Leadership: Bridging divide of generations
In Nigeria, certain class of people, perhaps about 10 percent of the 170 million population has held on to leadership for decades. They are either not prepared to pass on the baton or the youth, for any reason is not prepared to take up the baton for the race. Speakers and eminent personalities at the 7th Christopher Kolade Symposium organised by Yinka Oyinlola led Nigeria Leadership Initiative NLI, assessed this situation and proposed practical solution to bridging the leadership divide of generations. Daniel Obi writes.
When most people, especially the youth read part of Nigeria’s national anthem which says “the labour of our heroes past, shall never be in vain”, they think of only Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Belewa and Obafemi Awolowo and perhaps a few others in that time. But the question is have there not been other heroes after them.
Unfortunately, this belief that the founding fathers of Nigeria are Nigeria’s only heroes is passed on to the next generations. This assists to create a character in national life that only the ‘old guards’, the elderly are entitled to leadership while the youth, under 40 years who form over 70 percent of the population are detached and aloof as they are neither represented adequately in political institutions nor formal political leadership positions.
As expounded at the recent 7th Christopher Kolade Symposium entitled ‘Leadership: Bridging the divide of generations’ organized by Nigeria Leadership Initiative, NLI, today, the average age in the present cabinet is about 54 years.
“In the first republic, the average age of ministers was 39. In the second republic – 1979 to 1983, the average age was 55. In the third republic of Obasanjo, the average age in the cabinet was 54. Under Jonathan it was 53 and now under Buhari it is 54.
The way leadership has been revolving around the few Nigerians, Zik, Awo or Belewa, if they were alive, would have been invited by any of the present political parties as presidential candidates in 2015 or 2019.
“We are asking ourselves, where are the youths. What is the issue here? Is it that the title-held generation is not passing on the baton of leadership or is it that the successor generation is ill- prepared to receive the baton?” asks Yinka Oyinlola, the CEO of NLI at the symposium entitled ‘Leadership: Bridging the divide of generations’
In Nigeria, people under the age of 40 who have technical expertise and are even proficient are rarely found in political leadership positions and decision making public positions. This situation may even be more difficult with young women.
The absence of youth in public leadership positions is worrisome. This is because, according to Oyinlola, experts say that in 35 years time, average age will be 60 years and in Nigeria it will be about 28 years and still the youth population is not been prepared to take up leadership.
In 35 years from now, the population of Africa will be 2.5 billion. This figure will represent 27 percent of the global population. Nigeria by that time will be 400 million. Oyinlola believed that several results will emerge from the statistics. “On the positive side, Nigeria will be one of the world’s reliable source of new life, be it graduates, workers and consumers”, but “how do we then plan for the modern economy that will require jobs, infrastructure, especially power, roads and schools. How can our policies reflect the population that is growing faster than the economy?” To do that, he said requires Nigeria tapping in to purposeful leadership.
More than ever before, he said Nigeria should start now to deliberately prepare leadership that will take over and be capable in 35 years time and who will be responsible for project Nigeria.
Answering Yinka Oyinlola’s leadership question on whether the elderly is reluctant to pass on the baton or the youth is ill-prepared to take up the baton, Femi Durotoye, CEO Gemstone Group and one of the discussants at the NLI Symposium gave example of relay race. He said race batons are not passed on to those who are stiff and standing still. “The next generation must be humble, learn and submit themselves to the tutelage of the preceding generation”.
On the generation which has held leadership for decades, Durotoye who is also a public speaker challenged them to institutionalize their learning and be role model to the next generation otherwise the next generation will get their role model from somewhere else.
Also in his comment, Kola Osinowo, Business manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Group who was also a panelist believed that “the youth today has the passion to assume leadership roles as this is proven in the private sector” but regretted that succession plan does not really exist in the public sector”.
According to him, the young people have developed cold attitude towards government jobs saying the nation needs to reverse this trend and make government jobs attractive to young people. He regretted that Africa is rising but the youth in leadership is not rising in the same manner.
Moderating the programme, Juliet Anammah, CEO Jumia Nigeria said succession is not planned but organizations and societies live with it. She believed that leadership gaps between generations exist either because of the way behaviours are rewarded or misbehaviours are punished or lack of institutions to ensure the transition from one generation to another.
Sharing his thoughts on the subject ‘Leadership: Bridging the divide of generations’ John Momoh, the CEO of Channels TV who was the keynote speaker described the topic as “fundamental to how we shape the future of our great but complex country, Nigeria”
According to him, there is the compelling need to groom and create opportunities for young Nigerians if we are to secure the future of our great country and anything to the contrary will spell doom for the country.
Assessing succession especially at corporate level, Momoh who has steered Channels TV to greater height said succession is, and will, always be a crucial issue in any organization, given the dynamism of commerce and industry where the ‘old guard’ has to give way to “new blood” to steer the company ship forward.
He said the trouble, however, is that succession is poorly managed and planned. “Succession is almost always considered as an event that triggers a reactive response when a moment arrives to fill a vacancy at any level of the organization. It is poorly managed and planned for because it is at most regarded as non-strategic issue”.
Momoh further told captains of industry at the lecture that failure of Executives to have deliberate processes and policies in place that regulate the reality of people movement into and out of the organization is at the centre of succession troubles. “We need to shift from reactive to proactive succession management, if we want to become winning organizations”, he said.
“One of the elements of succession management should be attracting and developing talent (from within and from outside the firm), career management, cultivating a culture of innovation, developing mentorship and coaching programmes linked to talent management, and creating incentives for the “old guard” to share the required experience, information and wisdom to young generation of employees in all critical areas of the business. If these elements are integrated into Succession Management, there should be “natural” successors”, he said.
From the symposium, it was clear that leadership challenges have remained the bane of Nigeria’s politics since independence in 1960. The youth who can be a creative force and a dynamic source of innovations has been shielded or has refused to come to the table. Therefore, the divide of generations in leadership would continue to exist if the ‘old guard’ refuses to pass on the baton as it presently the case and if the next generation is not prepared to take on the baton of leadership. Bridging the gap, the ‘old guard’ must understand that the world is moving forward and the youth with determination, modern and clear focus should be at the driving seat in order to secure the ‘bus’, lest all perish.