by by Okay Osuju)
The book, Leadership and Developmental Issues In Nigeria: A Search for Development Strategies, is a compendium of what has gone wrong with the economic strategies of most African countries and especially Nigeria in the search for an enduring blueprint for technological progress.
In engaging style in the 301-page book, the author, Chief Evarist Nnaamaka Nwosu, tries to do a prognosis on where we got it all wrong, with a view to pointing the way forward for emancipation.
For him, Nigeria has no option than to escape from the bondage of poverty and mind boggling underdevelopment which is the fallout from lack of consistent and well-thought out policies by successive governments since Independence in 1960.
His lamentations are well over the seven chapters of the book published by Crosan Publishing Limited.
As a scholar of history, Nwosu in chapter one, tries to point out the imperatives of leadership, as espoused by the legendary Italian renaissance strategist, Niccolo Machiavelli. In that all time classic, The Prince, Machiavelli exhorts leaders to not only be honest in their dealings with the citizens, but to be more circumspect and foresighted if they desire to remain in power.
Unfortunately, his message has always been taken out of context, to mean that a ruler must be brutal and ruthless to retain power without minding the collateral damage to the entire fabric of society.
And for this, Nigerian rulers –both military and civilian alike, have taken to appropriating the country’s resources for their private use in the quest to stay permanently in office, even when they no more command the respect and admiration of their subjects.
Unfortunately, the resources which could have been employed for technological advancement are frittered away to cater for the interest and comfort of a corrupt few.
All through other chapters, Nwosu tries to let the reader know that the problems of our society are self inflicted. For example, in chapter three, he tries to make a comparison between the parliamentary and presidential systems of governments.
In the end, he argues that the country should revert to the parliamentary or Westminster system of government, as it is not only cost effective but also collegial in the business of governance.
Most importantly, in a multi-ethnic and religious mosaic as Nigeria, this type of government will serve the interest of both the major and minority nationalities.
The author’s arguments are not only elucidating and compelling, the techniques are persuasive and convincing. Nwosu makes an effort to bring to the fore the ‘prebendalism’ that has for long obfuscated our political and economic developments for more than half century of nationhood.
In what he encapsulates as a culture of ‘clientelism’, he declares that “because it cannot be taken for granted for formal institutions to provide the needs of citizens without the prodding of persons in governments who are ready to serve as patrons for local clients…there is a continued tendency to rely on informal ties to ensure state support.
It is this kind of relationship that encourages the pervasive corruption in our political system and continues to pose the utmost challenge to good governance, public accountability and transparency”.
He concludes that the political elite must recognise the importance of reining in ‘clientelism’ in all its manifestation if Nigeria must not only stay afloat, but swim forward.
The author reserves his most telling bare knuckles to those factors that have been responsible for the poor showing of Africa, especially Nigeria in the race for technological development.
He concludes that some of these exogenous factors, such as slave trade, neo-colonialism, globalisation and transnational corporations have conspired to hold down our progress.
A situation whereby millions of Africans were sold as commodities for more than 500 years and their descendants regarded as inferior has helped in no small measures to instilling a psychology of reluctance to engage in the technology race.
Moreover, it helped to consign us to the status of perpetual producers of raw materials and consumers of finished products from the metropolitan countries. It is, therefore, not surprising that Nigeria being the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil still imports refined petroleum products from abroad.
This has not only spawned a rent seeking economy but is responsible for the demise of all other sectors from agriculture to industry. On the way out, he suggested that Nigeria adopt the strategies that made the Asian Tigers of Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, including Japan and China roaring successes.
One thread runs through the progress of these countries which has to do with state intervention. But the snag here is that Nigeria and its policy makers are too wedded to corruption to make such strategy a success here.
Moreover, ethnicism has for long been a cog in the wheel to achieving this. Incidentally, the country had earlier tried to site industries based on whims of those in authority rather than the practical realities of nearness to raw materials or even comparative advantage.
The carcasses of our steel mills, car assembly plants and even paper mills are sad epitaphs to the country’s half hearted attempt at state intervention in industrial development.
To make a new attempt requires a dedicated and patriotic leadership imbued with the zeal to bring the country out of the Stone Age where it is now languishing.
The book is not short of admirable leaders who have shown leadership in times of national emergencies.
According to him, “at any point in history, a leader or group of leaders has always emerged to turn the development fortunes of their countries around. From China to India and from South Korea to Brazil, the story is the same.
But in Africa, the emergence of the ‘New Partnership for African Development,’ NEPAD is an admission of failure of exemplary leadership.
In conclusion, the book tries to envision a new Nigeria that should emerge from the present debris. But for that to be, the country must first acquire modern technologies and embark on aggressive industrialisation.
This will not only create wealth and jobs but will put the country on the path to the production of motor vehicles, rail and ocean going vessels including rockets for space exploration. The author is of the view that there is no alternative to development for African countries, especially Nigeria.
He is of the opinion that Nigeria is best placed to do this because of its geopolitical position and abundant human and material resources.
Finally, the author made a conscious and determined effort to reinstate the long held views of social economists and political historians.
This book is a must read for scholars of economic development and also students of institutions of higher learning, desirous to challenge the frontiers of knowledge and interrogate some false dogmas that have held them hostage for long.
This book is not only scholarly; it will stand the test of time and add to the growing body of knowledge in the field of social science.
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