A university lecturer, Professor Afolakemi Olasumbo Oredein, has urged Nigerian leaders not to allow issues to degenerate into full blown crisis before they take cognate decisions.
Professor Oredein of the Department of Educational Management, Lead City University, Ibadan, stated this while delivering the sixth inaugural lecture of the institution, entitled: “Good Leadership for National Development: The Inevitable Fraternal Twins and Irresistible Skills as Matters Arising.”
According to her “Our leaders should not wait until issues degenerate into conflict or conflict escalates before it is managed, they should identify opportunities for growth, improvement, change and development, and make the best maximisation.
“Leaders should consider themselves as conceptual and behavioural decision makers who solve problems creatively, The should be humanistic, concerned about the welfare of people and interested in helping others. Leaders at all levels should be enlightened on the ability to take decisions, because making a decision goes a long way in affecting national development.’’
She also enjoined leaders at all levels “to allow stakeholders to participate in decision-making and equally give room for open communication and allow evidence-informed and results-oriented decision making.”
Speaking on the present socio-economic condition in the country, Professor Oredein, whose lecture was the first in the Faculty of Arts, declared that the present Federal Government should address issues instead of playing game politics, saying “You should stop beating around the bush” by waiting for the time when the people would start to react or revolt.
She also called for training and re-training of leaders on effective leadership communication and decision making, while also suggesting that “proper and deliberate provisions should be made for conflict management.”
On the importance of information and communications technology (ICT), the don declared that the use of ICT would help to address issues promptly if the leaders could embrace it.
“The frequent use of information technology should be encouraged at all levels in Nigeria to enhance communication among the people. Through the use of information technology in communication; time is saved, boredom is reduced, matters are attended to promptly, information reach the appropriate quarters quickly and actions are taken without any delay. Hence, leaders at all levels should be trained and re-trained on the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance their daily activities.
“Communication and decision-making is a needed synergy for good leadership in national development. Communication can play an important role in empowering people to influence the decisions that can bring national development. National development can only realise its full potential if communication and decision making are shared effectively and if people are motivated and committed to achieve success,” she added.