Leadership can come from anyone, anywhere, anytime, but this skill and
attribute crucial in moving an organisation or nation forward is in short supply
in Nigeria.
Whenever we spot good leaders, it behoves us to find out why they
got it right and use these to critically evaluate where we missed our way. In
the past few weeks, the world has stayed focused on developments in Ukraine
and Russia. The actions, inactions, and speeches of Ukrainian President,
Volodymyr Zelensky is now of foremost importance to the world.
Zelensky rose from being an actor and comedian to leading a country through
one of its most challenging moments. Ukraine is facing an invading army of
great military prowess, which is the nation’s cross to carry. However, other
countries and sub-nationals are
facing crises of different proportions and dimensions.
Although dichotomously different in most aspects, Ukraine and Nigeria have
parallels that allow us to compare these nations and explore ways leadership
has been at the core of driving these nations forward. These parallels anchor
on leadership in a time of crisis and uncertainty. Although not facing a
superpower invading army, Nigeria is facing multiple existential and
developmental challenges of epic proportions in its history. Apart from the civil
war period, at no time has Nigeria been on a precipice, with an uncanny
feeling that it may tip over as today.
On the other hand, Ukraine is fighting the mother of all wars – a war of attrition
with a nuclear superpower bent on stopping NATO and western expansion
and global dominance. Ukraine has become the epicentre of the proxy war
between Russia and the West. The way leaders of Ukraine are handling this
war leaves lessons in
leadership that will benefit Nigerian leaders. But first, let us try to
conceptualise leadership and situate it in the Russian – Ukraine war context.
Leadership is not about power, title or position. Vladimir Putin has vast power
and all the adornment and paraphernalia that go with that power. And yet, as
he sits at his ridiculously long table surrounded by opulence
and “yes-men,” he does not lead. Putin is a symbol of tyranny and intimidation
but certainly not a leader. While he demands deference, he does not earn
respect. The highest calling of a leader is to unlock potential in others.
President Zelensky has held the title and power of a President for several
years, but it is only during this war that the world began to take notice of his
attributes as a leader. He is a leader because he invests all his energy into
unlocking potential in others. Zelensky is a classic small man pitted against a
modern day Goliath. He is on the side of liberal democratic values of freedom
and sovereign integrity fighting against a known autocratic leader. He has
become a defender of liberal order against the authoritarianism of Russia and
China. Inadvertently, he has built up the capability of his people for resistance,
the potential of other nations for steadfast and significant support, the
prospect of the world to remember that some principles and ideals are worth
fighting for, no matter the cost.
Leaders have the fortitude to ask of themselves what they ask of others.
President Zelensky has done what he is asking his people to do, and he and
his family have stayed in harm’s way and resisted the invading army. While he
has a particular role, he knows that others’ parts are equally essential. He has
not focused on himself, but on the outcomes he must achieve.
While many others call him a hero, Zelensky always turns this attention
towards others. He reminds the world of the courage and sacrifice of
Ukrainians, and the vital role other nations must play in support of freedom.
Despite all the enormous setbacks and difficulties, he points towards an
aspirational future State: a free and sovereign Ukraine, a European continent
and a NATO alliance with renewed purpose, and a contained rapacious
Russia. He has not hesitated to challenge others to play their crucial role, and
he is looking for accountability and results.
Why has President Zelensky been so effective at rallying his people and the
world? He displayed the courage to face reality and the candour to describe
that reality. Because when the circumstances changed and Russia invaded,
he quickly pivoted from a belief that this would not happen to fully accept the
current state of war and the hard choices that were now necessary.
Zelensky is gifted in communication skill, another attribute of great leaders. He
has bluntly described this reality in a complete, candid, compelling, and
consistent way so that no one can misunderstand where things are. He is
endowed with charisma, character and courage, something lacking among the
Nigerian elite and leadership class. He has displayed an elevated level of
selflessness.
People follow leaders who fight for them and place the group interest above
personal interest. Corrupt leaders are driven by greed and self-interest and
can hardly earn the confidence and support of their followers, and corruption
is the bane of leadership in Nigeria .
Unlike Ukraine, as a country, Nigeria does not have a critical mass of leaders
who lead by example. The fuel crisis we suffer today as a country is simply a
failure of leadership to rise to the occasion courageously. We need the kind of
courage and sincerity displayed by Zelensky to tackle the fuel subsidy issue
that has lingered for too long with no clear path to resolving it.
Insecurity has festered because of a lack of commitment, sincerity, and
leadership creativity among Nigerian leaders. No leader has rallied the people
and institutions in Nigeria to eradicate insecurity by tackling its root causes
and facing the criminals squarely. Nigerian leaders often allow ethnic
parochialism to bottleneck any progress in tackling Boko Haram, terrorism,
secessionist agitations and banditry. Our leaders have failed to find a lasting
solution to the perennial problem of insecurity, economic
hardship, and corruption. Our leaders must realise that these evils, like
Russians, have invaded our country, and they must declare war on them.
A few pertinent questions merit our thoughtful consideration. What does
Zelensky represent in leading during chaos and crisis times? What lessons
can Nigerian leaders learn from him? How can they apply these leadership
lessons to the Nigerian context? Nigerian leaders have a few lessons to learn
from Zelensky and developments in Ukraine. Every nation, subnational or firm
will face its crisis at one time or the other. It may not be an invading army but
a development challenge, governance or public health crisis, or just any
unanticipated issue. How do our leaders react?
Zelensky has, without doubt, rallied the nation behind the cause of defending
Ukraine from an invading neighbour. He has, in diverse ways, inspired the
Ukrainian army and citizens to stand up for the nation and its future. He has
led by example. Nigerian leaders have no such paradigm. Nigeria leadership
challenge is to manage a country at peace but faced with grave governance
issues. The task is for our leaders to rise to the occasion. They should rally all
Nigerians to work towards eliminating corruption, ethnicity, and insecurity in
our country. They should create a vision of Nigeria post-insecurity and get
Nigerians to visualise and envision it to get their buy-in to the “free Nigeria
project”. Our leaders must change the narrative and force a “paradigm shift”
on our collective psyche.
Zelensky kept true to his belief and has walked the talk by staying back in
Ukraine to fight, unlike the Afghan president who abandoned the country at
the slightest threat of Taliban invasion. Zelensky has stayed to defend his
country. He has become the symbol of Ukrainian resistance, a focal point for
the pride felt by Ukrainian citizens. He embodies the risk, so many of his
fellow Ukrainians now are taking. His courage has been as infectious as a
virus, with far more positive results, and he has demonstrated total
commitment to the conflict.
Many Nigerian leaders will abandon their people at the slightest threat to their
comfort. Nigerians feel abandoned by their leaders in their times of need. It is
either that leaders did not come to their rescue during attacks, or never
showed any interest in the plight. Even when they show interest, they do little
or nothing, milk the photo opportunities for the press, and abandon the victims
to their fate. Nigerians are fade up with the sirens and armoured vehicles with
scores of security operatives guarding their leaders everywhere they are when
millions of Nigerians are displaced from their homes and are in IDP camps,
still afraid for their lives. Many Nigerian leaders play the ostrich instead of
walking the talk with tackling insecurity. Zelensky has demonstrated courage,
good humour, and grace under the storm. We cannot tackle some of our
challenges, such as existential threats of ethnic agitation, insecurity, subsidy
corruption, fuel scarcity and ongoing ASUU strike, because of a lack of
courage by our leaders to face reality and devise ingenious solutions. Every
government that comes to power promises to deal with the fuel subsidy
problem and change our fuel regime. The gap is sincerity, courage , ability to
communicate in a way that inspires trust .
Zelensky has inspired loyalty from his people, and this loyalty is such that
some Ukrainians outside the country are coming back to fight and defend its
sovereignty. He gained this loyalty by convincing his people that he fought
their cause through his words and actions.In Nigeria, most of our leaders
cannot earn the loyalty of their constituents or citizenry because there is a
mismatch between their words and actions, and quite often, their actions do
not align with the ideals and aspirations of the people they lead. It is only
through their commitment to group ideals and aspirations that leaders inspire
loyalty.
When President Zelensky was a comedian, no one would have predicted that
he would become a historical figure and a leader who inspires the world. He
reminds us of one last truth about leadership. Anyone can lead, and in the
end, leadership is always a choice.
Nigerian circumstances are vastly different from an invasion and ground war.
But it is like Ukraine in the fact that we are fighting too many governance
issues and anti- developments wars . You do not need to wait for an actual
war to show extraordinary leadership. All that is required is for leaders to
elevate a major national or subnational problem to the status of an emergency
and use that emergency as a conflict and apply the same principles as
Zelensky did. Authentic and creative leadership , inspired by common good is
the catalyst to changing things for the better.
