Leadership in a negotiating world (1)

At last, the remaining abducted students of Greenfield University, Kaduna have been released by bandits after 38 days in captivity. Praise God! The release occurred after five students were killed by the abductors. As we watched the video clip of the reunion of the Greenfield University students and their parents, there were tears of joy and sadness.

Joyous parents received their children who were held captives by bandits. While parents who lost their children to bandits are grieved. Who paid ransom to the bandits before the students were released has now become a subject of intense debate at the time of writing this article. Some parents, according to reports, claimed that they paid over N100 million as ransom to the bandits in addition to some new motorcycles. One did not get accurate details of the ransom paid.

At the time of writing, there were reports that bandits have kidnapped many students from one Islamiyah School, Tegina, Niger State. But unfortunately, the governor of Niger State was reportedly out of the country. Rumor had it that the Governor of Niger State had travelled abroad to look for help in order to tackle security challenges in his state. While the captors have demanded N110 million as ransom. I hope the Niger State Governor gets help from abroad. This is a serious matter!

When there is a problem, every leader elected to a position of authority ought to always ask: How do I resolve conflict and lead challenging people? Great leaders ask questions. You may agree or disagree. As a state governor when you face a problem and you do not know what to do, ask the following questions: Why do we have this problem? How do we solve this problem and what specific steps do we have to take to solve this problem? These questions may look easy but they must be answered.

This is one of the most challenging and difficult areas for most leaders in Nigeria. Nigerian leaders particularly those in government assume they know it all. Yet, the country is in a poor state economically and politically, governance is severely impaired. Theoretically, a leader may be doing things right on the assumption of political office, but there is no guarantee that those led will display a positive attitude, for him to succeed, or do well.

Those citizens who do not want to follow a particular state governor or be productive members of society may not change for good. This does not make the state governor a bad leader. It only shows that the state governor has some citizens who are not in agreement with his or her policies for whatever reasons. The state governor crosses the threshold of good to bad leadership if he or she makes no positive difference in the lives of people and the state is governed. Today, this is the situation most governors in Nigeria find themselves in.

A state governor ought not to lose focus while in office. Why blame other state governors or past state governors for the problem in your state? One of the most influential 20th Century philosophers of science, Karl Popper, once stated that “All life is problem-solving.” Leadership scholars have equally contended that the best leaders are the best problem solvers. They have the patience to step back and see the problem at – hand through broadened observation. They see around, beneath, and beyond the problem itself. They see well – beyond the obvious.

I have heard a few politically exposed persons and analysts say that Nigeria’s unity is “settled” and “non-negotiable.” How they arrived at this weird conclusion is still hazy to me. Nation-building is never settled; it is always in a state of negotiation and renegotiation.

By the way, what do some of our politicians in elected offices refer to as negotiation? Negotiation ideally is a mechanism to achieve goals and not a vehicle for advancing egos. The Encyclopedia of Professional Management (Second Edition), states that negotiation in contemporary society affects all aspects of individual and collective life. No area of personal or organizational life is immune to negotiation. Social and political environments, as well as economic ones, are thick with overt postures and subtle cues of the negotiating process.

Before any election, there is a negotiation between politicians seeking elective offices and the electorate. Most politicians will often request to be voted into office to serve, promising security, jobs, good governance, poverty reduction, rural development, and many others. In most cases, once a politician enters into public office, he or she will often be seen on the pages of newspapers or TV sets. Too bad! When there was the abduction of some Greenfield University students in Kaduna State, what we heard from Gov Nasir El-Rufai was, “I cannot negotiate with bandits.” Who says a governor cannot negotiate with bandits? I ask this question because how will the children whose security and welfare could not be provided for by the state be released by their abductors? No negotiation with bandits is an option with many associated risks. If there was not going to be a negotiation with bandits, was there any alternative plan? A state governor who will not negotiate with bandits must have a contingency plan to rescue abducted citizens. Negotiating should be a means, not an end. (To Continue).