Time to re-evaluate Nigerian leadership

SOME TIME ago, a pet food company created a new variety of dog food and rolled out a massive marketing campaign to introduce the product. Despite hiring a first-rate advertising agency, initial sales were very disappointing. The agency was sacked and a new agency and a new campaign was launched. Sales continued to disappoint. If anything, they fell even further.

In desperation, the CEO called in all of the top executives for a brainstorming session to analyse what had gone wrong with the two campaigns and how a new campaign might revive sales. The meeting went on for hours. Sophisticated statistical analysis was brought to bear on the problem.

After the debate among the top executives had raged for hours, the CEO felt they had accomplished very little. He asked if anyone else had any theories that might explain the failure of the new product. Finally, one newly hired employee raised his hand and was recognised. “Maybe the dogs don’t like it, maybe the dogs don’t like the food,” she said. That was it. If the dogs don’t like the food, it didn’t matter the quality of personnel involved in its production and sophistication of advertisement, the sales would still not amount to anything.

The true gauge of leadership is the people’s welfare; their standard of living and quality of life. These two parameters have massively deteriorated under the current administration. You don’t need a prophet or rocket scientist to know that whatever is being cooked up in Aso Rock in the last two years as “Change” has been a distasteful and unpalatable meal to Nigerians.

To say the least, Nigerians don’t like this kind of food.  Nigerians need food security and also security of lives and property. Simply put, to be able to eat food in peace and whilst the continuing efforts of government against Boko Haram, albeit with the Fulani herdsmen’s issues are acknowledged, the economy has been in shambles.

What has happened to Nigeria’s economy today is as grievous as deducting 50 per cent or more from everybody’s earnings, both in the public or private sectors.

The prices of goods and services have doubled and some have even tripled, which means one’s salary today cannot do half of what one could accomplish with it two years ago. This is unacceptable.

In saner societies, this will be the best time for our leaders to sit back and re-evaluate the situation in the country vis-a-vis their capacity to deliver and decide whether they can handle the country or not. We won’t get tired of voting people out.