Managing But Not Coping

When Muhammadu Buhari was elected president of Nigeria he swept in on a promise of change and honest government. After, 100 days he seems to be making up a lot of excuses for why things might not change. Contrary to what he might imagine nobody expects change to happen overnight. We understand that in order for things to change; Nigeria and Nigerians need to reform. This type of sea change can only happen over time. 

In order to reform institutions it is important that you engage stakeholders and identity what the problems are. Reform cannot be based on innuendo and conjecture. It needs to be rooted in evidence and tried and tested means. In order to do this a president needs to have a capable and trustworthy team around him. The ability to bring together a strong team is a sign of good leadership. It shows vision and a desire to achieve concrete objectives. Doing so in a timely fashion is essential for good leadership because it gets the ball rolling and frees up the leader to focus on strategy and other areas of concern. 

The task in Nigeria involves not only change but also development and restructuring. There are problems with healthcare, education, unemployment, poverty, transportation, weak manufacturing, security, brain drain, and housing. All these are in addition to corruption, dwindling oil revenues, and inefficiency in bureaucracy. Tackling all these issues will require that the president has a team around him that he can entrust his vision to and rely on. However, it also requires that his team understand his vision and are fully invested in it. For this to happen the team needs to play a part in shaping the vision and developing strategies to take it forward. 

Nigerians are not expecting miracles (regardless of the manifold prayers). But they are hoping for good leadership and guidance. Being given a political mandate should not be seen as a license for autocratic and unilateral rule. To achieve change the president needs the services of not just a cabinet but also 160 million Nigerians. He needs to share his vision and plans with the people, coopt them on his mission, and listen to what they have to say. Only then will he truly make change happen.