THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE I SEE AND MY PROPOSED SOLUTION

           The leadership challenges I see are around us. They are the everyday news i wake up to hear on radio, television and see on the tabloids. It is sometimes very frustrating for to know that at my current level of influence, there is very little I can do to make a meaningful impact that will be felt in Abuja. Everyday I see and witness the failures of various institutions in Nigeria, which has all together linked up to form a faulty structure of the Nigerian system. The law enforcement agencies, such as the Nigerian Police force, the Customs, the immigration, Civil defence, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and so on have lost the respect of the general masses and are mostly perceived as bribe-collecting agencies. The Government secondary schools in Nigeria are amongst the worst in the World in terms of standard of education, while our tertiary institutions are mainly known for their popularity within the country rather than in terms of qualitative research work and productivity as we see from some top universities of the world based on various rankings. Our judicial system is horrible as it is a fact that more than half of the inmates in our prisons have been awaiting trial for months and years without any hope of getting deserved ruling in the nearest future. It is a fact that the corrupt elite have their way of either stalling court process or aversion of justice. Our legislative body seem to have lost focus, which is primarily meant to be to represent the best interest of their constituents in the National Assembly but are rather than fighting for their protection and re-election. Our Executives are more concerned with partisan politics rather than actually delivering the dividends of democracy, which they were elected and appointed to do. The security challenges we now face in the country has now caused us to be on the global watch because we have never had it this bad. The worst of it all is that, the younger generations that are supposed to be the hope of rescuing our lost Nation seem to be in need of rescue themselves, if there is any glimmer of hope for the future of Nigeria. It is no longer news these days, when we talk about the many cases of internet fraud (yahoo yahoo), drug abuse, examination malpractices, alleged cases of foreign migration using very dangerous transportation means, while we have steadily witnessed a steady decline in performance in WASSCE and Jamb over the last 15year period. This is not to say that we have do not have youths that are shining lights and making global impact nor of the fact that we do not have a few men and women of honour and integrity, presiding over various sectors in government. Recent attacks on certain villages in Zamfara, Benue, Plateau are now beginning to pose a serious threat to food security, housing and worsening of the high unemployment situation in Nigeria, with the government not being able to find a lasting solution to the menace.
The biggest frustration from my end is that our current leaders seem to have accepted mediocrity as a norm and have failed in meeting up with the expectation of the voters and the Nigerian people. It is also true that our challenges as a country did not start overnight as our leaders have not governed with foresight over the years. We have seen various past Governments start schemes such as OFN (Operation Feed the Nation), PTF (Petroleum Trust Fund), KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline), OS (Operation Sweep) and so on, discontinued by the succeeding administration, no matter how viable, efficient and productive the schemes may have been. Thus, our leaders lack a sense of continuity proving that they scarcely have the future of the Nation in mind. Some may argue that the people at the helm of affairs are only as good as the average Nigerian hustling to earn a living. Hence we have been on the receiving end of the kind of people we are, except that those in government have only been opportuned to have access to power and juicy resources.
My proposed solution is that the change we expect to see must start with each and every one of us. We must look inward critically, examine ourselves sincerely and agree that, we have not been the best we can be,  both as citizens and individuals. We have grown into mediocrity, corruption and lawlessness and allowed it to defame who we are as a people. We must take urgent steps in collectively seeking to renew our minds. We must all begin to have a heart of service, patriotism, law and order, respect, honesty and compassion. We must stop voting on social media and actually start turning out in our numbers to vote for credible and competent leaders into public offices. Our leaders must make it a point of urgent duty to begin to re-structure and strengthen all of our institutions. The Government must have a mindshift from just making favourable laws for the elite to laws that are fair to all and see that it is enforced and obeyed. Nigeria should be a land of justice and equity. Nigeria will be great again.