By Sunny Ikhioya

AS the President prepares to nominate another set of cabinet members to assist him run the affairs of this country in the next four years, it is right that he be guided by certain fundamentals. It is my hope, however, that this is not coming too late.

Buhari

I have plan to establish varsity that would bear my husbands name- Aisha Buhari(Opens in a new browser tab)

Causes of Nigeria’s present debilitating conditions are many, one of them being our penchant for copying everything from abroad “hook, line and sinker”. We want the best; we make our students go through the highest examination standards, but when they graduate, what do we do with them?

In developed countries, once you are identified – whether as immigrant or citizen – your progression is monitored until you finally identify your career purpose, which will also be of benefit to the nation. What have we done with our best and what plans do we have for the ones coming behind? In fact, how do we define our best?

Is it through school examination results or what they are able to do when they graduate from school? We know that success or failure in examination depends on so many factors, including environmental background. Even then the best in examination performance must be factored in but the locally developed talent must also be taken into consideration.

One of the reasons this government appears not to have reached its full potential is the inability of Mr President and his inner cabinet to introduce the required mix.

We are not making use of the vast potentials and resources available to us, as we believe that we can succeed with the simple ‘carry go‘ style of management.

In the Harvard HBR collection ‘On Collaboration’, writing under the title: “Are You a Collaborative Leader?” Herminia Ibarra and Morten T. Hansen commented as follows: “Research has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided they are well led. The ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, disciplines, cultures, and generations and leverage all that they have to offer, therefore, is a must have for leaders.

“Yet many companies (in this case Nigeria) spend inordinate amounts of time, money and energy attracting talented employees, only to subject them to homogenising processes that kill creativity. The chance for new ideas is much greater when you have people from different backgrounds. The chance for conflict is also higher- and conflict is good per se, as long as it’s constructive and gets us to the best idea”.

That is why, as the President draws his list for ministerial and other appointments, he must bear in mind that a skewed pattern of appointment will never allow him to achieve the much desired progress for this country.

He must remove the garb that makes him to feel that only his ethnic, religious and close friends alone can assist him to achieve his goals. It is an opportunity of a lifetime given to him to write his name in gold in the history of this nation.

In my estimation, the President failed to live up to expectations in his first four years tenure, although, those around him will never allow him to realise this. And that is why the need for diversity is so pertinent. At this point, we need new blood.

According to the HBR writers: “Collaborative leaders ensure that teams stay fresh via periodic infusions of new players.” The President did not take this into consideration during his first tenure, even when it was so glaring that some of his men were clearly lacking in substance and delivery. Though they embarrassed the government that he led, he refused to effect the necessary changes required.

The kind of ministers that will help him to deliver the goods are those that will also imbibe the virtues of diversity. The collaboration must also diffuse from the President to the ministers and all the leadership in our federal agencies. Bart Becht of Reckitt Benckiser observed that: “Depoliticising senior management so that executives are rewarded for collaboration, rather than promoting their individual agenda is an absolute essential”.

That is it; all facts laid bare for us to comprehend. There is no better alternative to diversity; it is a principal factor that determines the greatness of nations. Nigeria has it in abundance, but leadership has continued to play politics of all kinds with it. China, India and others, have sent their best out to other parts of the world to learn diversity and benchmark on what they lack, and where possible, steal technology. What do we do here? We tend to subdue or kill what we have.

In fact, our diversity has killed our creativity. We prefer to go abroad for solutions than to seek help from our brother who is not ethnically and religiously same with us. And this is what the HBR writers have to say about organisations and societies that refuse to allow for diversity and creativity to reign. It does not have to be your brother or religious comrade or, your ethnic kindred or your old friend, any person that is proven to be competent will do. It is also not about the age; the more the generational mix, the better.

Every individual has talents, depending on how he or she is nurtured; same applies to groups and societies. There are no perfect human beings, even the geniuses in our midst have their own frailties and foibles. That is the way life is and that is how nature works. Life must be balanced: the average, good and excellent must be accommodated in the scheme of things, otherwise it will be distorted. The same thing is applicable in other areas of our lives, especially in the way we recruit personnel for our organisations.

There is a preponderance of the big companies and key federal agencies in the country, to always call for first class or a minimum of second class upper certificate holders in their recruitment drives.

One may then ask: If we have always been calling for first class candidates into NNPC and other organisations, why have we been having challenges with the running of such organisations for profitability.

This is not trying to bring down the importance of merit in our system, which is very vital, but we must emphasize the need for diversity and inclusiveness in the system.

Everyone will have to track his or her own career progression. Human resources experts, mentors, unit heads and others will ultimately be the guide as these individuals glide through their potentials. That way, we put square pegs in square holes and everyone benefits. The President must take note of this.