Economy
Succession and Obligation of Leadership
By Jerome-Mario Utomi
Am I a good leader? I do not know and I guess no one else does. The people, the future and history will stand judged and I will accept their judgments no matter what they might be. Nevertheless, I am fully convinced that I am leading my people, not only on the right part but on the only one available -Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
Presently, the global community is in agreement that Nigeria is blessed with abundant resources –both human and natural. But in spite of these resources, development professionals are concerned that the nation is equally littered with a huge number of ‘coercive’ and selfish leaders as against truly ‘democratic, pace-setting and coaching’ leaders.
Essentially also, Nigerians, particularly the poor masses, are aware of these disappointing performances of their leaders and need no one to remind them. They are visible realities.
Aside from these failures exacerbated by public office holders/policymakers non-recognition that the efficiency of the government does not only affect the performance of the public sector –but affects that of the whole country including the private sector, Nigerians have in the past six years watched the country lie prostrate and diminish socially and economically with grinding poverty and starvation driving more and more men into the ranks of beggars, whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect while the privileged political few continue to flourish in obscene and splendour as they pillage and ravage the resources of our country at will.
Also rings apprehension is the awareness that with less than two years to the expiration of this administration, there is neither a sincere desire among elected officials to engage best minds to help get the answers and deploy the resources we need to move into the future or engineer a sustainable process of generational change in the nation’s leaders structure via recruitment and allocation of rightful leadership positions to, but youthful Nigerians.
From the above realities, the following questions may be asked; what is the obligation of leadership in any given society, state or nation? What is giving a boost to Nigeria’s poor leadership that is notoriously reputed for, and devoid of a sincere succession plan?
Why is such negative leadership practice gradually becoming a norm in Nigeria? Why are public office holders in Nigeria reluctant to alleviate the real condition of the poor, the deprived, the lonely, and the oppressed or at the very least, get into their lives and participate in their struggle? How come public office holders in Nigeria are never willing to give, train, or admit youths into leadership apprenticeships? Why is this practice of leadership type characterized as self-centred and non-coaching? Why is Nigeria’s leadership ideology not based on considerations such as; meritocracy, pacesetting, people-focused but primarily on mundane factors such as tribal/ethnicity, religion, power rotation and federal character? Why has leadership in the country seriously failed to provide security and pursuit of the economic welfare of citizens which are the only two constitutional responsibilities of the state which all leaders must achieve?
To many, the answer to the above is signposted in leaders’ ground propensity/penchant for corruption, cronyism, backdoor or under the counter leadership approach/ practices. Others argue that more often, leaders believe that knowledge is power and that they retain power only by keeping what they know to themselves. Their implicit strategy is to preserve their leadership discretion by deliberately leaving the rules for success and failure vague. In their calculation, it is better to maintain control by keeping the people at arm’s length as bringing them close would represent a threat.
Could this be the only explanation?
Definitely not! There also exist public office holders in Nigeria who understand power as the ability to protect their interest and not as an opportunity to engineer social, political and economic prosperity.
However, one can make a stronger case as to why Nigeria’s leadership challenge is a crisis.
To support this claim, this piece will bring to mind/cast a glance at how Kuen Yew, Pioneer Prime Minister of Singapore used creative leadership prowess characterized by talent hunt, education, leadership apprenticeship/ coaching, to stamp out leadership mediocrity in Singapore, and in its place, install sustainable leadership excellence for the nation via the establishment of succession structure/culture that allows brilliant minds to collide and create.
Let’s listen to Lee; our greatest task was to find the people to replace my ageing ministers and me. My colleagues and I had started to search for younger men as possible successors in the 1960s. We could not find them among the political activists who joined the PAP, so we scouted for able, dynamic, dependable, and hard-driving people wherever they were to be found.
In the 1968 general election, we fielded several PhDs, bright minds, and teachers at the universities, professionals including lawyers, doctors, and even top administrators as candidates. In by-elections in 1970 and 1972, we fielded several more. We soon discovered that they needed to have other qualities besides a disciplined mind able to marshal facts and figures, write a thesis for a PhD, or be a professional.
Leadership, he added, is more than just ability. It is a combination of courage, determination, commitment, character, and ability that makes people willing to follow a leader. We needed people who were activists with good judgment and interpersonal skills. The search became more urgent at each subsequent election because I could see that my colleagues were visibly slowing down.
To do this, Lee said something interesting; I had to find and get into the office a group of men to provide Singapore with effective and creative leadership. Had I left it to chance, depending on the activists coming forward to join us, I would never have succeeded. We set out to recruit the best into the government. The problem was to persuade them to enter politics, get themselves elected, and learn how to move and win people over to their side. It was a slow and difficult process with a high attrition rate. Successful, capable professionals and executives are not natural political leaders, able to argue, cajole, and demolish the argument opponents at mass rallies, on television, and in parliament.
To see how wide the net must be cast for talent, I had only to remember that the best ministers in my early cabinets were not born in Singapore. Three-quarters of them had come from outside Singapore. The net that brought in my generation of leaders was thrown in a big sea that stretched from South China across Malaysia, to South India and Ceylon.
Whenever I had a lesser minister in charge, I invariably had to push and prod him, and later to review problems and clear roadblocks for him. The end result was never what could have been achieved. When I had the right man in charge, a burden was off my shoulders. I needed only to make clear the objectives to be achieved, the time frame within which he must try to do it, and he would find a way to get it done, he concluded.
Indeed, while the above account in my view sums up the obligation of leadership, this piece must underline without fail that Nigeria and Nigerians need leaders like Lee of Singapore and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of UAE to lead them not only on the right part but on the only one available.
Jerome-Mario Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via [email protected]/08032725374.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Governor of Ogun State, Mr Dapo Abiodun, has praised Dangote Industries Limited for being an “exemplary strategic partner in our collective pursuit of industrial advancement and sustainable economic development.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 15th Gateway International Trade Fair in Abeokuta, the Governor described the conglomerate as a strategic partner in the industrial and economic development of the state through investments.
Mr Abiodun, represented by the Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investments, Mr Emmanuel Adebola Sofela, disclosed that, “Dangote’s legacy in Ogun State stands as a model of how meaningful collaboration between government and the private sector can deliver transformative results.”
According to him, the Dangote Group is no longer just an investor but a trusted ally—“one whose impact is visible in our economy, our communities, and the future we are building.”
He stated that over the years, the group’s unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and nation-building has not only strengthened Nigeria’s industrial backbone but has also contributed immensely to the prosperity and competitiveness of Ogun State.
“Through visionary investments, job creation, and consistent support for infrastructure and community growth, the Dangote Group has demonstrated what it means to be a responsible corporate citizen and a catalyst for broad-based development.
“Their partnership with Ogun State continues to open doors of opportunity for our people, energise local industries, and reinforce our reputation as a leading destination for productive enterprise,” he further noted.
Recall that Ibese, in the Yewa axis of Ogun State, is a host to the Dangote Cement Plc’s 12 million mtpa production capacity cement plant, while another 6 million mtpa cement plant is currently under construction at Itori, also in Ogun State.
Earlier, the president of Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA), Mr Niyi Oshiyemi, in the same vein, commended the management of Dangote Group for always rising to be counted among the partners of the chamber in an effort to collaborate with the private sector for meaningful economic development.
“Today is not just the commencement of another trade fair but the celebration of collaborations, innovations, and shared prosperity.
“The trade fair in the last 15 years has served as a vital platform where ideas meet opportunity, where businesses connect with the market and where partnerships are formed to drive sustainable economic growth,” he said.
According to him, in an era defined by rapid technological advancement, global competitiveness and ever-evolving consumer needs, no business can thrive in isolation. The future belongs to those who build strong partnerships.
Mr Oshiyemi noted that OGUNCCIMA has been able to strengthen Ogun State’s position as a leading commercial and industrial hub in Nigeria and West Africa because it has been able to encourage investments, trade linkages and technology transfer by supporting policies and initiatives that enhance the ease of doing business in the state.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Managing Director and Lead Country Manager of ExxonMobil’s affiliates in Nigeria, Mr Jagir Baxi, has noted that recent presidential directives have been instrumental in strengthening the company’s efforts to unlock deepwater resources.
Mr Baxi was appointed to the position in July 2025 to oversee ExxonMobil’s business in Nigeria, including Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited.
In an interview with The Energy Year, he said the directives issued by President Bola Tinubu in May 2025 were specifically designed to eliminate rent-seeking, slash project timelines, reduce contracting costs, and restore investor confidence in the Nigerian upstream sector.
According to him, Esso Nigeria is now focusing on advancing deepwater oil and gas developments as part of ExxonMobil’s portfolio after its divestment from the joint venture with Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
“The presidential directives have been instrumental in strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness in the oil and gas sector. For Esso Nigeria and our shareholder, ExxonMobil, they’ve provided a meaningful platform to reassess our discovered but undeveloped resources – most notably Owowo.
“These directives signal a commitment from the highest levels of government to address long‑standing barriers to deepwater investment, and that’s an important catalyst for industry confidence,” he said.
The ExxonMobil executive noted that the directives have enabled the oil major to take tangible steps forward while working closely with the state oil company and other agencies in the sector.
“We are co‑developing a contracting strategy tailored specifically to the scale and complexity of a world‑class deepwater project,” he noted, adding, “In parallel, we’ve collaborated with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to shape a project‑specific National Content Strategy – one designed to both enable the project and deliver sustained, impactful benefits to Nigerian businesses and the workforce. That alignment is critical if we want to create value that extends far beyond the life of a single development.”
“That said, one essential element is still outstanding: codified implementation guidance. For investors, particularly those making multi‑billion‑dollar commitments over 20 to 30‑year horizons, clarity and predictability are non‑negotiable. Our concern stems from recent experience – instances where progress delivered through certain government actions was later eroded by others. It underscores why stability in fiscal and regulatory frameworks is so vital.
“If Nigeria can translate these directives into consistent, durable rules of engagement, the country will be positioned to unlock deepwater investment at a scale that delivers long‑term value for the nation, its citizens, and its partners. And we believe that is absolutely achievable,” he explained.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has called for the establishment of a single, harmonised national register for beneficial ownership to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework and improve the fight against corporate and financial crimes.
The Registrar-General of CAC, Mr Hussaini Magaji, made the call during the commission’s 35th anniversary celebration, designated as Anti-Corruption Day on Tuesday in Abuja.
Mr Magaji said the current fragmented system of beneficial ownership disclosure, where some sectors maintained separate registers outside the CAC framework, created duplication, inconsistencies and regulatory loopholes that could be exploited for illicit activities.
According to him, CAC is legally and institutionally positioned to serve as the central repository for beneficial ownership information in Nigeria.
He said that access to accurate corporate records was critical to the successful investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.
He said that the CAC remained the custodian of information on company ownership, control and management.
“No successful prosecution of corporate and financial crimes can be achieved without the support of the Corporate Affairs Commission,” Mr Magaji said.
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to sustained collaboration with anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies.
“These include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),” he said.
Mr Magaji called for deeper information sharing, joint investigations and real-time verification processes to enhance enforcement outcomes.
The CAC boss also urged stakeholders to support the passage of the Persons with Significant Control (PSC) Rules into an Act of the National Assembly, saying a stronger legal framework was required to address sophisticated abuses of corporate structures.
He disclosed that companies that failed to disclose their beneficial owners were flagged as inactive in CAC records, adding that such entities should not enjoy the privileges of legality.
Mr Magaji, however, expressed concern that some financial institutions continued to transact with non-compliant companies, describing the practice as a major weakness in the national compliance chain.
On internal reforms, he said, CAC had demonstrated zero tolerance for corruption by surrendering three staff members to the ICPC over alleged misconduct and submitting details of 248 fake company registrations to the EFCC for investigation.
According to him, the fight against corruption requires coordinated efforts across institutions and sustained commitment to transparency and accountability.
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