Our leadership and President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 (2)

Unfortunately, many young men who are supposed to be leaders of tomorrow are all comporting themselves and praying to get to a position of authority to loot than to effect the necessary change. We have been very unfair to our system as a result of our mindset. Our values have dropped drastically, we have become too materialistic and one wonders about the kind of system we are going to build in the next twenty years if we continue on this path.

People are worshipped because they are rich, our laws are trampled on, you are given preferential treatment because you are rich. The average young man only aspires to be in governance and once he succeeds, the family goes for a thanksgiving because ill-gotten wealth has come into their barn because of the expected loot. Transactional leaders kill the system. Everyone seems interested in transactions not transforming for common good.

However, if you check the history of those who have stolen from their countries all over the world, you would notice that over a period of times their wealth and name disappear. Transformational leaders on the other hand are people oriented. They concentrate more on capacity building, intellectual empowerment, research and development, raising societal values and understanding the tenets of growth.

Transformational leaders would always lay a framework to alleviate poverty, illiteracy and provide more decent, healthy living and secure the environment. It would be hard to see TRANFORMATIONAL leaders allow the public schools and public health centers decay for the private ones to thrive. They concentrate more on giving than taking from the system. They live forever because of the legacies they leave behind. Even from their graves, they speak out and their works speak for eternity. They preach change and they are constant and unwavering on the change they want to achieve. They are bold and courageous and often times have to step on any sacred toes to push the society forward. They concentrate on the masses and are Spartan in general disposition to life.

The bedrock of development is a healthy educational system, good health care and adequate welfare system. We do not need rocket science to tell us what a robust and quality educational system can do. To start with an educated mind is a sane mind. Education is a systematic way or process that filters the mind from crudity to refinement; it’s a way to breed sure and concrete leaders for tomorrow. A country without solid and strong educational structure can not build a strong foundation no matter the economic policies in place. If the majority of the citizens do not understand the policies of the government and keenly criticize such then questions need to be asked.

Singapore today has a very high degree of educational standard. Lee Kuan Yew understood the importance of education and fortified Singaporean education system to match up with the world’s best. Also his carrot and stick approach put all the citizens in check, making Singapore today a success story. The change mode he brought to Singapore and the approach have been adopted all over the world in major leading universities to study what transformational leadership is. What better legacy can a leader leave to himself or his generation!

It’s only TRANFORMATIONAL leaders who think along long lasting policies to encourage capacity building, looking at interest rate and taxes, strengthening some sensitive sectors like the judiciary, security system, healthcare and education if I may say. These can all be attainable in a frame work where sincere leadership is in place.

Can we ever imagine that in 2015, there will be policies that will make it mandatory for all public office holders to patronize our local hospitals and public schools for their families and relatives? Can we imagine the fast turn around of those sectors as a result of such policies? Can we quantify the robust turn around? Let’s picture seeing our children in the same public schools with the children of the president, senate president, ministers, governors etc. Do we ever imagine the ministers’ and governors’ wives giving birth in local public hospitals? Our society will be better for it because they would use their positions to improve such public institutions.

These drastic and radical changes will boost and beam hope to the common man and reinvigorate the sagging confidence an average man has in our leadership.

Transformational leadership has eluded the African continent for too long which really has made us have a wrong definition of what true and sincere leadership should be.

Our dear amiable President no doubt inherited a decaying system. A system so corrupt, one was really worried about his ability to revamp the Augean stable. Given our president’s personality and the way he’s been able to shoulder lots of responsibilities and responded to issues, he has obviously shown skillful and transformational abilities by the way he responds to issues, his humility, guided utterances and his responses to insults on his personality. There is no doubt that if well guided and thoroughly seen beyond party politics which most times are rather difficult, it would in no time circumvent the stamped transactional tendencies of the past leaders and transform our country. If only, God willing, he looks beyond political jobbers and sycophants to push the masses’ interests forward, he will no doubt deliver the country against few individuals’ interests. It only takes a TRANFORMATIONAL leader to make this change happen.

Transformational leaders write their names in gold, they trade beyond few human compensation and make decision, push for policies that impact positively on the masses. Transformational leaders do common things uncommonly and achieve better results. They’re guided by the pulse of the people.

My personal opinion is not intended to cause an eruption of debates against this government or to instigate public opinion against the government nor to harass the government, rather it is intended for the government to have a rethink in 2015 and put our country on the map where it should be rather than continuing churn out to a few transactional leaders nor obscene billionaires who often times are decorated and worshipped. It hurts the system more and gives the young ones a very wrong impression of what true leadership and democracy stand for.

IKEM UME-EZEOKE