I have worked with many national and international business organisations as an employee and consultant in the last three decades. One noticeable fact about leaders of enduring organisations is their willingness to change what is not working or functioning in the interest of all the stakeholders. The ability to distance oneself from emotions and make hypercritical decisions is the hallmark of leadership. Leaders must make decisions to benefit their followers and create a legacy. Legacy is not in what the leaders have done but what he or she set in motion.
The Nigeria of today is a leadership question begging for answers. Here is the resume of the founding fathers of Nigeria: they formed a country when they did not believe in the unity and diversity of their people. Displayed politics of division along ethnic and religious line. Allowed political thuggery and killing of innocent citizens and developed a society with institutional inequality and quota systems. Above all, they were self-seeking, looking for political relevance against being the Moses that focused on getting their people to the promised land. Do you think the founding fathers deserve accolades based on the reality of the Nigeria of today?
Unlike business leaders, our national leaders are either out of tune with the reality of governance or have been dominated by self-agenda. The recent video by the Northern Consensus Group (though unconfirmed by the leading print and broadcast media houses) calls for concerns. The 30days request for the payment of compensation raised many laughable questions and confirmed that Nigeria is structurally deficient. The country is like a house with a weak foundation built on sandy land. It is either the owners of the house fortify the foundation or allow it to collapse. It is either we do something now or allow the country to disintegrate with our inaction.
It appears every part of the country is tired and ready to dismantle the Nigeria of today except the politicians who see their relevance from the existing structure
The Northern Consensus Group claimed the North is ready for succession. Are they speaking for an average northerner who wants his or her life secured? Like their southern counterparts, they call for successions are devoid of the advantages we can derive from a big one multi-ethnic country if we build institutions that guarantee fairness and justice. Instead of the leading voices in Nigeria seeking reconciliation, they are singing the tune of discord. There is a leadership question on our leaders. It appears every part of the country is tired and ready to dismantle the Nigeria of today except the politicians who see their relevance from the existing structure. The common man or woman whose lives are not secured cannot see reasons to be called Nigerians.
It is a huge mistake to focus on dismantling any marriage without first seeking to reconcile the couple. This is more crucial where the union had produced children like the case of Nigeria when inter-ethnic marriages had tied us together. Look again, and again there are more benefits in our diversity. Nigeria’s problems are not the people or their religion, and it is their leading class and voices.
Here are two of my standpoints. The top 20 most diversified countries globally are all African countries, with Uganda standing tall. Uganda is, however, not a good case study. The best-case study of a progressively diversified entity is the United States of America with Hispanic, Black Africans, Americans, Asians, Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. The country has benefited from the skills of people from all the countries of the world. They have not diversified initially like African countries but created an artificial diversity by allowing immigrants the right to live and prosper in a land flowing with milk and honey with guaranteed fairness and equality. If a Whiteman could give others the right to live and flourish in their countries, why can we not accommodate one another?
Before my next standpoint, the foundation of America’s diversity success is in its fairness and equity built on enduring institutions which Nigeria could emulate. The North of Nigeria is not averted to restructuring to continue to benefit from a united Nigeria. After all, political power has not benefited most northern Nigeria’s residents, given the poor economic and social life index. Therefore, Nigeria is searching for leaders who are willing and capable of answering the leadership questions around our continued existence fairly and equitably. The starting point for this is to review our leadership selection process and remove ethnic and religious considerations. No region is licensed for violence and should hold an entitlement mentality to leadership.
The second standpoint is a lesson from Sudan. Southern Sudan was created from Sudan based on a prolonged injustice and abuse of political power. The resources of Southern Sudan was the basis for the inequity, and separating the two regions became inevitable to save lives. However, peace and prosperity have excluded the two countries.
Going back to the Northern Consensus Group, the separation of the North from Nigeria, even with the supposedly discovered oil or gold, will not make lives better for her people. This is obvious. The same leaders who did not take the advantage of a united Nigeria’s political leadership and wealth will lead the various separated nations. The story of mismanaged resources, political favouritism and poor leadership will continue. There is no guarantee that the divided countries will be better managed than present Nigeria. We cannot give what we do not have, and succession is not a guarantee for a new beginning.
On the above premise, no sectional group should make threats for any compensation. Instead, we should all start answering the leadership questions around the continued existence of Nigeria. We should focus on being fair to one another and drop the the mindset of superiority for violence, impunity and political rulership that has impoverished our people.
Nigeria has not answered the leadership questions the way they were responded to in Singapore, Brazil, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana, to mention a few countries that have turned the tides against the ocean. Nigeria is searching for a new set of leaders to answer if our future is better than the past as a united entity. Otherwise, let us start the process of euthanizing the country peacefully.
