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Political Leadership And Economic Development In Developing Countries
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Nigerian leaders for the last four
decades have been described as being dictatorial especially during the
military era. Okoye (2012) averred that development is put in abeyance
in a country with leadership problem and anarchic situation. Any country
whose leaders are corrupt or harbour corruption cannot develop. There
are so many cases of corruption by Nigeria leadership; this situation
has eaten deep as a cankerworm into the fabric and all facets of the
Nigerian economy and the nation at large which has rendered the Nigeria
political leadership incapacitated of facilitating any meaningful
economic development. Nigeria promises a great deal, but usually fails
to deliver. It could be the powerhouse of Africa, but has so failed to
use its oil wealth effectively or to build an economic system that
spreads opportunity. Indian political leadership is known to have
provided a major boost and source of the country’s development strides.
Barnabas and Clifford (2012) noted that an important method of
leadership development is by vicarious learning, which is based on
learning from role models.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
In recent times, political and socio-economic development has been
viewed as products of effective political leadership. Based on this
thinking, we find it necessary to undertake a comparative study of the
role of leadership in political and economic development in developing
nations with emphasis on Nigeria and India, both former British
colonies. Poor countries are not only poor because of their geographies
or cultures, but because their leaders do not know which policies will
enrich their citizens. In Nigeria, all the abundant resources for
building a great nation are present. They include land, water, minerals
and human resources. The major problem facing Nigeria today is that of
political leadership. Although Nigeria is confronted with various
problems, but political leadership remains the greatest obstacle to its
economic development.
This study examined the impacts of political
leadership on economic that are responsible for the sharp difference in
level of economic development level Nigeria and India. A comparative
analysis of the link between political leadership and national economic
development in Nigeria and India will offer the needed explanation for
the contrasting experiences of economic development in Nigeria and some
developing countries. Nigeria and India gained Independence from Britain
in October 1, 1960 and August 15, 1947 respectively. They both have
similar political and legal institutions as well as economic and
educational systems, and their societies are multi-ethnic,
multi-lingual, multi-religious and populous. Today, these two
countries no longer have things in common as they have moved and
transformed through various stages of their political, social and
economic development. If these countries had things in common at
independence, why has India today developed faster than Nigeria?
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]At independence, the economies of Nigeria and India were dominated by primary production, mainly agriculture. However, within some decades, India transformed and overtook Nigeria, emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, while Nigeria’s development lagged behind considerably. This research comparatively assessed the role of leadership in economic development experiences of these two countries from the period of their independence to 2013. The indices of comparison we ... Continue reading---
