NIGERIAS UNDER-DEVELOPMENT AND THE CHALLENGE OF LEADERSHIP As I sat down to write this essay, my mind raced back to the

good old days when Nigeria was the pride of many nations, those days when our naira competes favourably with foreign currencies like the dollar and pound sterling; those good old days when the average Nigerian university graduate doesnt have to worry about what the future holds when he graduates; but now, one cannot but wonder at the way things have now changed. Nigeria, a country that has once been the leading producer in agricultural products like cocoa, cassava, groundnuts and so on has suddenly reached a stage where some of her populace could no longer afford the basic necessities of life. It has even escalated to a stage in which the citizens could no longer boast of their country in the outside world. Nigeria, a country with a population of about 160 million people and lots of potentials, coupled with a good climatic condition, good vegetation and natural resources poses a threat to many developed economies of the world, little wonder many predictions were made by international bodies that she will become of the leading economies of the world in the nearest future but the reverse has been the case as the country has continued to witness a continuous decline. The country in clear terms could be termed as an underdeveloped nation based on the way her abundant resources are being used to improve the living standard of the citizenry. At independence, great leaders of this nation had a vision for this country to be among the best among the comity of nations although this vision was short-lived by selfishness, marginalisation, racism and nepotism exhibited by our founding fathers thereby laying the foundation for a divided nation as we have it today. Today, the mistakes of our founding fathers still plague us

and may even continue to plague the generations unborn if the right leaders that will lead this nation to the promise land are not installed. If the truth be told, Nigerians have not really enjoyed a bout of good leadership since independence as most of our so called leaders (especially the military heads of state) were novice in the business of leading a nation. Most of them seized power to amass wealth with little or no consideration for the masses, little wonder their administrations are still being accused of financial misappropriation. Nigeria lost the taste of a good leader with the death of visionary leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Anthony Enhaoro among many other amiable leaders who had great plans for the development of this nation. Sadly, some of these bad leaders are still being celebrated in some parts of the country and more saddening is the fact that some of these leaders show no remorse for the bad decisions they took then. In fact, some of them still have the effrontery to come out seeking electoral positions and political appointment. The few visionary leaders that we could present are not always given the mandate to lead the nation as corruption seems to be the bedrock of politics in Nigeria. The Nigerian politics has been severely plagued by godfatherism, electoral violence and electoral fraud because the vast majority of our politicians are selfish folks who care less about the well-being of the masses. I believe it is high time we learnt from neighbouring countries. It must be noted that our West African neighbour Ghana has once been in our shoes. What started the Ghanaian economic revolution was the birth of revolutionary leaders like Jerry Rawlings, John Kufor and so on who put aside selfishness and racial prejudice to develop their nation. The Ghana that we have now was not a days job as a lot of sacrifices were made on the part of visionary leaders that transformed Ghana into what it is today. One thing we need to learn as a nation is that there is no place a developed nation is being

mentioned without reference to good leadership. Libyas history will never be complete without reference to how late colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi used the nations resources to improve the welfare of the people of Libya. The same goes for the United States as Americas history will not be complete if the acts of great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton and so on are not mentioned. It can be seen from the prima facie that bright and visionary leaders build great nations. The untold hardship that Nigerians are suffering now could have been averted if Nigeria had had a leadership that truly cares about the welfare of the masses at inception. When you have a nation blessed with so many resources like Nigerias, such a nation can still be among the poorest should the nations wealth fall into wrong hands. Our case could be likened to a business firm that has a good labour, capital, resources but lacked a good entrepreneur. It is high time Nigerians decide for themselves leaders that will take this nation to the Canaan so many administrations has promised but failed. Nigeria might be heading towards a gloomy future if something urgent isnt done concerning the endemic called poor leadership plaguing us as a nation. Having pointed out the major reason for our underdevelopment, the only antidote required is that the door be thrown open for what I call the dawn of a new era. Its a fact that this nation cannot progress if old cargoes who had once thrown this nation into the valley of oppression and injustice are again given the chance to lead this nation. I think it is high time these old cargoes were sidelined for fresh bloods bubbling with patriotism and a will to serve to take their place. What Nigerians need are not people who are so gifted in declaring manifesto but so inept in delivering the goodies of democracy. What

we need so badly are not leaders who dont have a will of their own (leaders who are still being controlled by godfathers), but leaders who are free to make decisions with the interest of the whole nation at heart. Nigeria need an Awos incarnate to take us to the promise land. Nigerias problem of underdevelopment will not be solved by foreign aids and foreign interventions but it is high time we search amongst us the messiah that this nation needs. I believe we have the minds who are crying out for an opportunity to serve their fatherland. Its high time we gave the right people our votes. Its high time we stopped being the cause for our own underdevelopment by selling our votes. It is high time Nigerians together as a nation woke up from their slumber to raise this nation out of the stagnant water of underdevelopment to an enviable height of excellence. Nigeria can still reclaim her place as one of the world leading economies again if we can rise up as a nation to present leaders that have being tested and tried to take us to our desired Canaan. So help us God.