Nigeria’s growth hindered by leadership crisis — Pastor Sam Adeyemi

The founder and Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, says good leadership and internal division are major factors hindering Nigeria’s growth and development.

He said this during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on his programme ‘Mic On’ podcast, where the duo discussed “Leadership Beyond Governance Politics and the Role of the Younger Generation in Nigeria.”

The video, lasting one hour, thirty minutes, and forty-seven seconds, was streamed on the Mic On YouTube channel on Sunday.

He highlighted some of the challenges facing the country on how the nation handled “leadership” with levity both among our leaders and the educational curriculum.

Earlier this year, Adeyemi explained why the older generations of Nigerians must put their acts together and make Nigeria work.

He said it was important for the older generations, including the political and religious leaders, to retrace their steps and get the country working because the younger generation would soon begin asking questions.

Adeyemi disclosed this when asked if Nigeria, after a year under the current government, seems to be led by vision-driven leadership.

PUNCH Online reports that the current administration will mark its first anniversary on Wednesday, May 29, with nationwide projects being commissioned by the president.

He said, “Honestly, I’ll tell you that what I’m waiting to hear is a national discussion on where Nigeria is going long-term.”

The pastor acknowledged that the scope for a futuristic approach to engaging the nation’s challenges is beyond the four- or eight-year term of government, which he called “short-term vision.”

“Anybody working only for what they can do in four years may have a short-term vision, or maybe what they can do in eight years—that’s still a short-term vision.

“In the life of a nation, if you’re going to build development in the nation, you’ve got to be thinking decades and centuries,” he explained.

Last year, he proposed a weekly practice of addressing constituents if he were in a leadership role as President of Nigeria or the governor of a state.

The gospel preacher added that all hands must be on the deck to get things right in the nation.

“So, to that extent, I put the responsibility on all of us. I put it on those in government. I put it on the citizens. To me, it looks like we’ve not even started the journey.

“I’m waiting to hear any leader describe what a developed Nigeria would look like in five years: milestone; 10 years; 20 years; 30; 40; and even beyond. It is then that such a leader will get my attention.”

Answering whether President Bola Tinubu’s administration seems like a focus-driven government, he continued, “I don’t think so. The country is very divided right now, and I’m saying this even more carefully.

“Because, as I said, when you discuss leadership, most Africans think about personalities, not in terms of issues or principles.

“So even though I’m trying to discuss principles, some people are already prejudiced or biased. They will think, Oh, I’m attacking this party or that party, and I am not.

“I’m just saying collectively as a nation, now when you come down to the subgovernments—for example, the ministerial level—you would see some ministers demonstrating good visions.

“The big issue is some of the things they’re doing when they’ve left office; the likelihood is somebody’s going to reverse those good visions and policies. The same is applied at the state level with governors too.

“In Africa, the community dominates the individual, so at the end of the day, what they are doing is not going to count because they’re going to be out of office before you know it.”

He blamed poor continuity brought about by a change in government. He added that some leaders at individual levels are good, but collectively, they may not be.

“So, I want to say that at the individual level, some people are showing good signs. There are few, though, but they are showing good signs.

“I was on a flight with an ex-governor someday, and I said to him that you did some things when you were in office that showed me that you have a vision.

“However, the sad thing though is that the person who came after you has neutralised everything you did, so I said that sadly, most of your colleagues in government don’t have vision like you.

“And he said, ‘Sam, Nigeria is like an aircraft that is being flown by people that did not go to flying school, and when they crash the aeroplane, everybody will be screaming.”

Leadership

Adeyemi said we can’t, as Nigerian citizens, expect much from our leaders, querying their leadership skills, learning, traits, and inclusion in the Nigerian curriculum.

“I can’t apportion blame but to ask if we’re expecting so much from leaders—where did they learn the leadership from?

“Is leadership in our curriculum at the school? Did they attend the seminar? How many books have they read on leadership?” he asked.

Adeyemi advised that elected leaders who are already on the job should learn more from leadership programmes and retreats.

“My advice is that if you’re on the job already, what leaders do all over the world right now, both in government and in the private sector and nonprofits, is get leadership coaching.

“This is because they have loads of advisers, so get an advisor on the issue of leadership just to help you see that the leadership pact is the people pact.

“And this is how to impact and bring about improvement in the quality of the people and the quality of their lives right.

“So, I would say at the individual level, there are some good signs, but they are few and far between.”

PUNCH Online reports that Daystar Christian Centre is based in Lagos State, was inaugurated on November 18, 1995, and now has branches across various states in the country.

Adeyemi, in 2023, decried the huge gap between the leaders and the masses, saying it is a peculiar problem in Africa.

The pastor, who recently relocated to the United States, cited bad dreams, COVID-19, and EndSars protests, among others, as his reasons.