Is Leadership A Call To Service Or A Medium To Fulfil Personal Ambition?

What is leadership? What are the attributes of a leader? Is the desire to become a leader born out of compassion to help people or a means to achieve a personal ambition? These questions sprung up in my mind as I reflected on the recent political developments and the present state of the economy in my country. As I reflected further, I was distressed by the attitude of the political leaders in government who were entrusted with the responsibility to guide the nation to the path of economic progress and prosperity. Unfortunately, this group of individuals have deviated from their primary obligation which is to offer good governance for the advancement of the country. The recent series of events in the country has shown that our leaders are more interested in securing their office in the upcoming elections next year than performing their duties to the nation.

The nation has been confronted with so many social and economic challenges for a long period of time with successive governments being unable to surmount them. Our leaders have been unable to prove to us that they have the capacity to solve problems. The nation's economy has been steadily regressing as critical sectors have not grown at the rate they ought to over the years. Electricity which is the bedrock and major driver of growth in an economy has been unstable in the country for a long period of time. An essential utility like electricity is not adequately supplied in the country! How will industries, business ventures and other sectors of the nations economy function optimally when the fuel(electricity) that will power their operations is inadequate in supply? Inadequate power supply has been a problem that our leaders in government have been unable to address for ages! The challenges in this critical sector seems not to bother them! A lot of industries and business owners have closed operations in the country because of this problem. The implication of this trend is the ever increasing rate of unemployment and low production of locally made goods and services. These developments adversely affects the economy and steers us away from progress. Our leaders who ought employ strategies and solutions for these problems are more concerned about being relevant in the political landscape.

Education is a critical sector that trains and empowers human capital, the most important asset of an economy in my opinion. Unfortunately, the educational sector has been poorly managed by our leaders. The different tiers of our educational system are not well funded. Students are unable to display competence in their chosen disciplines. Relevant skills are not learnt because they are not taught! Tertiary institutions of learning are not in session because lecturers are on strike. The reasons for the strike are mainly because of poor renumeration of lecturers and insufficient funding of these institutions. The strike has lead to a high departure of students seeking to study abroad. A development that poses a threat to our nation because we are losing skilled manpower in the process.

Insurgency and banditry has become a norm! Security has become porous! Bandits and insurgents are having a field day! Their orchestrated attacks and kidnapping of people have become the order of the day! The northern part of the country has become their playground! A development that is gradually spreading to other areas of the country. Farmers who provide essential food supplies are not spared! They are attacked by these notorious gangs on a whim. The result - a steep increase in the prices of food items and other agricultural products. These notorious gangs have become so bold that they attack the facilities of the military and other security agencies. A move that makes me perplexed! The military and relevant security agencies on the other hand, have been unable to stop the activities of these insurgents and bandits. They seem to be overwhelmed and incapable of handling the situation! Our leaders just stick to a narrative saying they are confronting the security challenges head on. A narrative that is an illusion! Instead of adopting practical strategies to defeat the insurgents and bandits, they are confronting them in the media!

The value of the nation's local currency has consistently been depreciating in value for sometime now. A family-sized loaf of bread costs one thousand one hundred naira presently. Unbelievable! The prices of food items and commodities are soaring on a daily basis. Inflation is increasing steeply while the purchasing power of our currency is diminishing. The economy is plummeting to depths that have never been encountered before. All these developments have been triggered by free fall of our currency. The economic policies of our leaders have revealed their incompetence. They can't fix the economy!

The downturn in the economic and social sphere of the country is alarming and should initiate decisive actions by any responsible government. Unfortunately, recent developments have shown that our leaders in government don't seem to be in this category! They have neglected their responsibility to provide good governance to the people and are more keen on securing their re-election bid. The bad state of the economy is not important to them! Insecurity isn't either! Their credibility is aslo not important to them. Their actions make me muse about leadership and ask important questions. Is leadership a means to fulfil personal ambition or a call to enrich the lives of people?

Thanks for reading,
Have a splendid day folks.

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