The leadership qualities that an organization or a country needs often varies from organization to organization, and from activity to activity. Is the best leader the one who controls everything by the sheer force of his personality or who allows and trusts his deputies to carry out their assigned roles? Is the best leader the one who retains his usual personality (remains 'who he is') throughout his leadership tenure or does he change his personality to fit the role he has been assigned?
There are many qualities that we desire in a leader, especially our Nigerian president. A leader should be able to inspire us, make us believe that we control our destiny. He should be able to tell us everything is going to be okay because he wants to bear the headache himself. The leader should be able to sacrifice the things, and the ones dearest to him to fulfill the goals that he set out to achieve.
One thing our Nigerian leaders lack is the goal they set out to achieve. They rarely concretely mention their goals for fear that they set a clear marker of failure. I don't want my Nigerian president saying every single time that he wants to stop corruption or improve electricity without giving specifics. It is much better if he says by the end of 2013, the country should have 5000 Megawatts (from 4000 MW currently) than for him to say "our commitment to improve power is working." Instead of providing vague statements, find a way to quantify our improvement in power and when you then say power is improving, people won't doubt you.
Even better, tell Nigerians what needs to be achieved at the end of the year. This should give the government enough incentive to 'get their act together' and also something to brag about if they achieve their goals. Tell us that you are going to build only one road (from Lagos to Kano for example), and if you do, that is success. But, if you claim you will 'improve our roads' but do none of that, you are failing us.
I remember reading an article sometime in 2011 when Dr. Jonathan was elected president. He was asked a question of this nature: "Dr. Jonathan, you are a quiet and reserved man, but if Nigeria needs a leader that is fierce and domineering, are you willing to become that leader." He replied 'No', and that he would remain who he was. If a country needs you to be a one man show; a man who will send corrupt officials to jail immediately they are accused, stop creating committees to solve problems but start asserting mandates, then BECOME THAT MAN.
If Nigeria needs a democratically elected dictator, that is what our leader should be. Inspire us, fight for us, send your corrupt friends to jail, personally punish companies exploiting us and decimating our environment. Our leader needs to realize that when he says something, and backs it with the power he has, Nigeria will change.
