some accountants as leaders fail to make the desired impact. He says that the first job of a leader should be to set the vision, or course of direction for his country. Without a vision beyond his own advancement, a leader is almost paralyzed once the goal for his seeking power in the first place is achieved. Can you now see why Tinubu is struggling?
A President cannot be an architect of ‘Change’(as Buhari claimed to be) or that of ‘Renewed Hope’ if he doesn’t know how to manage power so accumulated and use it to some great end. The second, and all-consuming job is to serve. The question is, why is President Tinubu lacking the ability and a clarity of vision to make better things happen in Nigeria? That may sound a complex question, but according to presidential historians, it’s not that some trained-accountants lack the ability to make better things happen, their problem is that they neglect it. The main reason is that some of them are usually so buried in the details of making money and too busy looking at the balance sheet that they don’t step back to look at all sides with deliberate, careful attention and embrace the bigger picture.
Look at the sudden removal of petrol subsidy, the unification of the foreign exchange market, and now the raging Tax bill as examples. The fallouts wouldn’t have been this calamitous if they were well-thought through before going public with them and the implementation. If this administration will make progress and stop deceiving people, the President must admit that mistakes have been made and go back to the drawing board. But his ‘too-big-to- fail’ mentality won’t allow him. The statistics of the prices of essential commodities are scary. This doesn’t not include the almost depreciation of our currency, the naira that has gone from N460/$1 that Tinubu inherited to the present N1,850/$1. According to Fitch, the exchange rate may soon reach all-time high of N1,990/$1.
An extension of Tinubu’s struggles, which some accountants are said to be associated with, is lack of effective communication and synergy, which have combined to stymie his ability to build trust among Nigerians. How many times(if any) has this President talked with Nigerians? He rather chooses to talk at them through his spokespersons, a situation that has worsened his public perception rather than burnish it. Altogether, it seems like I am picking at the President by the principles I have mentioned from experts who know better and can help him lift himself from his underwhelming performance. The plain truth is: If Tinubu succeeds, Nigeria succeeds. That’s the core of my message.
