POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND THE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE IN NIGERIA (AN OVERVIEW)

Abstract

This paper examines political leadership and the developmental state in Nigeria. The history of a great nation is linked to purposeful leadership. Such leaders have played significant roles in the socio-economic development and political emancipation of their nations. In Nigeria, however, the case is entirely different. The trouble with the developmental state in Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of political leadership. There are of course failures in other dimensions, but all these are traceable to inadequacies in political leadership. Why? To answer this question, the paper adopts a descriptive research design; relies on secondary data; and theoretically analyzes the collected data. The findings of the study reviles that lack of ideology, electoral malpractices, corruption, lack of rule of law, absence of accountability and transparency, among other things are the challenges of leadership which plague the developmental state in Nigeria. The paper, therefore, recommends among others the election of  strategic and progressive leadership that would identify and harmonize national capabilities to achieve the national interest; the creation of effective national institutions that can meet citizens’ needs and take full part in the workings of the international community; the undertaking of concerted development, broadly understood as progress toward stable and accountable society; the restructuring of the polity to ensure equity, justice and fairness among others. In conclusion, there is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian political system in operation; the trouble with the developmental state in Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of political leadership.