End of impunity and fake leadership

and a host of others have advocated for change of leadership style in Nigeria that has been and continue to be driven by impunity, corruption and lack of focus. Political sociologists have long agreed that effective leadership is better provided by authentic transformational leaders. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s leadership has deliberately manipulated the concept of transformational leadership […]

and a host of others have advocated for change of leadership style in Nigeria that has been and continue to be driven by impunity, corruption and lack of focus. Political sociologists have long agreed that effective leadership is better provided by authentic transformational leaders. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s leadership has deliberately manipulated the concept of transformational leadership for selfish end. Under the cover of transformational agenda, the ruling party has perfected corruption and impunity. The leadership enriches itsself and a few cohorts and uses this as a parameter for judging the success of its administration.
We have been made to understand, by leaders of the ruling party (PDP) and the Presidency, that, more than ever before, many Nigerians now own personal aircraft and the country has produced more number of Millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile, poverty level in Nigeria has geometrically increased. Millions of Nigerian youth are unemployed. Insecurity is unprecedented and destruction of human life and property is at extremely frightening level.
Millions of Nigerians in the North-Eastern states and some parts of North-Central states have become refugees. The country is traumatised yet the leadership wants to continue with the implementation of this evil agenda. What a transformational agenda! To avert eminent deserster, authentic, visionary and charismatic leaders are urgently needed to pull Nigeria out of this bottomless pit of darkness.
From modern leadership theory perspective, leaders and followers are two sides of the same coin. However, in Nigeria this does not apply. In Nigeria, leaders consider themselves as superior members of the society, while followers are regarded as inferior.  It is this superior-inferior syndrome that is being used to undermine democratic processes.  If not, how can one explain a situation where party leadership of PDP abandoned provisions in the party’s constitution and allowed the president to foist himself on  party members and consequently destroy the very base on which democracy rests?  
Why should Nigerian youth be left without employment on the pretext of lack of resources, leading to millions of them roaming the streets with hunger and anger, and our hospitals are left without drugs, etc,  while over N21 billion was immediately gathered by questionable characters for president’s re-election bid  without due regard to provisions of the electoral laws?
The current propaganda about transformational agenda   has failed to address fundamental problems facing Nigeria, such as corruption, unemployment, lost values, insecurity, energy etc. Genuine transformational agenda is supposed to be a process that changes and transforms people. It is supposed to be concerned with sharing emotions, values, moral up rightness, standards, and long term goals between the leader and followers. It should include assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their basic needs, and treating them as human beings. Transformational leadership, therefore, involves an exceptional form of influence that moves the followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them.  
Unfortunately, what we have today in Nigeria as transformational leadership is actually fake leadership. One cannot even describe them as transactional leaders because they cannot even fulfil basic promises as obtained in a transactional situation, such as promise to provide electricity, youth employment, security of lives and property etc in return for voting them into office.
The current leadership can best be described as pretenders, exploiters, who are power-oriented with wrapped moral values. This kind of leadership focuses on leader’s interest rather than the interest of those who elected them into office.
In conclusion, with the emergence of a focused and strong opposition (APC), the time has finally come for Nigerians to take a historic stride by voting out the current leadership   which has visited so much devastation on the psychic of Nigerians. The opposition party has high potentials to effect transformational changes and should be voted into office.
One can compare the forth coming election to a vehicle with Nigerians as passengers and opposition leaders as new drivers that can drive the vehicle and Nigerians to the Promised Land. This is a task that must be done if we want Nigeria to be a decent member in the commity of nations; a society, where region and ethnicity should be a unifying force rather than a dividing force. A society where all the citizens are treated equal and with freedom for expression and an environment to pursue and achieve their goals in life and defend Nigeria any time anywhere.
Nuhu Abdulmalik Aliyu can be reached via the following email address: [email protected]