WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?

The time of elections have come and gone and we have new leaders for our country. Due to the fact that I was in school and busy with the challenges of academic life, I didn’t follow the all the events of the election. However I haven’t been completely ignorant of the all that happened. A lot of what I read and heard saddened and disappointed me. I heard the supposed elite of our nation make statements that made me doubt their education. At the end of all debate about who should run, who should be allowed to rule, whose turn it is to rule, I asked myself one simple question – What makes a good leader? It is evident that majority of the people in our society have a twisted view of what it takes lead a nation, a state , a local government area or anything for that matter.
The main argument during this election was where (in terms of north, south, east or west )the new president should come from. That was the main concern of most people. The south wanted a southern president because they were of the opinion that the north has ruled for too long and have created the mess Nigeria is in. The north desired a northern president for reasons unknown to me (frankly I do not even care). I shudder at the implication of this. Look at the petty reasons we give for voting a leader, look at what we are focused on and yet we hope that Nigeria will move forward. As long as we think in such tribalistic terms, we as a people can never move forward. The implication of this is that if a man as evil as Hitler decides to run for a post then the south will root for him because he is a southerner ( assuming he is a southerner ) or the north will support him because he is from the north ( assuming he is a northerner). This clearly does speak well of our values or our priorities. So once again I ask the question- What makes a good leader? Do considerations of tribe and wealth tell us who can lead a people? Are leadership positions now things that we take in turns? Is the system of governance now a monarchy system instead of democracy? Is it now a birth right to rule ? are you qualified to rule because you are from a certain family, tribe? Are all these what determines a suitable leader?
A leader is not determined by birth, tribe, wealth or race. A good leader is determined by the strength of his heart, his integrity , his honour, his vision, humility, confidence, discipline, dedication and character. A good leader is someone who carries the best interest of his people wherever he goes. A good leader is someone who sees his position not as a right to control and dominate others but as an opportunity to serve. A leader is not determined by where he is from but by where he is going. Nigeria may be a country of many tribes but it is still one nation. As a people we are first and foremost Nigerians before we are northerners or southerners and so on. The tribal origin of a potential ruler should be the least of our concerns rather we should be focused on the character and reputation of the person who desires to lead.

The only way we can move forward as a nation is to see ourselves as nation. Nigeria may be one nation but we on an individual basis are yet to see ourselves as that. Tribalism is rooted deeply in our hearts. As long as we allow tribalism to control us, our behaviour and thinking, we would keep moving in separate directions and end up going nowhere. No tribe is to blame for Nigeria’s problems, we all are to blame. We are to a certain degree responsible for the nations downfall. Corruption is not peculiar to one tribe neither is integrity found in only one region. Every area or region have their share of good and bad eggs. Nigeria does not need a southern ,northern, eastern or western leader to progress. Nigeria in order to move forward requires a GOOD leader. It also requires that all of us on an individual and collective basis take our place and do our very best in all that we do. It requires that we rise up and become people of integrity, people who hold their leaders responsible, who are focused not only their own progress but on the progress of their community state and nation. It requires that you reading this blog rise up and TAKE YOUR PLACE wherever you are. A leader can only takes us so far but in the responsibility for making Nigeria great lies in our hands.

I will close with a statement by Henry Ford –“coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together – that is success.” We have come together as different tribes to become Nigeria, let us keep together and progress as Nigeria and finally let us- and we must - work together to make Nigeria a success. NIGERIANS ARISE AND T.Y.P

Signed,
NessaD