Portrait of a president trapped in leadership dilemma

Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky averred in their book: Leadership on the Line, that, “It is dangerous to lead with a change idea in mind,” and added that, “You need both a  healthy respect for the values, competence and history of people, as well as the changing environment, to build the capacity to respond to […]

Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky averred in their book: Leadership on the Line, that, “It is dangerous to lead with a change idea in mind,” and added that, “You need both a  healthy respect for the values, competence and history of people, as well as the changing environment, to build the capacity to respond to new challenges and take advantage of new openings.”

But for President Muhammadu Buhari, the healthy respect for the values, competencies and history of Nigerians seems to be counter-intuitive to his change agenda.

This has manifested in appointments shrouded in cronyism and favouritism, worsening insecurity in the country and gale of sleaze ongoing in his regime.

It has also shown in the poor handling of the economy and most importantly in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed President Buhari’s government has created more confusion than any other regime in history.

The president; a retired general, seems to enjoy aloofness than any other leader elsewhere in the world.

The president, it also seems, derives joy in standing on the fence even when his cough is the dose needed to calm the nerves of his combatant party members and warring ministers.

But why is the president trapped in a leadership dilemma at this time in our country? Even in matters of party politics, the president seems to always rely on the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, before he dips his fingers into the murky waters of party politics.

Two explanations may suffice. One is the presence of the cabals who seem to have pocketed the president and confined him in the golden cage thereby blocking him from reality. Or how is it possible to know what is going on if you do not know what is going on?

The second is seems to be the nature of the president who believes that things will naturally settle whether he intervenes or not. These two postulations are dangerous for the nation as they are for the president.

Posterity will hardly smile at the president’s “siddon look” posture, especially at a time the nation needs him very fast and with more force, especially on his bootlickers.

Muftau Gbadegesin – [email protected]