By Olu Fasan

CHRISTMAS is a period of sanctimonious political preachiness in Nigeria. From the president to the governors, Nigerian political leaders usually send Christmas messages to the people, urging them to emulate Jesus Christ. In his message this year, President Muhammadu Buhari said: “I enjoin all Nigerians to imbibe and demonstrate the essence of the season”, adding that they should “shun all actions which negate the spirit of the season”. But the real message of Christmas is for leaders, not followers: it’s about sacrificial leadership!

READ ALSO:Supreme court: Imo politicians reach out for alliance(Opens in a new browser tab)

Lest we forget, Christmas is about Jesus who, despite His divinity, assumed humanity to save mankind. As Philippians 2: 6 and 7 puts it, “Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped; but made Himself of no repute, and took upon Him the form of a servant.”

That servant-leadership defined the entire ministry of Jesus. He told His disciples in Matthew 20: 26-28 that “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant”, adding: “Even as the Son of Man came not be ministered unto, but to minister.”

From His humble birth in a manger, despite being the Son of God, Jesus spent His entire life serving people, moved by compassion to heal anyone with an infirmity. In John 10: 11-13, Jesus described Himself as a Shepherd who looked after the sheep and ready to give His life for them.

“I am the good Shepherd”, He said, adding that “the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep”, unlike the hireling who, when he sees the wolf coming, flees and leaves the sheep, because “he cares not for the sheep”.

It is apposite during this season to look at leadership through the scriptural lens not only to stress that Christmas epitomises the sacrificial leadership of Jesus, but also to underscore the religious dimension of secular leadership; after all, God Himself created the institution of human government.

As Romans 13: 1 says, “For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God”.

But God also set high standards for those chosen to run human governments. For instance, Proverbs 16: 12 and 13 says, “It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.” Isaiah 10:1 adds: “Woe to those who enact evil statutes or record unjust decisions”. And Proverbs 29: 2 tells us that “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, people groan.”

Sadly, Nigeria is a country where political leaders wear their religion on their sleeves, but utterly ignore the religious injunctions on servant leadership. I mean, this is a country where the people groan because of bad leadership, where leaders enact evil statutes and make unjust decisions.

As an independent country, Nigeria is 59 this year, 60 next year; this year also marks 20 years of uninterrupted civil rule in this country. Yet, there is nothing to show for these longevities in terms of improvement in living standards, institutional development and social or ethnic harmony.

Let’s face it, Nigeria has been badly served by its leaders!

But Nigeria is badly served because it has never had a visionary and competent leader. Cicero famously said that “Those who govern a country should be the best and the brightest of the land”. But Nigeria has never been governed by any of its best and brightest citizens.

Take Obafemi Awolowo. His leadership qualities matched those of transformational leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Awolowo, who transformed Western Nigeria, was so good that a British prime minister, Harold Wilson, said he would have made a brilliant prime minister of Britain. Yet, he died as “the best president Nigeria never had.” Sadly, of those who have actually led Nigeria, from Tafawa Balewa in the 1960s to Muhammadu Buhari today, none possessed the vision and competence to take the country forward!

In a report on state fragility, Professors Paul Collier and Tim Besley identified three tools good leaders use to transform their countries. These are narratives, actions and institutions.

Leaders are first-and-foremost communicators, and, thus, a good leader must inspire his people with well-chosen narratives of a shared, positive vision. But narratives must be matched with credible actions. For instance, a leader who preaches national unity but takes actions that undermine that narrative will lack credibility.

Then, actions must be supported with the right institutions. As Professors Collier and Besley put it, “Good leaders change policies, but great leaders build institutions.”

But which Nigerian leader has combined the tools of narratives, actions and institutions to move this country forward? None. Nigerian leaders often talk the talk but rarely walk the walk.

They talk about unity, tackling poverty, building a post-oil economy etc, but those words lack credible actions. And where they purport to take actions, they fail utterly to build credible institutions. Take a look at Nigerian institutions – the army, the police, customs, EFCC, the judiciary etc – which of them helps make Nigeria an effective state? Hardly any!

So, why have successive Nigerian leaders failed to move this country forward? Well, apart from the lack of vision and competence, another reason is the lack of willingness. They are driven by opportunistic short-termism, putting their self-interest above the common good.

Take President Buhari. Why is he opposed to restructuring Nigeria, despite the imperative? Why is he pursuing protectionist policies that would damage the economy and increase extreme poverty? Why did he have to be forced by local and international pressure to release Sambo Dasuki and Omoyele Sowore from detention? Well, because of self-interest.

But leadership is about sacrifices. Nigeria certainly needs leaders willing to make sacrifices for a better future. That’s the true message of Christmas!

Merry Christmas and compliments of the season everyone!