Waka pass leaders

The Yoruba’s call it ‘mogbomoya’. Basically, it is when you are not part of the issue and you just happened to be walking past and the sounds or the aroma of the food pulls your senses and you jump in.

This is basically the kind of leadership we have been saddled with since our unfortunate independence from the British.
We have been thrust with all sort of journey men who happened on the saddle of such a complex and rotund political entity that is Nigeria. Save for maybe Ibrahim Babangida or OBJ’s second coming no leader has been groomed for leadership. What we have had are accidental leaders who fate or happenstance thrust on the seat of Government.

What do we get- carnage? Unmitigated disaster leading to a Civil War, myriads of Coups and Counter Coups, failed attempts at democracy, series of republics all plateauing into the worse socio-economic disaster from a country with the richest resources in the world. From Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to the Present Buhari, what you get are barely literate, denizen who not understanding the fine points of governance fall prey to powerful interests who now run with selfish and opaque motives.

The Cabals, the inner kitchen and all that, is the direct response to the debilitating lack of capacity at the peak of leadership.
The simple and clear solution to all these is effective leadership grooming almost from the cradle. Influential world leaders show quite early their resolve. They show very clear focus and penetrative attention to what would be a destined pathway to leadership.
The system now picks them up and ensure extensive grooming, mentorship and exposure. This coupled with polishing and capacity enhancement you begin to have champion Leaders.

Straight examples like Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and even Hitler. None of these could be said to be accidental Leaders or waka Pass leaders. In Africa, we have had the Awolowo’s. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kenneth Kaunda, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah and the rest.

Please can you compare what we have had since independence with the above names. We have continued to parade caricatures as leaders hence our current state of anomie. It’s time we begin as a system to identify strong leaders from youth. Groom them, polish them and better prepare them for leadership.

The educational, religion and social systems must be reengineered to provide this identification, grooming and support systems for budding leaders. Effective scholarships, mentorships and exposure should be part of the structure that would identify these leaders. Just as we do it in sports and other endeavors, deliberate policies driven by civil society, individuals, foundations and endowments can arrowhead this drive.

As we are looking for the next music idols or the next Movie star, we should be looking for the next Political champion because if we continue to ignore this aspect, we will continue to wallow in the cesspool of avarice and misgovernance.

Thank you.