5 June 2008
book review
Lagos — This 274 page book leadership by Tony Oyatedor is an inspiring and thought provoking compendium on the issues of leadership in Nigeria. It opens up with a chronicle of the events on the Nigerian leadership landscape from 1960 and asserts:
a. A decent standard of living is not a fringe benefit; it is a fundamental debt that the Federal Government (military or politicians) owes the Nigerian people. Ideology is no longer the issue; it is all about the quality of life.
b. A true personification of leadership is a leader with honesty, integrity, duty to country, honour and high morality.
It, therefore, urges that all Nigerians, particularly the southerners, must learn to come together and imbibe the spirit of oneness like our northern brothers, irrespective of creed, political lineages and ideologies including group or individual idiosyncrasies.
Premised on these facts, the book opens up to unravel some shortcomings in Nigerian leadership practices. It stressed that politics is integral to bargaining, compromise and the interplay of statistics (numbers), with the Ijaws being the 4th major Nigerian tribe after the Hausas, Igbos and Yorubas respectively.
Empowerment of the citizenry through economic development, the book emphasizes, is the only panacea for poverty eradication. Any government that disdains putting the interest of its people and the country first but, rather, eschews self interest, woos political instability at any level, be it local state or federal.
The author consequently reiterates that we must, particularly the southerners, indeed, be our brothers keepers. He stressed that the leadership of any administration that can guarantee food, shelter and job security for Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity and creed, would forever be respected and remembered.
Politics, the book further argues, entails the ability of power sharing without acrimony and rancour, as is evidenced in Nigeria. Any senatorial district of our country that is not expected to produce individuals with proven integrity, that should aspire for leadership positions in the federal level should equally not be expected to provide citizens that will put their lives at stake for the good of Nigeria.
Growth and development is enhanced by the spirit of oneness in diversity. While the United States of America has a diversified collection of people, even much more than Nigeria, their diversity, the book stresses, serves as a spur for solidarity and creativity. In Nigeria, rather than forge ahead in a common national spirit, we pride ourselves with a penchant for separation, cessation, etc, yet expect growth and national development.
Citing several examples of this tendency amongst Nigerians, the book cries that it is a leadership problem which must be resolved if the aspiration of greatness, as a people, must be realized. The author opines that not a single unit of Nigerians (North or South) could live within themselves, alone. Nigerians must, if they are to be truly happy, love each other and value what the they can do for each other.
We must be able to get beyond what divides us and stop embracing ethnic politics. Politics based on ethnicity is dangerous. Nigerians can only have political stability and live in a free society where they have rights, where they can criticize their government without fear of being locked-up or assassinated. Politics or government can accomplish a lot with a good leader that has the willingness to admit its mistakes and is committed to making meaningful impact in the lives of its citizens.
Equity, fair play and respect for the rule of law is what the people need, not segrega-tion. The country needs better schools, better health care, more investments to boost agricultural production and, most of all, political stability. Let us take a moment to reflect on these words from a great leader, Martin Luther King Junior. He said and I quote:
The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty. The rich nations must use their vast resources of wealth to deve-lop the underdeveloped, school the unschooled and feed the unfed. Ultimately, a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have concern for 'the least of these'.
Deeply etched in the fibre of our religious tradition is the conviction that men are made in the image of God and that they are souls of infinite metaphysical value, the heirs of a legacy of dignity and worth. If we feel this as a profound moral fact, we cannot be content to see men hungry, to see men victimized with starvation and ill health when we have the means to help them. The wealthy nations must go all out to bridge the gulf between the rich minority and poor majority".
Compassion and the drive to improve the living standards of the people are crucial attributes of good leadership practices. This notion permeates the entire book. As it equally preaches unity in diversity in every ramification, the book decries the failure of leadership in Nigeria (both military and civilian) and gives insights to good leadership practices that should turn the nation around.
I wholeheartedly believe, just like the author of this book and Dr John Maxwell, a renowned leadership teacher that everything rises and falls on leadership. More than anything else, the leadership of any group or organization will determine its success or failure.
We all can appreciate the impact of leadership as evidenced in the Holy Books. In ancient Israel, when God's people had a good king, all was well with the nation. When they had a bad king, things went poorly with everyone.
The book Leadership by Tony Oyatedor with its title written in bold white lettering on a blue background with Africa in a clear bluish-white foreground, epitomizes hope for the African continent if only Nigerians can imbibe the right leadership attributes. The servant-leader equation is a must for the growth and development of Nigeria and must be practiced in all strata of endeavours in the country (both in the government and private sectors and from grassroots to the highest echelon of affairs in our nation).
Just like an intricately beautiful flower, the book zooms-in on leadership in Nigeria and, unravels with each petal, perti-nent aspects of our leadership practices which must be reviewed and corrected, if our leaders must leave a credible legacy for the future generation.
The book has a beginning but its conclusion is etched in the lives and aspirations of every Nigerian who aspires to any form of leadership position, from even class leaders to managers, from political party leaders to local government chairmen, state government officials, all the way to the presidency. No stratum of our society is exemp-ted from good leadership prac-tices.
Though, the pictures in the book needs to be clearer, the message makes it a must read for all and sundry who believe in this great country and have the vision and the drive to make this country stand out as a bastion of hope for humanity. It is a priceless gem as a book.
Title: Leadership
Author: Tony Oyatedor
Publishers: Mount Helicon Press, USA
Pagination: 274 pages
Reviewer: Chyna Iwuanyawu
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