LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Malam Adamu Fika, Wazirin Fika gave the Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) Annual Luncheon Lecture last Saturday, 22^nd of October in Kaduna. As should be expected, given the nature of the Forum, and the status and stature of the lecturer, it was an event that was profound in its impact. The former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and a man whose life was defined by courageous service, gave a lecture with the intriguing title of “Going Back to Basics: The Past as Prologue”. The Wazirin Fika is Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Review of Reform Processes in the Public Service; a job that he must have taken up with some level of reluctance given his widely-registered cynicism over the possible reversal of the fortunes of the Public Service as the foundations of governance in Nigeria. He had left the service he had given his life to when the then Head of State, General Badamasi Babangida introduced major reforms in the Service which were seen as the trigger for its pervasive politicization. Since then, he had remained a respected reference point in terms of the credibility, accountability and efficiency of the public service.

          Malam Adamu Fika’s lecture touched on many aspects of the public service which gave it its distinguishing characteristics and integrity. It was rich in history, and was a rare glimpse into a past when rules were obeyed; when changes were introduced only to improve institutions and the lives of citizens; and when the law, and only the law, provided the basis for public policy and conduct of politicians and bureaucrats. It made the case for a re-assessment of the present in the context of past legacies; and reminds Nigerians that the nation lost its way when political expediency took the place of the rule of law; and when leaders chose highhandedness and arbitrariness in place of respect for due processes and disciplined respect for institutional integrity. He reminds Nigerians that they had a glorious past; with leaders and public servants who set very high standards with service as their only motive. He drew attention to the imperative of according the past its due in history; not as a symbolic gesture, but as a key requirement for shaping the present and future.

          Those who are pained by the degeneration of our values and the corruption in our institutions and government should read Malam Adamu Fika’s lecture. It paints a picture of past leaders who faced huge problems in managing pluralism, poverty and all the social vices which rapid socio-economic changes brought all human societies; but who remained steadfast in their pursuit for good policies and a sense of mission to improve the lot of Nigerians. They led by example, and submitted themselves entirely to a value system which defined leadership as service. They commanded respect from citizens because they lived simple lives; and accepted that to lead is to sacrifice.

          The cases which Malam Adamu Fika mentioned in his lecture to show how leaders in our past lived should be brought to the attention of our current leaders, who not only earn salaries and allowances that rank among the highest in the world; but who live in their own separate world, paid for by the public. In 1962, Ministers voluntarily took a cut in their salaries by up to 10% to make it easy for government to manage its finances and pursue planned economic development. Today, our leaders take home millions of Naira in salaries and allowances. They live in government houses where food, water, power and all the luxuries of life are provided for by the public which they are supposed to serve.          

          The Wazirin Fika tells a story when the Premier of Northern Nigeria, the Sardauna of Sokoto was told that the only plane available to him for an official trip was needed to fly a sick civil servant from Idda to Kano. He had a choice between using his car for the official trip, or letting the plane go to pick the sick public officer. He chose to do his journey by road, while the plane went to pick the officer from Idda. On another occasion, the Sardauna was returning from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, which he paid for from his own pocket. He duly paid the customs duty on the goods he brought into the country, and was even over-assessed by the Customs officers. They later refunded the excesses of ₤1 to him.

The older generation to which the Wazirin Fika belongs have many stories of statesmanship, vision and discipline of past leaders and bureaucrats. But they are becoming an extinct specie, and the very few of his ilk that remain have become reluctant to even describe a past to younger generations who think things were good then because life was simpler. Life was not, by any standard, simpler. The generation of Sardauna, Tafawa Balewa, Awolowo and Zik and Malam Adamu Fika faced all the challenges of leading poor societies with huge expectations; and they faced the same temptations all leaders face.

Nigerians are poor people today because they have leaders who have set very low standards for themselves. Many leaders treat public office as a commodity they paid for at elections. They treat public funds as if they are personal property. Public servants have lost the capacity to offer informed and competent advise because they are products of the same political system that produced bad leaders. Politicians have no respect for civil servants, or rules, or even the legal basis of public service operations. So they adjust to the system which defines public service as service to the whims and caprices of politicians. A combination of an incompetent and corrupt leadership and a compromised and cowed bureaucracy means only one thing: bad government.

Bad leadership cannot tackle major problems of governance. Corrupt and incompetent leaders cannot command respect and genuine affection of citizens. They therefore either retreat into their comfortable Government Houses and leave the people with their poverty and frustrations; or they buy huge layers of political psycophants to tell them how well they are doing. No bad leader will tolerate a good public service, which by definition, has an inherent capacity to ensure that the public is protected from corruption and highhandedness by leaders.

Nigeria does not have too many people like Wazirin Fika, so it should listen to them and take those difficult steps that should take our nation out of this path in which it will only self-destruct.