An Ibadan Chief, Oloye Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke on Thursday said Nigerians are tired of present governments and crave for credible leaders.
Adegoke, who is the Ajia Balogun of Ibadan land stated this while delivering a paper to commemorate the 60th independence anniversary of Nigeria.
The event was organized by Oyo State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ibadan. It has the present of Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN and NUJ Chairman, Mr. Ademola Babalola.
While speaking, Adegoke said, “Nigeria at 60: Challenges and prospects”, noted that his interaction with many people have revealed that many Nigerians are already tired of the present political dispensation which started in 1999 because this is not what they expected.
He said, “We got this democracy 21 years ago on a plater of gold, but what is our experience. Look at where we are and look at what they are giving us. The challenges facing this country can be summarised into two, leadership and followership. People said that Nigerian police cannot change, I can tell you that they will change if they have the right IG.
Speaking further lamented that it is worrisome that Nigeria has not been having good leaders.
“We do not and have not been having the right quality and size of leaders at the helm of affairs be it local, state, and at the federal level. In addition, most followers continue to show a laissez-faire attitude/approach to national issues and problems.
“It is important Nigeria leaders and followers realize that leadership and followership play critical roles in a nation’s development. Leaders and followers must make conscious efforts at engendering economic growth and development, and that economic growth and development requirements.
“Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. As a leader, you must strive to perfect the ability to speak effectively and persuasively. That is, good leaders must be able to communicate effectively with a very high level of assurance, we only experienced something close to the above during the 1st Republic
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. That is, a good leader manages men and resources, and productively galvanizes them to produce the desire results…..we only experienced something close to the above during the 1st Republic and probably now in Lagos State”.
Adegoke said for Nigeria to experience feasible, continuous and socio-economic development, credible leaders must emerge.
