Recent events in the political sphere of Nigeria among immediate past and sitting governors and other high ranking political office holders reveal a misunderstanding of the concept of leadership. Very few put in mind the idea of state servant; rather, they perceive themselves as all-in-all emperors in a medieval empire. Political leaders have become so power drunk that they fail to recognize the people that ensured they attained that office in the first instance. This is a far-cry from what obtained in the first republic and around the world.
Leaders in the first republic were in all aspects altruistic. Little wonder they became engraved in the hearts of their followers even many years after. They very well understood what leadership entailed. In the face of upheavals, they had the right words to quench any looming wildfire; when the economy was a bit gloomy, they knew steps to take to rekindle the people’s hopes; and when the people’s hopes seemed to be burning low, they knew how to use the right words to keep them hopeful again. Such were the prowess of the leaders then. They were well grounded in the business of politics.
Unfortunately, today’s politicians leave so much to be desired. Not quite long ago, a governor in one of the southwestern states of Nigeria met with protesting students of a state-owned (co-state-owned in fact) university in the state. Apparently, the students were expressing their frustrations in a peaceful manner after seven months of sitting at home owing to the indefinite closure of their school. The governor’s remarks in that particular meeting could be compared to a slave master’s address to slaves in a plantation being warned of the consequences of trying to ferment trouble. He went ahead to urge them to respect “constituted” authorities. Videos later emerged of police shooting at the students. To this governor, the students are mere trouble makers even when they chose to openly express their feelings peacefully without guns and machetes. This is just one of many such anomalies in the politics of Nigeria today. Citizens are supposed to respect constituted authorities while leaders are to disregard constituted laws and rights.
As many observers have noted, politicians in Nigeria literarily lick the feet of the citizens when they seek power, and when they get it they soon become lords over the same people on whose backs they rode to attain power. With these high levels of power drunkenness among governors in a central government, one begins to wonder what will become of these same politicians in a regional government when much more power is available at their disposal.
