Lee Kuan Yew – Lessons from a true transformational leader

He simply said, “Sorry, your friend Lee Kuan Yew has died; I have just read it in the newspapers.” I was relieved but sad. Lee Kuan Yew was not a personal friend. But my associate and friend knows that as a public speaker and public affairs commentator, I would not conclude any speech without reference […]

He simply said, “Sorry, your friend Lee Kuan Yew has died; I have just read it in the newspapers.” I was relieved but sad. Lee Kuan Yew was not a personal friend. But my associate and friend knows that as a public speaker and public affairs commentator, I would not conclude any speech without reference to the wise words of this iconic leader of Singapore. Indeed he was my friend; Just as he was a friend to all those who admired his true transformative leadership qualities. He was a friend to many who admired his social engineering, in building one nation out of many nations; he was a friend to many of us who have studied how his inclusive growth and development policies, created one of the most enlightened and wealthiest citizens of this world out of scanty natural resources- a country once rejected by Malaysia when they were trying to forge a union was moved from a per capita income of US$400 in 1959 to US$22,000 in 1999 and US$55,000 in 2013. For the same period, Nigeria moved from about US$500 to about US$3,000.
He was our role model because he created a society without “existential vacuum”, where the young and old are finding real meaning for their lives; the young find gainful employment and the old are secure in their post working age. He was our friend because he was a disciplined leader who ran a government that had zero tolerance for corruption, not in words but in deeds.  He was my friend because I admired his penchant for excellence, taking exceptional steps to recruit the best into the civil service as well as into his political party. And he was deliberate and strategic in this leadership recruitment process, realizing early on that he needed intellectuals and technocrats as senior members of his party; what I later branded, techno-politicians. Lee Kuan Yew was not a ceremonial president, who was driven in a long motorcade to cut tapes and commission projects. He was a leader who had a clear vision, who defined the destination with measurable and ambitious outcomes in sight. He was equally hands-on and did not outsource his responsibilities but sought advice from brilliant technocrats while remaining the driver. His cabinet meetings were business like, with sleeves rolled as programs and priorities are debated, with policy directions dictated by the peculiar Singaporean context, history and pride, and the willingness to rally Singaporeans on the “hardship of going it alone.”
In his book, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, Lee Kuan Yew stated that they set out to “build a nation in which everyone has a stake in it now and in its future.” And he did it, inspiringly, in a very short time. But this statement is significant in its true deconstruct.  It is at the heart of true citizenship: the demand of hard work, patriotism and the implied sacrifice for nation building. It means that parents irrespective of their status would work hard because even if they do not partake fully in the promise of the nation, they were certain that their kids would be beneficiaries of their hard work. It means, in our own instance, that if you were a hair dresser, mai guard, mai ruwa, truck pusher, door man, petty trader etc. you would work hard because you know that the state would reward your hard work by creating an environment that would enable your kids to meaningfully participate in the nation building and to fully benefit from the prosperity of the state. It means that the state is thinking about you and that society cares.  It means that there would be equity and justice for all. It means that the governments, Federal, State and Local, would provide world class public education from Kindergarten to University that is affordable and accessible. It is this quality education that builds the capacity and the capability of the poor and ensures that they are equipped to benefit from the prosperity of the nation. What do we have? Public schools are a shadow of what they used to be. The wealthy and the middle class have abandoned public schools and migrated to better managed and equipped private schools while the poor are trapped in this schools where pupils and students spend years with virtually no learning. We are therefore building a nation where a few has a stake in it now and its future.  We are building a nation where the inequality of today is a precursor of the more dangerous inequality of tomorrow.  In the book, The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett underscore the importance of inclusiveness and reduced inequality in any transformation agenda. They note that, “the transformation of our society is a project in which we all have a shared interest. Greater equality is the gateway to a society capable of improving the quality of life for all of us and an essential step in the development of a sustainable economic system.” In the same book, Robert Reich stated that “inequality undermines the trust, solidarity, mutuality on which responsibilities of citizenship depend.” How can you demand responsible citizenship from a segment of our population that feels excluded, that believe that the government doesn’t care and that they have no stake now or in the future of this nation?
In the same memoir, Lee Kuan Yew, instructed that “we cannot afford to forget that public order, personal security, economic and social progress, and prosperity are not the natural order of things; that they depend on the ceaseless effort and attention from an honest and effective government the people must elect.” Honest government is what Nigerians desire – a corrupt-free government; a government whose policymakers and civil servants are not driven by transactions – what they would gain privately; a government that plans and diligently executes; a government that is propelled to align courage to common purpose; and an effective government who is not afraid of people with ability and great ideas; ability and ideas that are matched by their authenticity and unconditional passion for Nigeria’s development. Because institutions are important for development but dishonest and incompetent individuals would render the best institutions ineffective.
But an honest and effective government must not be limited to the Federal government alone. There must be an honest and effective government in our 36 states and the FCT and in our 774 local governments where service delivery is most impacting but often lacking in quantity and quality. The revolt against the Federal government is often partly as a result of the failure of governance at the states and local governments where accountability and due process are often compromised. The task before the incoming Federal government is how to create incentives and disincentives for the other tiers of government to deliver on their responsibilities honestly and effectively. It is an onerous task but one that deserves special attention if poverty, inequality, unemployment, public order and value dis-orientation are to be effectively addressed. All Nigerian citizens must now be mobilized by an honest inspirational leadership for the task ahead. For we should not ask for a perfect country before we act; we should act for us to have a perfect country. Change will only come and endure when we are willing to make the necessary sacrifices and join hands, across all divides, to courageously align actions to common purpose and place the nation above self.
As we mourn one of the greatest and inspirational leaders of our time, it is my hope that the new government in waiting would be guided by the wisdom that Lee Kuan Yew espoused in transforming Singapore. The times may be different and Singapore may be a small country. But Lee Kuan Yew was a leader with big ideas, whose penchant for excellence and love for his people, all of his people, places him above the pack and makes his legacy enduring. May the soul of my friend, the friend of many students of his leadership style, rest in peace!
 
 Ogbu, a former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, is Professor of Economics and Director, Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka