African News

[1/1] BBC News - Africa
The latest stories from the Africa section of the BBC News web site.
[1/15] Somalia militants lose key town

[2/15] South Sudan expels oil firm boss

[3/15] Nigeria rig 'may burn for months'

[4/15] Verdict on Mubarak set for 2 June

[5/15] Obasanjo in Senegal peace mission

[6/15] Libya ethnic clashes kill scores

[7/15] Mugabe jokes about 'resurrection'

[8/15] New West African oil discoveries

[9/15] Entire Somali classes 'abducted'

[10/15] Nigeria Islamists 'die in clash'

[11/15] Darfur rebels 'free peacekeepers'

[12/15] South Sudan slashes state budget

[13/15] Abused men in Kenya meals boycott

[14/15] Ghana to check coach's contract

[15/15] Ahly return to training in Cairo
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Leadership Quotes


  1. "Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."
    — Peter F. Drucker

    "Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results"
    — George S. Patton

    "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
    — Dwight Eisenhower

    "A leader is a dealer in hope."
    — Napoleon Bonaparte

    "I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?"
    — Benjamin Disraeli

    "The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it."
    — Elaine Agather

    "Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too."
    — Robert Half

    "Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women."
    — Groucho Marx

    "The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."
    — Theodore M. Hesburgh

    "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it."
    — Theodore Roosevelt

    "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."
    — James Crook

    "People cannot be managed. Inventories can be managed, but people must be led."
    — H. Ross Perot

    "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
    — The Bible

    "Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility."
    — St. Augustine

    "Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all."
    — Dwight D. Eisenhower

    "Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes."
    — Lewis Grizzard

    "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves."
    — Lao-Tzu

    "It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead -- and find no one there."
    — Franklin D. Roosevelt

    "What you cannot enforce, do not command."
    — Sophocles

    "The question, 'Who ought to be boss?', is like asking, 'Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?' Obviously, the man who can sing tenor."
    — Henry Ford

    "To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ... When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"
    — Lao-tsu

    "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch."
    — Jesus Christ

    "Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry."
    — Winston Churchill

    "Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading yourself—your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Invest at least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your peers."
    — Dee Hock 
Founder and CEO Emeritus, Visa

    "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."
    — John Kenneth Galbraith

    "If a rhinoceros were to enter this restaurant now, there is no denying he would have great power here. But I should be the first to rise and assure him that he had no authority whatever."
    — G.K. Chesterton to Alexander Woollcott

    "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
    — Henry Kissinger

    "No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings."
    — Peter Drucker

    "The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."
    — John Buchan

    "You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that's assault, not leadership."
    — Dwight D. Eisenhower

    "The best is he who calls men to the best. And those who heed the call are also blessed. But worthless who call not, heed not, but rest."
    — Hesiod
 8th Century BC Greek poet

    "Never give an order that can't be obeyed."
    — General Douglas MacArthur

    "Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and of tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away."
    — Admiral James B. Stockdale

    "Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand."
    — General Colin Powell

    "I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be."
    — Warren Bennis

    "Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."
    — Harry Truman

    "The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leaders and followers. ... Leaders, followers and goals make up the three equally necessary supports for leadership."
    — Gary Wills
Certain Trumpets: The Call of Leaders

    "A leader is one who influences a specific group of people to move in a God-given direction."
    — J. Robert Clinton

    "All Leadership is influence."
    — John C. Maxwell
Injoy, Inc.

    "Now there are five matters to which a general must pay strict heed. The first of these is administration; the second, preparedness; the third, determination; the fourth, prudence; and the fifth, economy."
    — Wu Ch'i (430-381 BC)

    "You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too."
    — Sam Rayburn

    "Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others may receive your orders without being humiliated."
    — Dag Hammarskjöld

    "The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on."
    — Walter Lippmann

    "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, 'We did this ourselves.'"
    Lao-Tse

    "People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives."
    — Theodore Roosevelt

    "Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned."
    — Harold Geneen

    "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant."
    — Max DePree

    "Four rules of leadership in a free legislative body:
First, no matter how hard-fought the issue, never get personal. Don't say or do anything that may come back to haunt you on another issue, another day....
Second, do your homework. You can't lead without knowing what you're talking about....
Third, the American legislative process is one of give and take. Use your power as a leader to persuade, not intimidate....
Fourth, be considerate of the needs of your colleagues, even if they're at the bottom of the totem pole...."
    — George Bush
Former President of the United States

    "Speak Softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
    — Theodore Roosevelt

    "Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
    — Stephen R. Covey

    "He who has great power should use it lightly."
    — Seneca

    "How do you know you have won? When the energy is coming the other way and when your people are visibly growing individually and as a group."
    — Sir John Harvey-Jones

    "He makes a great mistake ... who supposes that authority is firmer or better established when it is founded by force than that which is welded by affection."
    — Terence

    "The leader must know, must know that he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those around him that he knows."
    — Clarence Randall

    "You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case."
    — Ken Kesey

    "As a leader, you're probably not doing a good job unless your employees can do a good impression of you when you're not around."
    — Patrick Lencioni

    "Look over your shoulder now and then to be sure someone's following you."
    — Henry Gilmer

    "Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people", that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations."
    — Peter F. Drucker

    "Leadership is the ability to establish standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of long term constructive goals, in a participatory environment of mutual respect, compatible with personal values."
    — Mike Vance

    "The older I get the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do."
    — Andrew Carnegie

    "My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence."
    — General Montgomery

    "High sentiments always win in the end, The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic."
    — George Orwell

    "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
    — Ralph Waldo Emerson

    "In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now."
    — Wangari Maathai

    "I think leadership comes from integrity - that you do whatever you ask others to do. I think there are non-obvious ways to lead. Just by providing a good example as a parent, a friend, a neighbor makes it possible for other people to see better ways to do things. Leadership does not need to be a dramatic, fist in the air and trumpets blaring, activity."
    — Scott Berkun

    "Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."
    — Jack Welch

    "I think that the best training a top manager can be engaged in is management by example. I want to make sure there is no discrepancy between what we say and what we do. If you preach accountability and then promote somebody with bad results, it doesn't work. I personally believe the best training is management by example. Don't believe what I say. Believe what I do."
    — Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan

    "If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don't have to manage them."
    — Jack Welch

    "Make your top managers rich and they will make you rich."
    — Robert H. Johnson

    "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."
    — Proverbs 3:27

    "Catch someone doing something right."
    — Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

    "Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."
    — Paul Dickson

    "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."
    — Ronald Reagan

    "Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end."
    — Immanuel Kant

    "Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."
    — Peter Drucker

    "Don't equate activity with efficiency. You are paying your key people to see the big picture. Don't let them get bogged down in a lot of meaningless meetings and paper shuffling. Announce a Friday afternoon off once in a while. Cancel a Monday morning meeting or two. Tell the cast of characters you'd like them to spend the amount of time normally spent preparing for attending the meeting at their desks, simply thinking about an original idea."
    — Harvey Mackay

    "Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish."
    — Marcus Aurelius

    "We cling to hierarchies because our place in a hierarchy is, rightly or wrongly, a major indicator of our social worth."
    — Harold J. Leavitt

    "Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
    — Stephen R. Covey

    "Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . ; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine."
    — David Ogilvy

    "When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard."
    — John W. Gardner

    "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
    — Casey Stengel

    "A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
    — John Le Caré

    "I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people."
    — Thomas J. Watson, Jr.
A Business and its Beliefs (1963)

    "Focus on a few key objectives ... I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to another with the speed of light. So I'm really in the business of being the gatekeeper and the transmitter of ideas."
    — Jack Welch

    "So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."
    — Peter Drucker

    "Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet."
    — Henry Mintzberg
McGill University

    "If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf."
    — R Buckminster Fuller

    "The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work."
    — Agha Hasan Abedi

    "Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.
    — Tom Peters

    "The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!"
    — General George S. Patton, Jr.

    "Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
    — Mark Twain

    "Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down."
    — Ray Bradbury

    "People will rise to meet seemingly insurmountable obstacles and challenges if they understand the worthiness of the personal sacrifices and effort. Supporting that understanding must be mentors who provide leadership; without both ingredients, a cause will go unrealized and a mission is likely to fail."
    — Glenn R. Jones
Creating a Leadership Organization with a Learning Mission in The Organization of the Future

    "This the world of white water where we have to change to survive; where we have to develop to thrive; and, paradoxically, where the very act of change increases the risk that we won't survive."
    — Randall White, Phillip Hodgson and Stuart Crainer
The Future of Leadership: A White Water Revolution

    "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
    — Helen Keller

    "Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting."
    — Karl Wallenda

    "What leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams, the risk taker. And remembering that, the leader must reach down to the springs that never dry up, the ever-fresh springs of the human spirit."
    — John W. Gardner

    "If things seem under control, you are just not going fast enough."
    —Mario Andretti

    "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I . . . I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
    — Robert Frost

    "The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety."
    — Goethe

    "The secret to my success is that I bit off more than I could chew and chewed as fast as I could."
    — Paul Hogan

    "Are you placing enough interesting, freakish, long shot, weirdo bets?"
    — Tom Peters

    "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
    — Robert F. Kennedy

    "A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he has done."
    — Cardinal Newman
British Preacher (1801-1890)

    "There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."
    — William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

    "Let's make a dent in the universe."
    — Steve Jobs

    "Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first."
    — Frederick Wilcox

    "Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?"
    — Jimmy Johnson
Dallas Cowboys Coach

    "To win without risk is to triumph without glory."
    — Pierre Corneille

    "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."
    — T.S. Eliot

    "To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ... When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"
    — Lao-tsu

    "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch."
    — Jesus Christ

    "Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry."
    — Winston Churchill

    "Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading yourself—your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Invest at least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your peers."
    — Dee Hock
Founder and CEO Emeritus, Visa

    "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."
    — John Kenneth Galbraith

    "If a rhinoceros were to enter this restaurant now, there is no denying he would have great power here. But I should be the first to rise and assure him that he had no authority whatever."
    — G.K. Chesterton to Alexander Woollcott

    "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
    — Henry Kissinger

Archived Issues

Welcome to African Leadership Review

Transforming Leadership in Africa

nelson-mandela

Nelson Mandela of South Africa & Mallam Aminu Kano of Nigeria
African Leadership Profile
THE BEAUTIFUL ONES
Each issue of the journal will contain a leadership profile section where life and time of a renowned African leader will be x-rayed. Such leader may be a politician, a businessman, a social reformer, a religious person, a scientist or an outstanding scholar. That is, a personality, we love the present generation of Africans to emulate.

In this issue of the journal, Mr. Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa and Mallam Aminu Kano of Nigeria are profiled in our leadership profile section.

Most great men are always described as giants among men but Nelson Mandela is more than a giant. Some leaders are described as the great icons of their generation; Nelson is much more than an icon. Some nations today are crying for charismatic, visionary and highly brilliant leaders, Nelson is much more than a charismatic and visionary leader. Nelson belongs to the special class of the very few, really infinitesimal great leaders who our Lord, Jesus Christ described as the Good Shepherd.

A good shepherd is far greater than a great leader. A good shepherd is the one who is prepared to willingly lay down his life for his sheep. He loves his sheep so much that he is ready to die for them so that they may live. This is a most unusual love, and a most unusual commitment.

Some leaders died in the cause of bringing the desired turnaround to the lives of their people. Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln belonged to this group. The members of this group did not know that they would die. But death came calling along the line and they paid supreme sacrifice for what they stood for. But there was yet another group who knew that they would die and still went ahead, pursuing their vision. They prized their vision or cause more than their lives. Jesus, our Lord, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela belonged to this special class of men. They saw death ahead, sure and definite death, but they still marched ahead. They prized what they were fighting for much more than their lives. Jesus knew that he was coming to the world to die. Martin Luther King Jr. saw death ahead. He already knew that death was near. He had a choice to cancel all programmes and went into hiding but he did not. He could feign sickness and ask another person to lead on his behalf, but he did not. He went ahead to meet his death.

All people who had chosen militancy in opposing the apartheid government of South Africa had been killed by the authority. When Mandela chose militancy, he knew death would be the end and he was ready. He tried to run from one place to another, using camouflage when necessary, but he knew he would be caught one day and killed. But whatever, he could do before death came calling; he was trying to do them. Finally, he was caught. He had done deliberately what he did so he never denied any of the charges. The night before the judgment that sent him to life jail, he knew death sentence awaited him and his two colleagues the following day and they made up their minds not to appeal. They accepted to die without appealing. They decided to make themselves 'sacrificial lambs'. This kind of commitment was rare in human history. Many have referred to him as: “The World's greatest living human being”. And surely, this is what he is. More…

 


In this edition, Mobilizing Tax revenue for Development in Africa written by Samuel Adeniran Fakile of the School of Business, Covenant University, Ota, is one of our leading articles. Most African Countries do not have money to do all what needs to be done to provide an efficient and effective government. Most therefore depend on external loans and aids, and these with their various terms and conditions. Getting adequate revenue through tax is about the best method to get things moving in African countries but revenue through tax cannot be adequately explored because most African governments lack legitimacy and cannot get adequate cooperation from their people. And if adequate revenues could be mobilized through tax, most of the challenges many African countries face today can be addressed. Samuel Adeniran Fakile in this article tried to enumerate what could be done—and the way forward.

The absence of shared political culture based on democratic values such as popular participation of citizens in the electoral process, is today generating political instability in many Africa Countries. Each country is a multi-ethnic society, and each ethnic has its own political culture and values. Unifying them to get a national political culture has not been easy. Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups is one country that is facing a severe challenge of a national political culture. Most parties are ethnic-based and this has not helped matters. In the article Political Culture, Democracy and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria – Ezeme Gberevbie, Madiayanose Osesua, and Majekodunmi Ronke – look at Political culture, Democracy and Voting patterns in Nigeria and came up with the view that absence of shared national political culture based on democratic values such as popular participation of citizens in the electoral process is one of the factors responsible for political instability in Nigeria. The paper argued that shared national, rather than ethnic and undemocratic political culture is more likely to engender proper voting behaviour amongst citizens. And it is the same that can lead to the election of competent leader in countries like Nigeria.

In the African Leadership Profile, two great African Leaders – Mr. Nelson Mandela Republic of South Africa and Mallam Aminu Kano of Nigeria are X-rayed.

Nelson Mandela is more than a giant, some leaders are described as the great icons of their generation; Nelson is much more than an icon. Some nations today are crying for charismatic, visionary and highly brilliant leaders, Nelson is much more than a charismatic and visionary leader. Nelson belongs to the special class of the very few, really infinitesimal great leaders who our Lord, Jesus Christ described as the Good Shepherd.

Oppression, repression were the lots of the common people. But one man rose against this system and fought against it with all his energy, resources, time and intellect, zeal and unusual passion. This man was Malam Aminu Kano, an African revolutionary, a dogged fighter, a relentless and uncompromising crusader against all forms of injustice..



Mobilizing Tax Revenue for Development in Africa::
The Way Forward
Fakile Adeniran Samuel
Department of Accounting
School of Business
College of Development Studies
Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
E-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Despite decades of reform and foreign aid, the quality of governance in most African countries remains poor. Colonial powers did not leave behind strong, indigenous institutions that could tackle the development challenges of modern state. Economic crises, wars and political instability have also taken their toll. Yet, Taxation which is one entry point for improving governance on the continent has received little attention. Tax revenues are relatively low in most countries in Africa; raising additional tax revenue is further constrained by weak State legitimacy, as taxes have often not translated into improvements in public service delivery. For sustainable growth and poverty reduction to take place in African countries, it is essential that a coherent, dynamic and domestically driven capital accumulation, intermediation and mobilization process take root. This is necessary because aid and other unpredictable and volatile external flows are problematic, even when well intentioned and have disproportionately financed developmental needs in the poorest countries. Strengthening domestic resource mobilization offers many potential benefits to African economies: As it will reduce the dependency on external flows, thereby reducing one of the sources of damaging volatility in resource availability, and reduce vulnerability to external shocks; it will give African countries greater policy space, increasing their ownership of the development process as well as strengthening their State capacity. Successful endeavours to increase the importance of domestic resources in the development process depend on the State's ability to improve the domestic economic environment, creating important positive externalities. Finally, these efforts are also likely to be seen as a positive sign by donors and investors, thereby augmenting external resource inflows. The paper thus highlights the challenges of Africa, review some relevant literature and make some suggestions such as well-designed tax system to consolidate stable institutions, increase revenues, refocus government spending on public priorities and improve democratic accountability.

Keywords: Mobilizing, Tax, Revenue, Development.
For more go to eJournal



Political Culture, Democracy
& Voting Behaviour in Nigeria (1960-2007)
Dr. Daniel Eseme Gberevbie
Department of Political Science & International Relations
Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State Nigeria
Tel: +234-807765463
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Dr. Ehiyamen Mediayanose Osezua
Department of Political Science
University of Lagos, Nigeria
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

&

Majekodunmi, "Ronke
Department of Political Science
University of Lagos, Nigeria

Absence of shared national political culture based on democratic values such as popular participation of citizens in the electoral process is more likely to bring about political instability in a multiethnic society like Nigeria. This paper argued that shared national, rather than ethnic and undemocratic political culture is more likely to engender proper voting behaviour amongst citizens to elect competent leaders. It concluded that the existence of shared national political culture and the reforms of the electoral system would result in the election of democratic national and competent leaders, and hence promote political development in a multiethnic society like Nigeria.

Keywords: Nigeria, Election, Political Culture, Voting Behaviour and Democracy
For more go to eJournal



African Leadership Profile: The Beautiful Ones

nelson-mandela-small
Nelson Mandela of South Africa

By Michael Boris
 Most great men are always described as giants among men, but Nelson Mandela is more than a giant. Some leaders are described as the great icons of their generation; Nelson is much more than an icon. Some nations today are crying for charismatic, visionary leaders, Nelson is much more than a charismatic or visionary leader. Nelson belongs to the very few really infinitesimal great leaders described by our Lord Jesus Christ – as the Good shepherd. A good shepherd is far greater than a great leader. A good shepherd is the one who is prepared to willingly lay down his life for his sheep. He loves his sheep so much that he is ready to die for them so that they may live. And this is what Mandela is. Many people refer to him today as “The world's greatest living human being” and sincerely, that is what he is. This article traced the emergence of Nelson Mandela as a great leader and a revolutionary, his various activities against apartheid policy, his nationalistic struggles to obtain equal rights for all the races of South Africa, his arrest, his trial, his time in prison and subsequent emergence as an authentic South African leader. It was a triumph of persistence, unusual endurance and selflessness.

For more go to eJournal

 
Mallam Aminu Kano of Nigeria

By Bola Borisade
Today, it is difficult to think of the intricate and reactionary machinery of feudal rule as practiced in Northern Nigeria before Nigerian independence. In his emirate, in Northern Nigeria before independence, the emir was the Supreme Administrator, the sole Judge of the Court of Appeal, his brother or cousin was the Head of the police or Head of the Prisons. And to bring it nearer home, his son or nephew was the native administrator's treasurer. It was all a family affair. The executive, the legislative, the judicial powers were concentrated in one body. The abuses were terrible. To make the British indirect rule run smoothly, the British rulers with all their democratic traditions and culture surprisingly stood-solidly behind the above system. They allied with the Northern aristocracy against the talakawas. They boosted the power of the emirs and they gave them encouragement from the background – all in the name of having a cheap administration that would not constitute much drain to the purse of the colonial power.

Under the system – Oppression, repression were the lots of the common people. But one man rose against this system and fought against it with all his energy, resources, time and intellect, zeal and unusual passion. This man was Malam Aminu Kano, an African revolutionary, a dogged fighter, a relentless and uncompromising crusader against all forms of injustice. His entire life was that of struggles. Without him, Northern Nigeria as we know it today would have been a completely different place.

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