News Investigators/ Former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in South Africa, Bola Babarinde, has identified leadership failure and poor followership at all levels as the bane of Nigeria’s lingering socio-economic challenges.
Mr Babarinde in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday, lamented the nation’s poor leadership challenges since independence.
The APC chieftain also said leadership alone could not shoulder the entire blame for the underdevelopment.
According to him, followership, from where leaders emerge, needs to have a change in values and behaviours for the country to get things right.
Mr Babarinde said: “For decades, the conversation around Nigeria’s underdevelopment has centred almost entirely on leadership failure.
“It is true that successive governments have failed us, that our leaders have looted the nation’s wealth, abandoned critical infrastructure, and lived in opulence while the majority of citizens wallow in penury.
“We must stop the endless circle of complaints and ask ourselves, do we, the followers, truly deserve better leaders.
“Are we, as citizens, nurturing the right values that can birth the leaders we crave.
“If our pool of followers is corrupt, greedy, and devoid of values, why do we expect angels to suddenly emerge as leaders?
“Leadership is not imported; it is a reflection of society. Until we build followers of integrity, we cannot produce leaders of integrity.”
According to him, Nigeria is blessed with both human and natural resources as professionals from the country are in high demand abroad, especially in the health sector.
“Yet, back home, our healthcare system is broken, with hospitals lacking both staff and facilities.
“This paradox reflects the dysfunction in our society, a system where our greatest talents flee while we are left behind with the bare minimum,” he said.
The APC chieftain decried that Nigerians often celebrate corruption rather than condemn it.
“A man of average means becomes a councillor, local government chairman, or commissioner and within a few years, he transforms into a billionaire, building mansions, buying cars, and throwing outrageous parties.
“Instead of asking hard questions about the source of his sudden wealth, people sing his praises just to get a free plate of food, and even pray for “their own turn” to steal.
“In reality, the number of Nigerians waiting for their opportunity to loot far outnumbers those currently looting,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria has been unlucky with leaders since independence.
Explaining that today’s leaders were the followers of yesterday, Babarinde said that the solution lies in going back to the basics which is the family and community as the foundation of values.
He added: “Once upon a time, families taught honesty, respect, dignity, and responsibility.
“Today, many parents outsource that duty to schools, religious institutions, or worse, to the internet.
“Our languages, traditions, and cultural values are being abandoned for foreign lifestyles,” he said.
He said that institutions like the National Orientation Agency should be leading campaigns to reshape our values, “but they have become mere information outlets instead of drivers of national rebirth.”
“If Nigerians continue to prioritise wealth over character, mediocrity over excellence, and ethnicity over unity, we will keep recycling the same failed system.
“But if we rebuild ourselves as followers with strong values, our leaders will naturally reflect that strength.
“The question is not only whether Nigeria will ever get good leaders, but whether Nigerians are ready to become the kind of followers that can produce such leaders,” he said.
NAN
