By Sam Ugwuozor
THE word democracy is of Greek Origin. Demo means “The people” and Kraiten means “to rule”. Hence, democracy means “rule by the people”. Democracy as a concept has been described as a coat of many colours because there are many versions of it.
Nigeria’s version of democracy, however, is liberal democracy and it is characterized by the following features: The supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, provision for respect for human rights and provision for free and fair elections, to enable the people to choose their leaders periodically. The question is, what makes a constitution work? Is it merely the provision of constitutional principles on paper, or is it the fidelity of the human operators to constitutional provisions? Let it be noted that no constitution or rule operates itself. The constitution is as good as its human operators.
It works and works effectively because the human operators want it that way. There can be no democracy without democrats. The realization of this simple and basic fact will enable us to appreciate when governance is good or bad or when to distinguish between good and bad leadership. The word governance, like democracy, derives from the Greek verb, meaning to steer. “It is the act, process or power of governing”. It is “the responsible use of political authority to manage a nation’s affairs”.
Good governance is and remains the key to economic, political and social development and its attributes or features include accountability, transparency, participation of the people in the political process, supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, elimination of corruption, democratic decision-making, administrative efficiency and responsiveness to the needs of the people. Embedded, therefore, in a sustainable democracy are the principles of good governance.
Good and bad governance is umbilically tied to leadership. That is, good governance is a product of good leadership and bad governance is a product of bad leadership. It is in the light of this exposition that one may critically situate the leadership style of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Governor of Enugu State. Objectively, it is enough to describe the leadership style of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as that of servant leader.
This style of leadership is biblically based and can only be explained by the immutable words of our Lord, Jesus Christ who after washing the feet of His disciples said to them“…. slave is not greater than his master, neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (John 13:12-17). Evidentially and undeniably, the Governor in words and actions since assumption of office has consistently displayed and demonstrated servant-leadership style, thereby acknowledging that sovereignty belongs to the people. The Governor is humble, compassionate and accommodating. He possesses extra-ordinary empathy – “the gift of putting himself in the place of another and feeling for the misery of others”. Luckily, he has impressed upon the appreciative people of Enugu the conviction of his honesty, fidelity and integrity.
It is enough to say that simplicity, naturalness of his manners and his peculiar moral power counts for him. It is, therefore, not surprising that Ugwuanyi, has recorded monumental achievements in all areas of development in spite of the prevailing harsh economic realities of our times.
A person of integrity is a person of honour and is naturally a promoter of good governance principles that are necessary for meeting the objectives of sustainable development. He has, so far, given the people of Enugu State a brand of development that is sustainable.
In other words, Enugu State is witnessing a style of leadership and development that is infrastructural, that promotes friendship, neighbourliness and collaboration between and among the people; that exhibits a marriage of politics and morality; that appreciates the need for peaceful coexistence; that pre-eminently recognizes the majesty, omnipotence and omniscience of God; that is inspiring and motivational on the youths. The servant leadership style of Ugwuanyi is not common, as good leadership is a scarce commodity in Nigeria.
The late literary icon, Chinua Achebe, in his seminal work, “The Trouble with Nigeria” traced the trouble with Nigeria to “failure of leadership and lamented the unwillingness or inability of the leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example” which according to him is the hallmark of true leadership.
It is obvious that the quality of life in any society is determined by the quality of its leadership and this fact is evident in the Enugu example under the leadership of Ugwuanyi.
The position of this writer is that the democracy in its sustainable character is in all fours with good governance principle and good governance can only come from a leadership that is not only democratically oriented but also morally sound, compassionate, sensitive and accessible to the people. My conclusion is that Enugu State is lucky to have at the helm of its affairs a man blessed with humane qualities.
Ugwuozor, a political analyst, writes from Enugu State.