Last Thursday morning, I watched Arise TV morning show programme anchored by the triumvirate led by Dr. Reuben Abati interviewing a Public Relations expert and former President, of the African Public Relations Association, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, aka YBO on his perspectives on the current state of the Nigerian nation, especially the #EndBadGovernance protests, which the organisers gave a month-long notice to commence peaceful nationwide protests for ten (10) days from August 1st – 10th, and how President Tinubu should take advantage of the opportunity to reinforce his pre-election image as a strategist and visionary leader.
YBO concluded the interview by recommending that it was high time the handlers of the President brought out the biggest arsenal in the administration’s armoury; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to communicate with the protesters and Nigerians, by making necessary concessions to their demands and thus try to reset the trajectory of his government with Nigerian citizens. No doubt, this is a well-reasoned and unadulterated professional view.
Three days later, precisely on Sunday morning, the Nnukwu Mmunwu – Big Masquerade – as Ndigbo (the Igbo tribe) calls it, and the biggest arsenal of present the APC administration according to YBO, stepped out with a 38-paragraph speech and 23-minute nationwide broadcast. However, the protesters have pledged to continue their action for the remaining days.
So, what went wrong?
- Failure of Strategy
There is consensus that transformative leadership and good governance are essential components for sustainable development and progress of African nations, Nigeria inclusive.
Let’s review a few strategic approaches relevant to driving national transformation and good governance in Nigeria.
- In terms of visionary leadership, John C. Maxwell emphasised that “everything rises and falls on leadership,” highlighting the importance of leaders having a clear vision and the ability to communicate it effectively to inspire others.
- For context, good governance is built on a foundation of ethical behaviour and integrity. Leaders must demonstrate moral integrity and transparency in their actions. Bill George, an expert on authentic leadership, argues that leaders must be genuine and act with integrity to build trust and legitimacy.
- On participatory governance, involving citizens in the decision-making process will ensure that governance becomes key to fostering accountability and trust. James MacGregor Burns highlights the importance of transformational leadership in engaging followers as well as non-followers and promoting participation and collaboration.
- Finally, leaders must be prepared to handle crises and build resilient systems that can withstand shocks. This involves proactive planning and effective response mechanisms. Ronald Heifetz refers to adaptive leadership as the ability to navigate and lead through complex challenges and crises.
From the foregoing, it seems there was a failure of the much-touted pre-election PBAT credential as a strategist.
However, the Tinubu administration can still foster sustainable development and positive change in Nigeria if the opportunities presented by the current youth protests are leveraged by integrating the above strategic leadership and governance principles.
Part 2 of this blog title, which is on the way forward, will be unveiling steps for addressing the missteps of senior officials of the government in managing the protests, even with a month’s notice.
The important element of effective trends analysis that was conspicuously absent from the Tinubu government’s approach will also be dissected.
#ENDBADGOVERNANCEprotests.#FailureofStrategy,#EffectiveTrendsAnalysis,#StrategicCommunication,#TransformationalLeadership,#GoodGovernance.
