Media report quoting former President Olusegun Obasanjo as saying that deficit of leadership is a major challenge confronting the world, should serve as a food for thought for leaders across the globe, particularly those of Africa.
Obasanjo made the assertion penultimate Monday at the 11th African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) 2024 Conference, organised by the Bible Society of various countries across the world, hosted by Nigeria in Abuja.
The former president lamented, “If there is any shortage in supply of anything in the world today, it is leadership. The conference bore the theme Value-based Leadership: Model for Africa focused on raising new generation of transformational leaders in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
Obasanjo said, “Deficit of leadership is our major problem in the world today and, of course, Africa being part of the world, we are not exempted and if you like, Nigeria being part of Africa, we are not exempted.
“When I got invitation as a chairman of this occasion, I took a critical look at the Biblical quality of leadership of great leaders in the Bible. These people possessed knowledge and understanding. They had mission, compassion and were competent and very close to God who is the greatest leader,” he said.
Obasanjo challenged world leaders, including those in Africa and Nigeria in particular, to lead with fear of God to overcome the present challenges. He said leaders must possess the “quality of Biblical leaders who ruled the world of their generation with God’s wisdom”.
Also speaking at the event, the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said leaders at all levels must promote justice to actualise the dream of “value-based leadership”. She noted that the value of justice is the foundation of Godly leadership as it ensures fairness, equity, equality and protection for everyone, especially the vulnerable in the society.
“Africa is at a crossroads, facing numerous challenges that require effective Godly leadership. As Christian leaders, we must embrace the value-based leadership model that reflects the teaching of Jesus Christ. This model is built on four foundational values – justice, integrity, wisdom and social harmony,” she said.
Professor Jerry Gana, a former Minister of Information, said leadership is critical to development in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Gana said one of the objectives of the conference was to seek, unveil and inculcate fresh ideas to redefine the character of leadership and governance and transform the continent of Africa.
“In this very important and timely conference, we will unveil a fresh path to a brighter future that will help to redefine the character of leadership and governance and transform the continent of Africa.
“We want to thank the Bible Society of various countries for coming together to continue with this conference that was started in 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aimed at inspiring values in world leadership.
“In the world, characterised by unprecedented challenges and complexities, Africa stands at a critical juncture, the need for visionary, ethical, value-based leadership cannot be overlooked,’’ Gana said. The Keynote Speaker, Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, said African leaders must take the advantage of huge God-given resources to alleviate the people’s sufferings.
Obasanjo, no doubt, hit the bull’s eye by his assertion of leadership deficit and its consequences for a peaceful and prosperous world, particularly in Africa, nay Nigeria. In the case of Nigeria, poor leadership over the decades has bred high profile corruption that stifled the country’s socio-economic and political development. Corruption has also given rise to a complex web of insecurity and created mass poverty. Nigeria was ranked as the world’s poverty capital by the Transparency International (TI) in its 2022 World Poverty Index.
Apparently, to address this leadership and trust deficit between citizens and their leaders as well as enthrone good and responsive governance founded on value-based leadership, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week carried out a revolutionary cabinet reshuffle and ministerial reform.
Coming 17 months after President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, the exercise saw the naming of seven new ministers, sacking of five and the reassigning of 10 others to new portfolios. The reform includes renaming the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development, the replacement of the Ministry of Sports with the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the merger of the ministries of tourism and arts and culture.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said in the reshuffle, Tinubu appointed new ministers for humanitarian and poverty reduction, trade and investment, labour, livestock development and junior ministers for foreign affairs, education and housing. The ministers of education, tourism, women affairs, youth development and the junior housing minister were sacked.
Blueprint commends President Tinubu’s bold and audacious ministerial reforms, which many have described as a revolutionary move aimed at recalibrating the nation’s governance architecture and reinvigorating government machinery towards accelerated socio-economic and political development. It is our conviction that the cabinet reshuffle and ministerial reforms will usher in an era of value-based leadership for Nigeria.