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Leadership, at its core, is the quiet art of creating order from chaos. In Nigeria, however, leadership and followership have long resembled the tangled, nerve-wrecking confusion of the old NITEL landline system. In those inglorious days, a newly posted repairman—unfamiliar with the terrain—would stand before a mass of jumbled wires, each leading somewhere, yet none clearly marked. His task was simple in theory, but Herculean in practice: to trace a single vital line to a targeted house from a knot that challenged logic. That metaphor captures the complexity, contradictions, and recurring frustrations embedded in the political selection process because the local government, which ought to be the breeding ground for future leaders, has been left in the hands of people without purpose. It is a terrain littered with ambition, confusion, manipulation, and yet, hope.
The same happens at the state level. Every four years, as tenure cycles end, the people are thrust into a familiar political theatre. A procession of aspirants—some patriotic, many opportunistic, others merely adventurous—take the stage. In this parade appear political expeditionaries seeking relevance, billionaires in ego contests, individuals funded by external investors, opportunists testing the waters of influence, and those I fondly refer to as our indigenous “Ross Pierrots,” who dance through the arena with comic bravado but little substance. Amidst them are genuine technocrats with competence and vision, yet forced to swim in the same pool with characters propelled by theatrics rather than ideas. The people are left to choose among the good, the bad, and the unmistakably ugly.
To complicate the landscape further, we have actors determined to upend delicate rotational zoning arrangement—a system designed to promote inclusion, peace, and fairness. Driven by a “grab-it-and-run” mentality, such individuals approach the electoral process as a gladiatorial contest where money, donor funds, and promises of federal appointments outweigh ideology or service. Their goal is victory at any cost, and the consequences of such desperation often haunt governance long after the campaigns have ended. I believe that gentlemen agreements should be respected even in our search for the very best to lead.
But the fault is not solely on the side of the contestants. On the other side, the electorate—confused, overwhelmed, and emotionally manipulated—fall into recurring cycles of distraction. Paid outrage merchants rise in their numbers. Fake activists suddenly discover new causes. Ethnic warriors amplify divisions. Social media becomes flooded with orchestrated attacks, doctored stories, and vengeful criticisms packaged as civic duty. Candidates often become taciturn at critical moments when clarity is needed. In this haze, the people lose sight of what truly matters: a leader who will serve them with competence, sincerity, and foresight.
Many voters ultimately retreat in frustration, convinced that elections are predetermined scripts authored in Abuja by powerful networks interested in one outcome alone. This sense of powerlessness dissolves civic enthusiasm and leaves the political marketplace dominated by actors with questionable motives. Out of this cacophony, a winner finally emerges—sometimes by fair means, often by foul means—carrying the heavy debts of promises made to individuals, financiers, and demographic blocs. In some cases, the courts must intervene, becoming the final repairman attempting to untangle the NITEL-like mess of political legality.
This repeated cycle is not merely flawed; it is a dangerous experiment. It carries the nuclear-level risk of installing the wrong leader—someone unprepared, unethical, or even criminal—at the helm of the affairs of the states. Not every state in Nigeria has been fortunate as Anambra in its current governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Fortune is not a strategy. We cannot continue selecting leaders through a chaotic maze of wires and hope that the repairman, exhausted and overwhelmed, somehow finds the correct connection. To guarantee sustainable development, Anambra, in particular, must institutionalize leadership grooming and professionalize political preparation.
This is why I have consistently advocated the creation and compulsory use of the Anambra State Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies as the standard gateway for everyone seeking leadership roles—from councillorship to governorship. A codified system will sift the serious from the unserious, the capable from the incompetent, and the visionary from the reckless.
Whoever desires to lead Anambra State must be trained to obey the curves and traffic lights of leadership—those regulatory symbols of discipline, patience, lawfulness, and order that guide a society toward progress and the public good.
No one should sit behind the steering wheel of the state without first learning the Highway Code of governance. Leadership, like driving, is deadly when entrusted to someone who ignores signals, breaks rules, or accelerates blindly into danger.
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Without this structured, disciplined, and ethically grounded orientation, we will continue to produce accidental leaders trapped in a system never engineered for clarity.
Effective leadership is the engine that drives any society forward. In Anambra State, the quality of such leadership determines whether the “Light of the Nation” glows brightly or flickers under the weight of poor decisions. A good leader must combine vision with humility, decisiveness with inclusivity, and passion with emotional intelligence. Leadership is not domination; it is the ability to translate the state’s abundant human and material resources into measurable progress.
For this to happen, leaders must listen to their people and gauge their pulse. Real governance is grounded in feedback, hence the need to conduct unbiased opinion polls on policies and issues of governance. When farmers in Oka speak, their voices hold the agricultural roadmap. When market women in Nnewi express their concerns, they reveal gaps in commerce and infrastructure. Tech innovators in Awka carry the blueprint for the state’s digital future. The youth—energetic, creative, impatient—carry the dreams of the next 50 years. When leaders ignore these voices, the state becomes vulnerable to crime waves, communal conflicts, unrest, and dissatisfaction. These negative feedback patterns, if understood properly, are not signs of rebellion but indicators of unmet needs. Citizens have the right to rebel against a sovereign that can neither protect their lives nor secure their properties. To shape a prosperous future, the government must lay foundations for good governance, not excuses. Development must be strategic, not accidental. Policies must be people centred and not expose them to the tyranny of the government. We must build and preserve data systems for planning. We must establish industrial layouts that attract investment.
WWe must democratize power supply now that electricity is on the concurrent legislative list—no more blaming the centre for what can be solved locally. We must engage the people in designing and executing a light rail system that will connect communities, reduce traffic, and attract modern economic activities.
But leadership alone can not build the future. Citizens also have a responsibility. Democracy is participatory, not a spectator sport. By demanding transparency, attending town halls, monitoring budgets, asking questions, rejecting inducements, and voting wisely, the people can steer governance away from patronage toward merit. Social media must evolve from a marketplace of insults into a platform for civic pressure. Community groups must monitor local projects. The ballot must speak loudly and honestly.
The truth is simple: the people of Anambra are ready to be led. They are progressive, industrious, creative, and politically sophisticated. What they await are leaders prepared to catch up with their aspirations—leaders committed to serving the state, not looting it. Not a welfare buffet for crooked politicians, but a governance system that delivers roads, security, power, industry, education, and dignity.
In the final analysis, the formula for progress is unmistakable: Visionary, ethical leadership + an engaged, informed citizenry = a prosperous, secure, and globally competitive state.
If both leaders and followers rise to this challenge, the tangled wires of our political past can finally give way to a clear, structured, and reliable pathway—one that leads directly to the Anambra of our collective dreams.
