Politics

By Anthony Isibor.

SENATOR Anyim Pius Anyim, former senate president of Nigeria and secretary to the government of the federation under President Goodluck Jonathan, has called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the values and qualities of Nnamdi Azikiwe, a foremost nationalist and former president of Nigeria.

Anyim made this call while giving the acceptance speech and vote of thanks on behalf of the recipients of 2020 Zik Award for Leadership on Sunday, November 7, in Lagos.

He said that to be associated with the name Zik is a priceless honour to any Nigerian because the revered Azikiwe, exemplified principled, committed and focused leadership.

The conferment of the Zik Prize for Leadership on outstanding Nigerians to remember Azikiwe who was an outstanding and charismatic leader, a passionate patriot, an unapologetic nationalist, a relentless defender of justice and an ardent believer in the unity of Nigeria, has been an ongoing tradition for the past 26 years.

Anyim said that our national decline in the values upon which Nigeria was founded makes it imperative for the country to embrace those qualities that stood Zik and his fellow nationalists out as leaders who rose to the challenges of their time, who fought with all they had, liberated us from the shackles of colonialism and laid a solid foundation for a nation with every potential to be a strong and respected voice among the comity of nations.  

Part of the speech reads: “I am immensely delighted to be in this gathering of distinguished and accomplished Nigerians and fellow award recipients to accept the Year 2020 Zik Prize in the Leadership category. On behalf of all the Award recipients: Nigeria was founded on the principle of unity in diversity, but we are now more divided than ever in our history. 

“Most of us will still remember when we were our brothers’ keeper, but today danger lurks at every corner, nobody is safe anywhere. Around the world our image has shifted from the giant of African to what some say is the poverty capital of the world.

“Therefore, the demand of leadership in the present-day Nigeria has become more daunting. For instance, our population has risen from about 45 million in 1960 to over 200 million in 2020. Most of that population is in the youthful bracket.

“Our economy has moved from the boom of the 1960s and 1970s to cycles of stunted growth and recession in the last decade. Our educational institutions have moved from the best rankings in the 1960s to mediocre positions in the 2020s. Our Naira has depreciated from 65 kobo to a dollar in the early 1980s to the present N568 to a dollar in 2021.

“Our labour market has moved from employment of choice in the 1970s to crises of underemployment and unemployment in the 2020s. In agriculture we have gone from a net exporter of food and cash crops to a nation of food insecurity and import dependence.

“Permit me to further mention that the challenges of leadership will be much more daunting as we move towards the 2nd quarter of the 21st Century (2026 – 2050) due to the effects of the 4th industrial revolution popularly known as Industry 4.0. It has been described as “the next phase of dramatic technological expansion and social change”. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the

“World Economic Forum puts it this way: “The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge are unlimited. And these possibilities will be multiplied by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the internet of things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, material science, energy storage and quantum computing”.

He also said that, Nigeria must go beyond the usual leadership approach to be able to cope with these challenges.

“We need leadership that will change these challenges to a success story. Such leadership must have vision and capacity, be determined and above all be inclusive.

The former senate president also noted effect of the 4th Industrial revolution on our existence, as captured by Klaus Schwab.

“We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear, the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving all stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society”.

Some of the implications of the 4th Industrial Revolution on Nigerians future, according to him are:

·         Every individual rich or poor, illiterate or educated would have the means to influence, challenge, stimulate or expose situations around them as communication to millions of people across boundaries becomes common place, at little or no cost.

Accordingly, civic engagement of the citizens would become inescapable for leaders in the 2nd quarter of the 21st Century.

·         Scientists will continue to push the boundaries of technology in a bid to replace most human Endeavour with machine operations, cutting across industries and human operations – (manufacturing, oil and gas, space travel, transportation, medicine, agriculture, sports, education, communication, construction, power supplies, military, banking etc). We are certain to experience unprecedented enhancement of the existing technologies, e.g., from electric vehicles to self-driving and self-assisted packing cars, from smart phones to smart homes, from cyberknife to robotics surgery, space travel to space colonization, from smart city to intelligent roads etc. The world no doubt will reach for an unprecedented level in technological expansion in the 2 nd quarter of the 21 st Century.

·          In the next 25 years, oil companies and oil explorations will continue to phase out. This will certainly depress economies that are oil dependent with consequential social and economic effects.

Looking at the years ahead, Anyim said that for Nigeria to survive and thrive, “we must have peace at home and respect abroad. For that, we need leadership that understands the challenges, the imperatives and concomitant of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

According to him, “Nigeria now, more than ever before, is in urgent need of men and women, who will think, act and live like Zik and his fellow nationalists.”

The recipients of Zik’s 2020 Leadership Award include, Babajide Sanwo-Olu,  Abdullahi Sule, Akinwumi Adesina, Mele Kolo Kyari,  Ekaette Unuoma Akpabio, Bashir Y. Jamoh, Senator Olorunnimba Mamora, U.K. Eke and Uche Orji.  

“We need leaders that must connect and engage with the people especially the youth. Such leaders must place the youth at the center of every nation building effort in order to move them from the current valley of despair to the height of their potentials.

“We need leaders that can build societal consensus, repair our broken social fabrics and show deep empathy for all Nigerians that are suffering deprivation, poverty and want of any kind. Our leaders must be skilled in the science and art of good governance.

“They must be visionary and ready to keep pace with contemporary social, economic and technological changes. They must be pragmatic and result-driven in dealing with security, education, health and other myriad of challenges that confront our nation.”

NOV. 09, 2021 @ 19:18 GMT |

A.I

Tags: Abdullahi Sule Akinwumi Adesina Anyim Pius Anyim Babajide Sanwo-Olu Bashir Y. Jamoh Ekaette Unuoma Akpabio Mele Kolo Kyari President Goodluck Jonathan Senator Olorunnimba Mamora