By: Ademola Orunbon
Accountability, leadership and transformation are inexorably linked.
Accountability is an acute and overt manifestation of leadership.
Leadership involves accepting and acting on the accountabilities of the
position. Transformation will not occur without leadership. One of the
first aspects of a business that needs to be transformed is
accountability. Among the strongest evidence that a business is
transforming is that the executives, managers and employees have a new
relationship to accountability, and this new relationship to
accountability is manifested in the performance of the business,
relationships with stakeholders, and service provided to customers.
The term ‘accountability’ means “The quality of being accountable;
liability to give an account of, and answer for, discharge of duties or
conduct; responsible, amenableness.” I want to highlight the quality
of being accountable since it provides a valuable insight into how
leadership accountability is developed. Development begins with
commitments which shape the person’s being. That is, if one wants to
develop leadership accountability one begins with a strong commitment to
being accountable. This commitment in turn shapes the context for the
leader so that opportunities to develop occur clearly and with
opportunities for action. Developing leadership accountability happens
when the person acts on commitments to be accountable.
Ever since human beings started gathering together in couples, families,
tribes, clans or nations, there have been leaders – someone whom
everybody looked to for direction in terms of what the group should do.
Over the centuries, there have been good and bad leaders. Good leaders
have allowed themselves to be held accountable for their actions as they
have led their people to a more secure, better reality, and bad leaders
have refused to be held accountable as they have led themselves to a
more secure and better reality at the expense of the people they led.
It’s that simple.
Right now, the world is experiencing the biggest leadership crisis it
has ever had. That doesn’t mean today’s leaders are necessarily
worse than their predecessors but, because the world is now more
connected than it ever was, the impact they have beyond their own
borders is significant. For example, previous leaders never had access
to the tools that today’s leaders have which give them the capacity to
influence views and events around the globe. Such tools give today’s
leaders a bigger voice than they possibly deserve. Imagine if Donald
Trump never had Twitter …
It is hugely ironic that, as the world has evolved to a collective
consciousness that has set the stage for collaborative leadership and
leadership with a higher purpose, some of the leaders that currently
dominate the headlines – Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and
our own Muhammadu Buhari – display none of the characteristics or
qualities of this new generation of leader that the world so desperately
needs right now. These leaders share one thing in common – regardless
of what they say, they are in it for themselves first and they avoid
holding themselves accountable to the people they are supposed to be
leading. Some of them may say they do, but they don’t. They do what
suits them and not what’s in the interests of the greater good of
their people.
Indeed, Nigerians can no longer hold their emotions, as President
Muhammadu Buhari increased the fuel price and electricity tariff to N162
and N66 respectively within a week. For the fact that Nigerians are now
coming out of the lockdown, they really need stimulus, not an impetuous
disregard for the challenges they face. In fact, many Nigerians have not
earned an income for months, due to no fault of theirs. This increase is
ill-timed and ill-advised; it is also a travesty, as it would have a
knock-on effect on millions of poor Nigerians who will struggle to meet
the increased costs of transport and basic goods. The development will
eventually lead to increase in prices of goods produced by
manufacturers, which will automatically result in an increase in
inflation.
Now, what happens when the person at the head of a country, community or
company doesn’t hold him or herself accountable? It will take a little
while, but soon those they are leading also start refusing to be held
accountable for their actions. Now that presents a problem. You can’t
expect accountability from anyone else until you are prepared to hold
yourself accountable for your own actions, inactions, deeds and
statements. This applies to our work and our family life. If you are not
prepared to be accountable at work, you are not going to be able to hold
your staff accountable.
At least, if you are not prepared to be accountable for your actions in
your home, you are not going to be able to hold your children
accountable for their actions. You may be able to pull rank simply
because of your position, but you have no moral authority and will get
grudging respect to your face while you are despised behind your back.
And your children will grow up with damaged values. Leaders, managers
and parents have failed to understand this most basic principle of
accountability. Accountability all starts with you. You can’t think it
should apply to others but not you – that you are somehow exempt from
being held accountable. Sure, it’s frustrating to see political
leaders get away with theft, but they do so because the people they lead
don’t hold them accountable.
Despite PMB’s electoral promise to reduce petrol pump price from N87 per
litre that he met it in 2015, Buhari had increased the price thrice
within three months in recent times, now to N162, and with this
increment, PMB has further impoverished Nigerians instead of him to
ameliorate the suffering after a long time of lockdown for the fear of
Covid-19. Nigerians should be reminded that on April 14, 2015, President
Buhari’s ally and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, late Prof.
Tam David-West, told Nigerians that PMB (who was then President-elect),
will reduce the fuel pump price from N87 to N40 per litre. In fact,
Buhari did not debunk this statement made by his friend and major
supporter then. Look at all these promises made then, whose to be held
accountable to this misleading statement?
More Nigerians from all walks of life have continued to condemn the
recent increase in the pump price of fuel, the angry consumers have
argued that the increase came at a time that was least expected, while
slamming the Federal Government, they described the move as insensitive
and anti-people. Their take was that by increasing the price of fuel at
a time Nigerians are grappling with the economic and social reality of
the Covid-19 pandemic, it was nothing but to further traumatize them.
What a country? Nigeria. It is glaring that the masses are suffering,
and from all predictions from experts, deeper poverty looms. With all
these happening, the government has only succeeded in impoverishing the
common man on the street.
Before Covid-19, a litre of petrol was sold at N145; now the price has
risen to N162. Already taking severe beating from the economic fallout
of the pandemic, many Nigerians have been dealt with an additional blow
by the petrol pump price hike. Indeed, the chickens have come home to
roost. Our country has relied heavily on imported petroleum products for
many years, despite being Africa’s biggest oil producer and exporter.
Successive governments have failed miserably to fix our refineries, with
fuel imports gobbling up billions of taxpayers’ money. It’s bad enough
that the government removed petrol subsidy at this time without putting
in place palliative measures to cushion the impact and effect of price
hike on long-suffering Nigerians.
Imagine, in space of three months, the pump price of fuel has been
increased three time, those people that protested when the fuel was
increased to N97 by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan-led administration which was
reversed to N87 per litre then are no where to be found now, let me ask
a question! Where are our activists, our protesters, those Unions and
those mobilizers that converged at the Gani Fawahinmi park in Ojota
then? In fact, I guessed that, Nigerians are too dazed to say a word.
It’s almost as if they have been hypnotized, or what do we called the
sudden change of the heart of our so-called nationalists and civil
liberty organizations and activists.
Circumstances currently playing themselves out in Nigeria right now will
provide a case study of how not to do things. It will probably take a
lot more time than most good, upstanding citizens would like it to take,
but we need to hold our leaders accountable when they refuse to do so of
their own accord. Things would be much different then. Instead of
allowing the behaviour of current bad leaders in the world or in our
country to cause you to become discouraged, rather allow them to inspire
you to not be anything like them. Use their examples as an example of
how NOT to do things and make sure you bring about change for the better
for all around you.
I urge you not to sink to the levels of small minded leaders in it for
themselves but to join me in demonstrating greatness as you lead others.
Orunbon, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes from Federal
Housing Estate, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Can be reached via: orunbonibrahimademola@gmail.co
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