Leadership is predicated on a tripod of Trust, Vision and Courage. Little wonder that senior management programmes often make reference to two metaphoric leadership scenarios: that of a pack of lions led by a rabbit, compared to a pack of rabbits led by a lion. We can relate this to the human society and draw our conclusions to the Nigerian state of affairs: leadership roles and the passivity of the followership.
Energy is the capacity to do work, and a potent tool for growth and development. Our dismal level of development is a direct consequence of our inability to generate enough power, despite our endowment of natural energy resources, both renewable and non-renewable. In 1980, a professional body, the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society [NMGS], after its annual international conference, had submitted an Energy Policy to the government, emphasising the inclusion of solar renewable power in the Nigerian energy mix. Forty-five years after, can we today beat our chest that any measurable progress was made in that direction by the Nigerian leadership?
Another worrisome and rather lamentable scenario is the case of all our four refineries of 445,000bpd capacity that went moribund for almost two decades, leading to the recourse to importation of petroleum products and its overall economic downturn. But what was the reaction of the Nigerian followership during all those years of suffering and economic woes?
A couple of days ago, two former Nigerian leaders were summoned to Paris, France, over $2.3bn arbitration proceedings filed against Nigeria by Sunrise Power, in the case of an alleged breach of contract by the Federal government. Is this not embarrassing enough for our country, as a major contract worth $6bn and expected to boost our power generation by 3,050MW from a hydropower station situated at the Manbilla Plateau, Taraba State, turned out to be the biggest abandoned project in Nigeria?
But the Nigerian followership have remained passive in the face of all these leadership flaws. It is even more worrisome that their representatives that are charged with constitutional oversight functions have turned blind, deaf and dumb over such negligent issues that impede our progress. Yet we all know that there is no growth or development that can ever occur when the citizenry remain docile, timid and compromised, allowing their leadership to navigate roughshod through critical national matters. In this 2025, may we turn a new leaf and speak up to power and leadership, whenever we encounter issues that are not in the best interest of our country.
•Sir Jonas Odocha writes from Abuja, Nigeria.