Festus Asikhia: The man studying the psychology behind African governance

 

Festus Uwakhemen Asikhia carries more than one identity. To some, he is a businessman. To others, an academic. But those who have followed his career closely say he is, above all, a man with questions, questions about power, governance, and what happens inside the minds of those who lead nations.

His work sits at the intersection of psychology and politics, a space that few Nigerian scholars have chosen to occupy with any consistency. Over the years, his research has examined why governments fail to deliver, why institutions lose the trust of the people they serve, and what role human behaviour plays in all of it.

That focus sharpened considerably during his post-doctoral research at Atlantic International University in the United States, where he pursued a specialisation in Governance and Leadership. His dissertation, Psychology of Governance and Leadership in Nigeria, explored the links between political behaviour, institutional effectiveness, and national development. It was not a policy paper. It was a study of the human forces underneath policy.

Asikhia does not simply study what leaders do. He studies why they do it. His publication “Psychological Masks and Political Maneuvering: Deception, Denial and Governance in Nigeria” examined the psychological dimensions of political behaviour, how denial, manipulation, and self-deception shape governance outcomes.

It is the kind of work that treats politics not as a game of strategy, but as a reflection of the inner lives of those playing it.
Another body of his research explored “motivated skepticism” among Nigerian elites, how deeply held beliefs and psychological bias shape political reasoning in ways that often work against national progress. These are not comfortable conclusions. But Asikhia has consistently appeared more interested in accuracy than comfort.

Beyond research, he has held positions that suggest a commitment to putting ideas into practice. He has served as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Atlantic International University, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Citiedge University, Academic Dean at the London School of African Entrepreneurship and Leadership Studies, and Professor of Governance and Leadership. Each role, in different ways, has placed him in a position to influence how future leaders think about governance, institutions, and responsibility.

He has also pursued training across institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, covering areas including public administration, mental wellbeing, social justice, and organisational development. That pattern of never considering an education complete speaks to a belief that leadership without continued learning eventually stops serving those it is meant to protect.

One theme that runs through much of Asikhia’s work is rarely discussed in mainstream governance debates: the psychological condition of leaders themselves. He has written on mental stability, emotional resilience, and stress management in leadership contexts, arguing, in effect, that the failures of institutions are often connected to the inner struggles of the individuals running them. It is a perspective that moves governance conversation away from systems alone and towards the people inside those systems. It asks an uncomfortable but important question: can a leader who is not well lead others towards wellbeing?

At a time when visibility often passes for impact, Asikhia’s trajectory represents something different. His is not a career built on noise. It is built on inquiry, on the slow, deliberate work of understanding why societies struggle and what might help them stand more firmly.

Nigeria, and Africa more broadly, faces a continuing challenge around governance and institutional trust. Whether or not his work shifts that conversation in any measurable way, Asikhia has at least committed to understanding it honestly. That, in itself, is a form of leadership worth noting.