Two golden leadership qualities
Tomorrow, Nigerians would be faced with yet another opportunity to decide on who should direct the affairs of the country in the next four years. A lot of factors usually come into play in choosing candidates whenever such rare opportunity presents itself. Aside from a number of factors (mostly religious, tribal, ethnic which have heavily characterized Nigeria’s political sphere) people would want to consider before finally deciding who should lead them, two stand top and extremely important; TRUSTWORTHINESS and COMPETENCE. These two golden qualities, for no reason whatsoever, should be exchanged for anything. Leaders devoid of the said qualities usually and only end up adding salt to the already battered wound the nation is currently battling to heal, and possibly thereafter seeks ways through which its path to greatness can substantially be advanced.
If we are to quickly analyse a few instances: One, if you end up electing a candidate that is trustworthy and competent enough to discharge the affairs of the country, you stand to gain tremendous achievements. In addition to keeping your trust, he will ensure that the country’s resources are better managed and judiciously utilized for the collective good of all. This way your country would be put back onto path of sustained growth and development, which the country now, more than ever before, badly desires.
Two, a backward and stagnated country is what you would have when you choose to go with the opposite. They are the type, who are on a mission to distort even the slightest effort in place to get the country back on track. They surely would end up milking the country dry. Certainly, these are not the type of leaders we need especially at this critical time in the life of our country.
Looking back in Nigeria’s leadership history, except in few cases, Nigeria has had leaders who have either possessed one or even none of the above mentioned qualities. This, expectedly, is why we have not been able to squarely address our common problems as a people. It is important to note that until and unless we look out for candidates who, by their track records and antecedents, are trustworthy and competent enough to look after the country, we would not be making any meaningful progress in our quest to becoming a developed country in the near future.
Now that we are set to elect new leaders, in addition to whatever factor one would look out for in candidates seeking public offices across the country, we must single out these two golden qualities and prioritize on them. These two, in my humble opinion, should guide our choices simply because many have been tried in the past and there was virtually nothing to show for it. I believe it is in the interest of every well-meaning Nigerian that we have the right set of people in leadership positions to help us advance and carefully navigate the course of our country to prosperity and genuine progress.
Mustapha G. Jama’a, Makarfi