LEADERSHIP AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: PERSPECTIVES FROM IGWEBUIKE PHILOSOPHY
Abstract
The main thrust of this paper is to analyse the debacle of leadership and good governance
in Nigeria while gleaning on the perspectives of Igwebuike philosophy. Nigeria as a
country with all its human and natural resources and great potentials have suffered in
the hands of incompetent and inept leaders as a result, effective leadership and good
governance have become a sham and farce in our country. The paper is a survey, using
the descriptive and analytical research methodology. Data were collated from secondary
sources i.e. journals, books, official publications of the government, internet materials
among others. The data was analysed using the content analysis. The good governance
theory and the transformational leadership theory were used as the theoretical framework
for the study. The findings show that there is a dearth of effective leadership and good
governance in Nigeria. As a result of the systemic and endemic corruption prevalent in
the country, she has failed all the measurable indicators of good governance in leadership.
The study concludes with some pathways to sustainable leadership and governance in
Nigeria and advocates the involvement of the masses in the activities of government; nongovernmental organisations and the media need capacity building and empowerment;
National Orientation Agency needs to do more in terms of campaigns against corruption,
and lastly capital punishment for corrupt public office holders like it is practiced in
China.
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