Good Governance and Leadership: Pathway to Sustainable National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The concept of governance and leadership are intertwined. Good governance and leadership is critical for the achievement of results. It is often said that no country can develop beyond the level of its leadership. The predicament of Nigeria in terms of underdevelopment and corruption can be adduced to the problem of leadership and governance. Nigeria needs committed leaders who will govern with integrity and doggedly influence its human and natural resources toward the actualization of sustainable national development. This paper is descriptive; it looks at the place of leadership and good governance in the actualization of overall national development in Nigeria. Transformational leadership theoryand contingency theory of leadership viewpoints are examined vis a vis diverse impediments to national development in Nigeria, as vital to feasible and substantial national development; The paper recommends that; The leaders who govern should be made accountable by publicly declaring what they have been able to achieve in terms of performance as well as how much was expended in every sector on a yearly basis; Auditors with integrity should be made to verify their claims in order to ascertain the genuineness of the claims; Corrupt leaders should be brought to book and made to face necessary and lawful penalties without fear or favour; and elections made free and fair and not rigged. When citizens are allowed to choose their leaders, leaders would in turn have a sense of responsibility that they owe the people good governance.