Admin I Saturday, May 13, 2023
LAGOS – Nigeria is in dire need to disentangle itself from the interlocking tripartite problems of the economy, security and poverty through a conscious political leadership different from those pretend to be oblivious to the dangers confronting the nation.
That is the submission of Professor Anya Okoh Anya in a keynote address at the opening of this year’s MegaSummit organised by Kingdom Men Global Network.
Speaking at the Men in Leadership (MiLEADS) opening session with the theme – Leading for Healing…The Love Challenge in Nation Building , Professor Anya in his address titled, Nigeria: In Search of the Leadership That Heals and Builds the Nation Through Love, identified the “pervading environment of corruption, impunity and violence as a confrontation to dealing with the Nigerian situation in a logical, rational and self-diminishing strategy especially as the economic challenges are slowly acquiring the visage of intractability.”
The 14-page address equally called attention to the nation’s debt burden currently estimated at some N100 trillion including the more than N23 trillion owed the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Ways and Means instrument.
Repayment of this huge debt in the words of Professor Anya is daunting in the face of recent pronouncement by the World Bank that “in March 2023, the total revenue of the Federal Government could only meet 96% of what is required to service (not to repay) the outstanding loans!”
While identifying leadership as central to Nigeria’s problems and has slowed down drastically growth of the nation; Professor Anya insists that three elements stand out from the plenitude of challenges confronting the Nigerian project and these are the Debt trap, the issue of Legitimacy and the Poverty problem.
He posited that unless Nigeria recruits disciplined managers to mitigate its huge debt profile which by far outstrips its earnings, the country may thread the path of Argentina post-1920s and current story in Zimbabwe; the issue of legitimacy due to the flawed conduct of the 2023 elections with less than 30% of registered voters participating in electing leaders according to Professor Anya, is a subject of concern; and the quite worrisome statistics that shows that more than 133 million Nigerians live below the poverty line, can only indicate failure of government to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
Professor Anya who is the Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian Prize for Leadership lamented that in spite of the gloom that looms, the country seem to undermine the magnitude of its problems. For instance, he pointed out, “Much of the time in the last 30 years our target for the growth of the (Nigerian) economy has usually been to achieve growth rate of 2% to 3% per annum. Only once in the regime of Dr Jonathan did the growth target approach 8% per annum. As economists know, it is only at the threshold of a growth rate of 7.5% pa will an economy approach the desirable outcome of doubling the GDP per annum every decade.
“A necessary condition for the achievement of this target is that the population shows no growth throughout the decade. Otherwise, adjustments must be made for population growth. In the light of the fact that Nigeria’s population growth rate has hovered over the last decade at a minimum of around 3% p.a. consequently to enter the fast paced economic growth path of above 7.5% p.a. Nigeria’s growth target should be at the minimum level of 11% p.a (i.e. 7.5 plus 3.0 = 10.5%). In order words, Nigeria’s growth rate must be at the double digit growth rate.”
Professor Anya expressed surprise that no economic team has made this (double) the target growth rate for the Nigerian economy as a matter of policy or strategic imperative in the last 30 years.
The recurring question of what vision is there for Nigeria, (a question which the youth of the nation have often demanded) is asked by the keynote speaker. Professor Anya goes on to attempt an answer to the question.
According to him, the Nigeria of the future should be driven by four cardinal desirables and it shall be a society where we have: “Wealth with equity; Truth with compassion; Justice with fairness and; Reconciliation with empathy.”
Beyond the economic challenge that beset the country, professor Anya called for the re-humanise of the new Nigeria in a manner that can give the new mission a human face. Adopt a “strategy that can fast-track the building of a nation that is united, integrated and cohesive despite its plural composition as a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual commonwealth of nationalities.”
Suggesting likely areas of immediate actions that can produce the prerequisite results going forward, professor Anya identified the much neglected Federal Character Principle as one of such unifying factor for Nigeria. Described as “the distinctive desire of the people of Nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation,” but this has not been pursued with an equal measure of rigour as in other climes. He noted that the less than rigorous manner the federal character principle was pursued gave the impression that merit and quality could be sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity. He noted that a society that pursues excellence and merit can still be a society of equal opportunities in an environment of social justice, fairness and compassion.
Commenting on the recently concluded general elections in the country an its rancorous aftermath which has exposed the fault lines of the Nigerian nation, Professor Anya recommended what he described as “a massive dose of a potent healing balm” to bring back the nation to the path of growth.
He therefore raised the twin questions of: “Where do we find that balm and how do we administer it efficaciously and effectively?” Answering his question himself, Professor Anya posited that, “Obviously such an environment as we have found ourselves in demands an uncommon, unique and exceptional leadership because the omens suggest that the challenges of nation building must start in earnest today or we would have lost our still-to-be born and emergent nation.”
He closes with a poser to the political class thus, “will our amoral and immoral political class pause and listen?” he concludes identifying the most fundamental qualities and traits of successful leaders as Truth and Love and this is summarised by Jesus in the law and the prophets as a command unto man to “love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
These attributes are those of the servant leader and which is modelled by Jesus Christ who in his humanity washed the feet of His disciples, thus for Nigeria, “the greatest challenge at this time of our national history is to find that servant leader clothed with humility and dressed in the noble garment of truth and love who will lead the nation in the path of cooperation, conciliation, compassion and competence.”
The 10th edition of MegaSummit featured such prominent speakers as Dr. Christopher Kolade (Chairman of Board of Trustees, Kingdom Men Global Network), Dr Adedokun Adedeji, Dr Biodun adedipe, Dr Femi Albert Oduwole, Pastors Iyke and Chioma Ejimofor, Mrs Roseline Subair, Rev Solomon Adegbolagun, Very Rev Father Matthew Ogunyase, Rev Elekima Ekine, Pastor Adedayo Fajimi, Rev Bayo Oniwinde, Pastor Ferdy Adimefe, Worship Minister Olumide Iyun, among others.
Participants were drawn from several states in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and beyond. The programme opened on Thursday May 11 and ended on Sunday May 14, 2023 in Lagos.
