Leadership and social responsibility in Nigeria
Posted July 30, 2007 · Ade Fashade
Here is an extract of an article I wrote for Intergrity Magazine back in March 2007:
Wanted: Moral and Social Responsible Leadership in Nigeria. Apply within!
In a country that is exceedingly rich in terms of heritage and culture, what has been conspicuously missing in the last 25 years or so has been quality leadership that actively promotes ethical and moral principles in our country. The economic recession that stagnated Nigeria in the 1980s predictably coincided with rising levels of corrupt malpractices in all levels of our society. Our politicians lost complete control of themselves and ultimately the citizens it was meant to govern. As a result, the country became a ‘free-for-all’ for anyone to rampage and abuse at will. Hopes have been raised in periodic democratic ‘elections’ only to be dashed by maladministration and mismanagement of the country’s economic and political structures. In turn, the citizens, by default, were mainly co-opted into becoming part of the immoral and corrupt structure of national and state parastatals that has continued to dominate people’s lives. Without question, this lack of social and moral leadership missing in nation has cost us dear.
Whilst our problems in terms of lack of leadership have been well documented, most of the focus has been on the politicians. We all know that our political leaders have, in the main, short-changed us. After all, it has been estimated that the 6th highest oil producing state is the same place where half of its population have no access to safe drinking water and nearly half of all under-fives are stunted with malnutrition. So, yes, enough has been said about our politicians. However, is it really enough to blame them alone for all our perils? What about other sectors of society that exist and, arguably, still enjoy the limited fruits of our beloved nation? What about our Pastors, Imams, Chiefs, Obas, Philanthropists, Baales, Teachers, Lecturers, Professors and so on? The list of leadership status in our society is endless! In fact, all of us can be described as leaders in our various spheres of professional, social, family and spiritual lives. Despite the vast array of titles and status that many of us possess in one form or the other, what value have they brought to our country? What moral/ethical values and principles have they helped to underpin within our society? It is extremely difficult to come up with a positive response to these burning questions we should be asking ourselves. In short, Nigeria is morally, ethically and spiritually bankrupt.
Spiritually bankrupt, I hear you cry? After all, we have had huge religious revivals, particularly of the Christian kind. Surely, we believe in God and love Him? Surely we are a prayerful nation and God loves Nigeria? Well, does He really? If so, why are we in such a mess? Granted that it is not the Almighty’s fault that we are in such a predicament (or is it? Answers on a postcard please!). Then, I would conclude that perhaps we have not really practiced what we are preaching in relation to our faith (or faiths?). Perhaps it is all just talk and no action in terms of really ‘loving our neighbour as ourselves’. We have built our grandiose edifices to ‘glorify Him’ but next door to our magnificent looking religious buildings are people living in slums and suffering from lack of food and poor health. What are our so-called messengers of the ‘Good News’ doing about the unprecedented levels of poverty right outside their doorsteps? The answer to that is nothing! So yes, we are spiritually bankrupt and it is costing lives.
Social and Moral Responsible Leaders
In order to bring back the ‘old order’ of things which used to exist in years gone by in our nation, we have to go ‘back to basics’. We need to go back to the days when people truly did things for the love of it. Where people gave their lives to serving their local communities and not just their immediate families. Where people gave without expecting much in return. Where are the Samuel Ajayi Crowthers, the Ransome-Kutis, The Uthman Dan Fodios, and the Herbert Macaulays? These people had guts! They lived ethical lives and left moral legacies that millions enjoyed. They took their social responsibility very, very seriously. Perhaps the first thing to do is to go back and re-visit our history.
I believe it is now a matter of national and international embarrassment that so few Nigerians live extravagantly, both at home in Nigeria and abroad, while many, many millions suffer so grievously from poverty and are powerless to make positive changes to their situations. Mechanisms to promote moral and social responsibilities have themselves become corrupt. We have nothing to hang on to anymore. Our Nigerian media, both Television and Print, celebrate the lifestyles of the ‘rich and famous’. There is hardly any coverage about what the reality is for many who are poor and powerless to break through the barriers of poverty. Our media have an important role to play in fostering social and moral responsibility among people in order to realise true leadership potential. Enough of the glorification of the rich and famous. Nollywood will not eradicate poverty and injustice. Let us identify the real leaders in our society. Leaders that will remind us of the names I have mentioned. Leaders who are socially and morally responsible and are actively putting this in practice in their villages and towns up and down the country. Leaders who are creating better lives, not just for themselves, but for their communities. Leaders who get a ‘buzz’ from sharing their resources, skills and abilities for the benefit of others. Leaders who do not think of ‘projects’ back home as building mansions for themselves but as transforming lives for the ‘have-nots’ in our society. Let us search for these ‘unsung heroes’. If you are out there, make yourself known. Your country needs you!