It's been 58 years she had her independence, yet her freedom is still fictitious. Like a child weaned before her time, Nigeria’s institutions have been ineptly formed. President Nelson Mandela declared to the world that freedom is a long walk. Unfortunately, Nigeria isn’t walking; she’s crawling and, perhaps, heavily derailed at the moment. The nation of Israel had 40 years long walk from the wilderness of independence, however, slavery mentality and attitudinal deficit had to be completely got rid of before they entered into their freedom. Similarly, 58 years of wandering in the wilderness of independence, Nigeria is still not free. Her precarious situations beg for working solutions. They require urgent and concrete attention, as her future looks nebulous.
Almost every generation from independence has looked up to United States, Canada, Australia or United Kingdom for education, exposure, equity or aids in order to sustain vitality; and young people do in order to protect the great potentials they carry from suffering miscarriage. Nigerians, the truth remains that, leadership is critical in the transformation of any nation. Leadership is the most important factor in piloting human society. Everything rises and falls on leadership. In my extensive research into human society and civilization, I discovered that humanity had cried more as a result of leadership than all natural disasters put together. Whenever people wept bitterly or rejoiced exceedingly in history, leadership was probably implicated. Quick example is abolition of slavery by Abraham Lincoln through the Emancipation Proclamation, and orchestration of World War II by Adolf Hitler and other brutalities through the Malicious Practices Act 1933 in Nazi Germany.
There's no substitute for compassionate, competent and visionary leadership in bringing Nigeria to her Canaan Land. Leadership determines the destiny of a nation. Yet, our leaders seem to be more concerned about next positions than next generation. It was the iconic leadership coach, Dr. Myles Munroe, who said, "Nations of the world do not lack people in leadership. What they lack is leadership in the people who are in leadership. Government is only as effective as the leaders in it. No government is better than the people in it." We have been swindled over the years with the lies of the so called leaders. They come subtly through our weaknesses: our attitude, habit and stomach. I have been writing for years that the problem of Nigeria is not the geographical location because we are pleasantly situated. The problem of Nigeria is Nigerians and their attitude. There's hope for Nigeria to be a better country if there's hope for Nigerians to be better citizens. Over the years we have cultivated habit of gullible acceptance and tolerance of incompetency, inefficiency and averageness in government. Excellence seems to be far from our personal or nation culture. Our habits have made us captives, and we’re being preyed both from within and outside our country. "The world is ruled by habit." Said Wallace D. Wattles "Kings, tyrants, masters, and plutocrats hold their positions solely because the people have come to habitually accept them. Things are as they are only because people have formed the habit of accepting them as they are. When the people change their habitual thought about governmental, social, and industrial institutions, they will change the institutions," he concluded.
"We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them", said a world-renown genius. Fellow citizens, it's becoming sin accepting our leaders as they are, just because they are from our ethnic or religious background. It's time Nigeria takes bold step in creating a national curriculum for Intentional Leadership Training and Development for next generation who would cause a wave of next national transformation. We urgently need proactive and competent situational leaders who would take command of the situations, apply right leadership style, form best leadership team, employ finest leadership skills, offer their deepest leadership insights, utilize their most profound leadership training and exposure to lead an inclusive government.
Happy Independence.
Pharm. 'Yemi Adekunle
+2348136194649
www.yemiadekunle.com.ng
+2348136194649
www.yemiadekunle.com.ng
