Leadership is a tool for development and leaders play a key role in national transformation.
In the first post of Nigeria in 2050, I identified factors that are crucial to consider in the realisation of a country that will be one of the leading 20 economies in the world. Some people have argued that the African problem requires an African solution just as the Nigerian problem, Nigerian solution. We should note that there are general principles of development cutting across countries; though, the peculiarity of a situation or circumstance in a country will influence the application of such principle in its struggle for development. Here, we shall be discussing development leadership as a requirement to realise growth in Nigeria.
Leadership is an indispensable factor in national development. In fact, no nation has made it to development without the igniting force of a leader that’s passionate and/or knowledgeable in economic growth. It is necessary to quickly distinguish between the form and substance of leadership. The form of leadership is about the style of governance in a nation. This includes democracy, monarchy, presidential, parliamentary, communism, regional, federalism, unitary… systems of government. The substance of leadership on the other hand describes more the heart, vision, competence, commitment, exposure, quality of policies, and the quality of human resources working with a leader… The failure of the latter cannot be blamed on the former.
The practice of a particular form of governance style is not an automatic ticket to development, although, the visionary quality and dedication of a leader can do more to facilitate development under any system of government.
Leadership, more in the context of substance is the major driver for development. The history of nations that have made it to national prosperity shows the place of a leader that changed the national experience from poverty to wealth. From the book of Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First World, we can tell of the Singapore growth from how the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, the first leader when Singapore became a state, set the pace of development which the country is still building on.
In the history of England, there was a time when the economic activity was export of wool to merchants in other countries who process it and sell back at more expensive rate. It was the ascension of King Henry IV that altered the situation and made England the hub of cloth manufacturing through policies that encouraged and protected local growth. The first Queen Elizabeth by the end of the 15th century concretised the age of industrialization with more policies and strategies for growth. That was where the wealth of the nation started.
There was the age of the Great Depression when the economy of the world was at a standstill or rather retrogressing. This started in the United States of America in the 1920s. The sitting President, Herbert Hoover, had shown no interest in rescuing the situation. Then came the tenure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt whose aim was more to end the economic crisis. This started with aggressive decisions, policies and strategies that his predecessor has no gut to initiate such as proclaiming bank holiday, proposed and passed legislations to control and stabilize stock market, public work programmes, backed safety nets and social security system among others. FD Roosevelt moved the American power to a super power status. FD Roosevelt served an unpopular four terms in office from 1933-1945.Till date, the US economy remains great.
Germany in the early 19th century was described as a hopeless country where wealth was not feasible. But something happened in the era of the popular tyrant leader, Adolf Hitler in 1933. Though not particularly interested in economic theory, he had advisors who implemented economic reforms with impressive results. They formed forces that engaged the unemployed Germans as a vast work teams in public works, construction, clearance and agricultural labour. They also ensured local growth by reducing Germany’s dependence on foreign raw materials to about 33% and food importation to about 20%. Within three years, there was more or less full employment in Germany with an improving economy. In 1937, Hitler established Volkswagen to produce cheap cars for German families. The German economy has continued to improve since after Hitler’s administration.
More recent is what is globally discussed as the Rise of China. The beginning of the age of prosperity in China was ignited by the re-ascent of the reformist leader, Deng Xiaoping about 1978. The awakening of the Dragon was a deliberate and compelling project that brought about the economic revolution upon which the republic has developed into an irresistible global force beating nations ahead in wealth and rising to become the 2nd richest country in the world. I mentioned in the Nigeria in 2050 (I) that China is projected to overtake the US as the largest economy by 2017 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms and by 2027 in market exchange rates. That is the positive economic effect of leadership in China.
I find it compelling to share an important part of the China story of development leadership. There was a leader whose administration was described as a catastrophic misrule, Mao Zedong. It was said that “he presided not over China’s re-emergence as a power, but over it dangerous isolation in global affairs. He inaugurated not an Age of Prosperity but a generation of self-destruction, terror, famine and impoverishment. As postwar East Asia prospered, China declined. When one marvels at China’s development today, just think of where it might have been without Mao Zedong.”
From this, I deduced that, if China is currently the second richest country in the world, and likely to become the richest by 2027, China still feels that if not for the leadership of Mao Zedong, China would have surpassed its present achievement and probably be the current richest and most influential country in the world. That is the cost of bad leadership on a country.
The starting point for Nigeria that will become on the 20 leading economies in the world by 2020 is development leadership. A leadership that will not just cast a vision but is committed to its achievement, and compelling every element and everyone to be a part of making it a reality.
A fair assessment of the Nigerian leadership since the return to civilian rule in 1999 will reveal that gradual measures are being taken towards realising economic growth. The recent announcement of the Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rising to $510 billion thereby appreciating by 11 steps to become the 26th largest economy in the world ahead of South Africa tells of something. The citizens are however yet to feel the reality of this figure. Very worthy of remembrance is the quality of leadership that Chief Obafemi Awolowo exhibited as the Premier of the Western Region. It was such leadership that brought food to the table of an average resident in the region; infrastructural provision was massive and it was a leveler for all in terms of access education. Nothing short of this is what is needed to facilitate a national experience to make Nigeria one of the first 20 economies in the world with tangible proof to the citizenry.
In conclusion, the quality of development leadership needed to become one of the 20 leading economies must not be compromised. Such leadership is the kind that will be able to utilize all the potentials of Nigeria, including natural resources and human resources, the effective use of foreign relationships and creating the environment for all these to be at their best for our national interest and prosperity.
Olusola Akinyemi
President
Joseph Initiative Ltd/Gte
