2023: Mbah’s Lecture raises political stake, thrills stakeholders in Enugu
BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
When the Head, Media Office of Dr Peter Mbah Campaign Organisation, Dan Nwomeh, on Friday, September 23, reminded this reporter of the media coverage of his boss who was billed to deliver lecture at the MEDRHUS Leadership Forum last Saturday, September 24, one thing that came to mind was the lecture circuit series of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani while serving as Governor of Enugu State.
Nnamani, a medical doctor by training and founder of Ebeano political dynasty brought glamour to Enugu politics and indeed Nigeria political cycle when he traversed the length and breadth of the country with his cerebral and incisive lectures on national issues.
Apparently, Mbah is following the foot step of his political godfather in intellectual voyage with his thought-provoking lecture and this development may have influenced the large turnout of people at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (ÙNEC) last Saturday.
Indeed, it was a Mecca of sort as politicians especially from the PDP fold were on ground in their numbers to listen to the voice of the PDP governorship flag-bearer.
A development that further buttressed the point that, the ruling party in the state has a formidable structure and capacity to remain on the saddle in 2023.
Even when the event was slated for 10 am, the Justice Mary Odili Moot court auditorium, ÙNEC, venue of the event was filled to capacity before 8 am in the morning, prompting many of the visitors to sit outside the hall with rapt attention all through the lecture.
Among the dignitaries present at the occasion were Mbah’s running mate, Barrister Ifeanyi Ossai, Director General of the State PDP/Peter Mbah Campaign Organization, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, former deputy governor of Enugu State, Rev. Dr Ralph Nwonye, Sen. Gil Nnaji, senatorial candidate for Enugu West, Engr Osita Ngwu, House of Assembly members, top government functionaries, local government chairmen, captains of industry, and members of the academia.
True to its bidding, Dr Mbah, an emerging bridge builder in the Coal City State was on song as he mounted the podium with aura of confidence, marshalling his points bit by bit on vexed national issues to the admiration of the audience.
What perhaps captivated the audience more was how he boldly delved into the Nigerian leadership question, x-raying the hydra-headed socio-economic and political challenges of our time concluding the debate with realistic remedies.
Prior to the lecture proper, Mbah went down memory lane underscoring the various definitions of the word “Leadership”, juxtaposing it with the nation’s prevailing circumstances.
Leadership philosophy, he recalled, has evolved significantly over the years, from the earliest theory of leadership, to ‘the great man’ theory.
This latter theory was inspired by the lives of world figures like Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, etc. and basically held that you could only be a good leader if you were destined to be one.
In other words, leadership of that period was predicated on predestination. The only flip-side of this theory is that it gave leaders an escapist place to hide and an excuse to rationalize misrule.
According to him, “Over time, this theory was modified to give rise to the ‘trait theory of Leadership.’
“This theory attempted to better define the actual traits of a good leader.
“It admitted that some of those traits of leadership could actually be learned by ‘lesser mortals’ and not necessarily predestined. It however also conceded that many of the leadership virtues were innate, ” he said..
According to him these two theories had one thing in common:
“They attempted to describe leadership solely from the perspective of the Leader, i.e. his personality, traits, destiny etc.
Mbah said, however, that these now outdated theories have been called into question by the failures of several of these great ‘hero type characters’ both in the past, as well as even in the present.
“The most recent example of this could be the Ukraine misadventure, where a ‘hero type’ leader like Vladimir Putin has so far been embarrassed by a more transformational leader like Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been able to galvanise his people in Ukraine as well as global support to mount what has been a surprisingly successful defence of Ukraine, against greater odds, ” he stated.
“According to him, perhaps as a result of failures like these, the theory of transformational leadership emerged in the late 1970s and mid-80s, shifting the emphasis from this earlier focus on leaders’ personalities to an emphasis on the relationship between the Leader and the ‘led’ i.e. the followers.
“For example, Bernard M. Bass, in 1985, posited that it was not the individual traits and vision of the Leader that mattered the most, but rather his ability to influence the feelings, attitudes, and commitment of his followers, making them perform above their normal levels of achievement”, he said.
To the PDP flag-bearer, the only way Nigeria, as a nation, can wriggle out of its current multifaceted quagmire was through the right leadership in every segment of our national life.
He decried the sorry state of the nation, concluding that it is discouraging to the youths.
He said that insecurity, high rate of crime and other social malady as well as the ongoing industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian University is a clear example of a failing state.
He blamed these abnormalities that have taken frightening dimension in the system on bad leadership.
Mbah, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Pinnacle oil and gas Ltd, said the theme of the annual lecture series entitled: “Leadership in Modern Times: Youths Bridging The Gap” was apt and timely, and commended the Medical Research and Humanitarian Society, University of Nigeria, for organising the event.
He expressed confidence that only the right leadership would put Nigeria back on track by harnessing the huge potentials of the nation’s youths to build a country of their dream.
“Good leadership should not only be about leadership traits, or visionary nature, but also about the ability of the leader to convey his vision and most of all, about his ability to carry his team through the motion of moving from their current state, to achieving their envisioned state.
“The test of leadership is the management of the journey and the dynamics of carrying the team along to the final objective,” he noted.
Mba added that, Africa is still battling with the kind of leadership model its colonial masters bequeathed to it which he called, “heroic leadership complex”, where leaders wants to be worshipped as heroes rather than seeing themselves as servants of the people they’re representing.
This, he said, is worrisome as it had led to the collapse of leadership in Nigeria where youths are now at the receiving end.
He observed that the collapse of leadership in Africa has had a reverberating effect on youths of the continent, pointing out that Nigeria for example, reflects this collapse in the different malaises suffered by the youths.
“The collapse of leadership in Africa has had a reverberating effect on youths of the continent.
“Nigeria for example reflects this collapse in the different malaise suffered by the youths.
“The level of nepotism that is currently in the country, the collapse of security, the menace of students staying at home for upwards of seven months simply due to the inability of government and the lecturers’ union to come to an accord on issues of funding of universities have a linkage to this collapse.
“More significantly is the fear that the Nigerian economy can go bankrupt if no urgent steps are taken to halt the decline,” he observed.
He lamented the disturbing high rate of brain drain syndrome currently ravaging the country.
Mbah took a hard look at the nation’s dwindling fortunes and noted that the implication of the leadership failure on the country has led our youths who are the most valuable resource to leave the country in droves in search of greener pastures.
Referring the ugly development as “japa”, he explained that it has to do with desperate youths journeying through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe and ending in disappointments and calamities.
He maintained that the rush to escape the country by the youth was a colossal loss to Nigeria as the country had lost hundreds of her prime human assets with potentials to rescue the country’s future from the tragedy that lies ahead.
He further stared that the Nigerian youths had become so disillusioned that they would never bother considering the risk involved in embarking on illegal journey to Europe.
He urged the youths not to lose hope but put their acts together for leadership by equipping themselves with leadership skills and techniques.
He also called on different institutions and bodies to deliberately set up leadership programmes that would address leadership deficiency on the youths.
On reasons for leadership failure, Mbah said many leaders lacked emotional intelligence which goes beyond good technical or work skills to factors such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.
He added that every potential good leader must study and imbibe the characteristics of transcendental leadership.
According to him, “a good leader must also possess to achieve breakthrough in their defined goals. Such leaders must imbibe the spirit of perseverance, humility, and commitment with a strong sense of mission, focus and teamwork”
Mbah also took time to share his experience on his great exploits in public and private sectors in the last twenty years.
According to the former Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development in Enugu State, the youths and other aspiring leaders must never stop learning new things in a technologically driven dynamic system.
“Youths must seek opportunities of responsibility or service; build self-discipline; learn to be good team players; build virile communication skills and always think of innovation or new ways of doing things,” he said.
On what the Nigerian society expects from the youths whom he referred as the leaders of tomorrow, Mbah said the country needed a modern leadership that is driven by empathy for the people and is hunger for the change of status-quo, calling on the youths to seize the opportunity presented to them to make good leaders and better their society.
Speaking, the President of MEDRHUS, Stephen Anigbo, expressed his profound appreciation for the presence of the Guest Speaker, saying the knowledge he would impact on the youths would make them more useful to themselves and the society.
He stated that, Mbah as a leader has paved way for development of the youths in the society through his disruptive innovation and entrepreneurship drives.
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