LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION IN IGEDELAND

BY

ODEH IBN IGANGA (FIBMAN, QIAM, CDA)

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCECOLLEGE OF EDUCATION OJU

BENUE STATE

JULY, 2013

ABSTRACTThe search for the characteristics or traits of leadership has

been on-going for centuries. History’s greatest philosophical

writings from Plato’s Republic to Plutarch’s Lives have explored

the question “what qualities distinguish an individual as a

leader?” Underlying

this search however, was the early recognition of the essence of

education to leadership and the assumption that leadership is

rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess.

Education, knowledge and skills contribute directly to the

process of leadership, while other attributes give the leader

certain characteristics that can make him or her unique. These

very essences of leadership which are lacking in Igede society

provide an insight into the problem of leadership in Igedeland.

Given the largely contrived disadvantage of Igede nation as an

ethnic minority eclipsed by larger ethnic groups in Nigerian and

Benue in particular, the alternative is a visionary leadership

imbued with the highly cherished value of education. In this

paper, we explore the interlinking leadership and education

discourses. The paper examines the interface between education

and leadership as the bedrock of the development of Igede

society, and as a vital tool for the rectification of anomalies,

equalization of opportunities and for empowerment that allows

meaningful contributions and development of Igedeland.

INTRODUCTION

Undoubtedly Igede people of Central Nigeria are the third (if not

indeed the second largest) ethnic group in Benue state after the

Tiv and (perhaps) the Idoma, they have nevertheless remained

largely unknown, unheard, alienated and underdeveloped. Worse

still, is the whole misconceptions created by a plethora of

wrong, vexatious and unwarranted publications against the Igede

people. One of such latest misconceptions about the Igede people,

for instance, was the one given by Onjefu (2003: 3) on the Igede

migration and pre-colonial relationship with the Tivs. According

to Onjefu (2003: 3),

In search for a more peaceful land where worship would be voluntary androoms for agricultural lands, the Igede made an attempt to settle down on

northern bank of the River Benue. This attempt failed as the “Tivs” would notallow them to settle down. It was during these hard struggles for existence thatthe Igede people developed defensive methods that contributed so much totheir winning their way to their present habitation.

Nothing more can be further from the truth. The fact is that the

Igede people had been long in their present abode ever before the

Tiv arrived in the Benue valley (Okpaga, 2000; Ode, 2003; Iganga,

2008). In fact, Agba, “the Igede ancestor was said to have left

Ora and between 1685 and 1715” (Iganga, 2003: 47). Moreover as

Ode (2003: 2) rightly points out, “the present pressure mounted

on the Igede by the Tiv was on their land (and in their present

abode) and not during the arrival of the Igede in their present

location.” Besides, there are no historical records of the Tiv

and Igede having conflict in the northern bank of the River

Benue. Makar’s (1975) explanation on the Tiv-Igede pre and post-

colonial relationship concretely support this fact. Such

information thus, is not only erroneous but speculative,

imaginary and bereft of any concrete historical antecedents and

therefore a patchwork of imperfection.

The Igede people, unlike their contemporaries in Benue state and

Nigeria as a whole, lacked the advantageous springboard and

facilitators for skyrocketing to higher heights so as to fashion

policies for the betterment of her people. The trail-blazers and

legacies to this anomie are poverty, bad roads, high illiteracy

rates, unemployment, under development, criminal activities

debilitating diseases and other ills quite unknown, unheard in

Igede before. Thus Igede nation has become an ethnic minority

group that has been eclipsed by larger ethnic groups in Benue

state in particular and Nigeria in general and cruelly deprived

of her rightful status as an ethnic group.

Given this largely contrived disadvantage, there is no doubt,

especially given the importance of education as the hallmark of

development in any society, that the alternative is a visionary

leadership which will impact and imbibe the highly cherished

value of education. In this area, there can be no minority: for

there is no minority when it comes to brain work (intellectual

attainment and contributions).

Generally, the Igede nation has had its fair share of leaders

over the years. Some in the distant past (like Ogbuloko Ukpata

Ogoji, Ijale Ugbaka Egena etc,), some in not too distant past

(John Ogah Idikwu, David Okpenge Okpabi, Joseph Ikande Idikwu,

Adikobya Onwu Okpe, Adenyuma Itu, Patrick Ogo Okpabi etc.), and

some in our contemporary time. These leaders may not have the

national character, traits and limelight of the Nnamdi Azikiwes,

the Obafemi Awolowos, the Tafawa Balewas, the Aminu Kanos or the

Joseph Tarkas but certainly they have inspired our people,

culturally, socially, educationally and recently politically.

Unfortunately, of recent, as Adenyuma (2009) had observed, the

Igede political landscape has been one defined by forces and

persons outside Igedeland. And politics, in Nigeria since the

colonial era, as Omachi (2007) posits, has been largely organized

based on parsimonious clienteles’ philosophy with the elite

members of the larger ethnic groups, dominating the entire system

(see also Coleman, 1958; Joseph, 1987). The consequence is that

we have not had leaders who have defining influence on our

people; leaders of momentous proportion, leaders of any

significant struggle, leaders of emancipation, of growth and of

advancement; and who desire to bring education, good health

facilities to the door step of the common man, and to break this

vicious circle of poverty. Rather, we have leaders who ask for

crumps, who preferred to keep Igede in perpetual slavery; leaders

whose activities, ideas and roles would only help mantle the

inequities and systems of oppression that underpin our society

today, and who in the long run are contented with Igede being an

appendage of a so called Idoma nation; leaders who make no

conscious effort to redress the imbalances and misconceptions

created by a plethora of vexatious policies and unwarranted

publications at high quarters against the Igede people. Yet they

are Igede leaders all the same, at least in their own rights.

This leads us to the concepts of leadership and education or

simply put, what is leadership and what is education?

THE CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP

Through the ages, various opinions have been expressed about

leadership. A lot of literature therefore abounds on the concept

of leadership, in which various scholars also advance their

argument as to what constitute leadership. Many defined it in

their own way in terms of influence. Before we dwell on that, it

is pertinent first to examine who a leader is. A leader means

someone who leads, plans, organizes controls, communicates,

delegates and accepts the responsibility to reach the societal

goals; he or she is one who possesses authority and displays

accountability in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the

society (Ayodele, B. and Adeyemi, L.O. 2007). Ede (2006: 22)

similarly defines a leader as “Someone who acts as a guide in

directing the affairs of a group. One who makes a difference and

facilitates positive changes. One who has the ability to inspire

and stimulate others to achieve worthwhile goals”. A leader, in

this regard, is one who guides, directs and provides leadership.

It thus means that since a leader provides leadership, there can

be no leadership without a leader.

Leadership might be interpreted in simple terms, such as getting

others to follow or getting people to do things willingly; or

interpreted more specifically as the use of authority in decision

making. It may be exercised as an attribute of position, or

because of personal knowledge or wisdom. Leadership has to do

with the management of people and the circumstances needed to

achieve well-conceived goals (Anya, 2004).While some see it as

visions of strong dynamic men; others define it in terms of lists

of traits like intelligence, determination, and aggressiveness

(Haggai, 1986; Sanders, 1994; Elliston, 1998; Ede, 2006).

Similarly too, scholars differ on whether or not leaders are born

or made. Studies generally tend to concentrate on leadership

behaviour, group dynamics and leadership styles using various

approaches. For example, management experts use management

approach and focus on the “how to do it” ideas based on wide

experience, mixed with some common sense theories (Pearson, 1986;

Dubrin, 1998; Ede, 2006).

While leadership is learned, the skills, knowledge and or

education processed by the leader can be influenced by his or her

attributes or traits – such as beliefs, values, ethics, and

character. Education/knowledge and skills contribute directly to

the process of leadership, while other attributes give the leader

certain characteristics that can make him or her unique. A leader

must have an honest understanding of who he is, what he knows,

and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the

leader or someone else, who determines if the leader is

successful. If the followers do not trust or lack confidence in

their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be a successful

leader, one has to convince and inspire the followers, not

himself or his superiors, that he is worth of being followed.

Maxwell (1993) defines leadership in terms of influence and

ability to obtain followers. In his words, “Leadership is

influence” and “the ability to obtain followers.” Ajah (1996: 8)

similarly defines leadership as a human function by which some

individuals exert influences or exercise power over others and

cause them to work towards the achievement of a common goal”.

Leadership, according to Morphet et al (1974: 128) is the

“influencing of the actions, behaviours, beliefs, and feelings of

one actor in a social system by another actor with the willing

cooperation of the actor being influenced”. Middlemist and Hitt

(1981) in Ede (2000) see it as the process of providing direction

and influencing individuals or groups to achieve goals. Sanders’

views on leadership significantly concur with Maxwell (1993),

Ajah (1986), Morphet et al (1974), Middlemist, and Hitt (1981)

when he opines that “Leadership is influence, the ability of one

person to influence others to follow his or her lead” (1994: 27).

To the great military leader, Bernard Montgomery, (in Sanders,

1994) “Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women

to a common purpose, and the character which inspires

confidence”. According to Forsyte (2009) there is evidence to

show that leadership also develops thru hard work and careful

observation. Thus, effective leadership in this regard can result

from nature (i.e. innate talents) as well as nurture (i.e. acquired

skills).

Our conception of leadership, deriving from the above, therefore,

involves followers and subordinates. It involves the use of

influence by the leader. Leadership in this regard, is a

continuous process which involves accomplishment of goals and

objectives. In essence, leadership, by this estimation can be

said to be all about providing direction, ideas and focus and at

the same time sustaining them to bring about the desired change

and development in line with group, organizational and societal

goals. It is thus all about bringing about transformation that

can better lives of the generality of the populace. It is

something more than just personality or accident or appointment,

but something intimately linked with behaviour. It is essentially

dynamic and a human process at work in organizations.

On the debate of whether or not leaders are born or made, Dubrin

(1998: 2) states that “Leadership is the ability to inspire

confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve

organizational goals”. Haggai (1998: 4) specifically contends

that, “Leadership is the discipline of deliberately exerting

special influence within a group to move it toward goals of

beneficial permanence that fulfill the group real needs”. Haggai

chose the word discipline to indicate that leaders are made not

born; he uses the word deliberately to indicate commitment on the

part of the leader to his calling as a leader. With the exception

of intelligence all the qualities, attribute and traits

associated with leadership are not in-born. They are skills and

competencies of an interactional nature which can be acquired

through training and experience. If leaders were born and not

made, it would be unnecessary to train people to be effective

leaders since if one was not born a leader there is nothing

anyone could do to make him or her one. Even in the case of

intelligence, as Ocho (1977) rightly points out, which is

inherited, a person does not need to be the most intelligent in

his group to exercise leadership. He needs to be a little above

the average of his group. Thus if leadership is largely a process

where an individual influences others or a group to accomplish an

objective and directs an organization, community or society in a

way that makes it more cohesive and coherent (and to achieve a

common goal) then leaders can only carry out this process by

applying (their leadership) skills, knowledge and or education.

In this context therefore, true leaders exert special influence

which is not forced on others, since leaders are different from

rulers who necessarily exert force on their subject to command

obedience, and or power holders who necessarily must be there

because of ‘election’, appointment, the zoning formula and not as

a result of “his vision (goals) which becomes his mission, to a

set of specific, measurable achievements designed to implement

the mission” (Ede, 2006: 28). It is the act of management or

guidance of a community, people or institution. Leadership gives

direction, provides purpose and charts the course in a people’s

sea of aspiration. It also entails the ability to “create a

vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and

relentlessly drive it to completion” (Welch in Adenyuma, 2009)

and get others to willingly follow. A leader in this respect is

the one who has a clear perception of what the challenges of his

followers are who knows what to do to turn such limitations and

challenges into expectations and have a firm grasp of what these

limitations and expectations are and knows how to achieve them.

Thus, leadership is a dynamic process over an extended period of

time in various situations in which a leader utilizing leadership

resources, and by specific leadership behaviours, influences the

thoughts and activity of followers, toward accomplishment of task

or aims mutually beneficent for leaders, followers, and the macro

context of which they are a part (Elliston, 1998).

ATTRIBUTES/QUALITIES OF GOOD LEADERSHIP

A leader may lead through official authority and power, but often

good or great leaders lead through inspiration, persuasion and

personal connection. Good leadership in this sense is the art of

leading others to deliberately create results that would not have

happened otherwise. Outlining the attributes of good leadership,

Adenyuma (2009) maintains that,

A good leader must be a person of integrity, an individual who can be trustedand who never veers from the entrenched values of his community. He must bededicated to the task of growing and developing his people and must be ableto inspire the same direction in his followers.

Leadership by this logic has nothing to do with titles; it is not

just people in headship positions that are leaders. In other

words, it is not the status position of a person in the power

echelon that determines whether he or she should be regarded as a

leader or not. It is the capacity to translate vision into

reality. This vision may be collective or personal but the

objective must be for the advancement of his followers and the

development of this community, society or organization. Putting

it differently, Meyers (in Morphert et al, 1974: 139) opines

that,Leadership is the product of interaction, not status or position. Leadershipcannot be structured in advance. The uniqueness of each combination ofpersons, of varying forces patterns and of varying goals and means, and ofvarying forces within and without impinging upon the group will bring forthdifferent leaders. A leader in one situation will not automatically be a leader inanother situation.

It is not thus, not just the creation of results that makes good

leadership. Good leaders are able to deliberately create

challenging results by enlisting the help of others. They can

single handedly turn failing situations into fortunes. A good

leader is not one at large, not one with retinue of body guards

armed to the teeth, but one who understands the mood of his

people at all times, and who dwells among them and daily

struggling for economic, social and political emancipation and

advancement of his people and development of that society.

Indubitably, it is not possible to capture all the attributes,

qualities and traits of a good leader in a paper like this, but

suffice however to say that such major traits and attributes, in

addition to those enumerated above, of good leadership

conveniently fall under the following headings:

1. Self-Awareness: Good leadership entails having intimate

knowledge of one’s inner emotional state: knowing your

strength and weakness; knowing when you are working in flow

and know when you are overwhelmed and overworked; knowing

oneself including your capabilities and limitations, which

allows one to push oneself to your maximum potentials. That

is seeking self-improvement and continually strengthening

your attributes.

2. Self-Direction: Good leadership entails ability to direct

oneself effectively and powerfully – knowing how to get

things done; how to organize tasks and how to avoid

procrastination; how to generate energy for projects, to

calm oneself when angered. To make decisions quickly when

necessary, and to be slow also to consider all the options

on the table.

3. Vision: This entails working towards a goal that is greater

than oneself. It could be something small like the success

of the team, or a larger vision like unity, peace and

development of the community. To such a leader, working

towards a vision is far more inspiring than working towards

personal gains. By conveying a strong vision of the future,

a sense of direction is achieved. For as Agu (2010: 80)

correctly posits,

The primacy of functional, purposeful and visionaryleadership in spearheading development is rested onthe fact that, it has the ability to see beyond theperceptual vista of the people, appreciate theirhigher needs and inspire, as well as motivate themto cherish and desire these needs as goals thatshould be achieved”.

4. Ability to Motivate: Good leaders do not lead by telling

people what they have to do. Rather they cause people to

want to help them. A key part of this is cultivating one’s

own desire to help others. When others sense that you want

to help them, they in turn want to help you. As a role model

in this respect you become the change they want to see.

5. Social Awareness: Understanding social network and key

influences in that social network is another key part of

leadership. Identify who in the organization, community or

society has the most clout, both officially and

unofficially; who moves the hearts of the group?

6. Seek Responsibility and Take responsibility for your

actions: A good leader search for ways to guide his

organization, community or society to new heights. And when

things go wrong, as they often tend to do sooner or later,

not blame others. Rather he analyses the situation, take

corrective measure, and move on to the next challenge.

While it is impossible to capture all the necessary qualities of

good leadership in a paper of this nature, it is imperative to

point out that to be able to do all these, such a leadership must

however, be educated and brilliant enough to read in-between-the

line, as to effectively and efficiently make use of resources and

at the same time manage conflict for the purpose of bringing

accelerated development. As Agu (2010: 80) rightly posits, “the

extent, to which the goals of development in any society are

implemented, achieved and sustained, depends succinctly and

heavily on the quality of political leadership”. In reviewing the

extant literature, Stogdii (1948) and Mann (1959) found that

while some traits were common across a number of studies, the

overall evidence suggested that persons who are leaders in one

situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations.

However, as Adaje (2003: 14) rightly points out, a good

leadership “must be well educated, honest, self-disciplined men

(and women?), who are not self-seeking. Accordingly, any person

who has the qualities, attributes or traits as enumerated above

is a good leader by whatever evaluation or assessment. The

question that naturally arises at this point is how many of our

modern day leaders in one’s estimation, have these qualities?

THE CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

Education is defined in as varied ways as they are perceptions on

it. Like the concept of leadership, nobody has really formulated

a universally acceptable definition of the concept and probably

nobody will ever succeed in doing so. The various definitions

encountered in the literature to a large extent, emphasize one or

at best few aspects of the concept without being able to include

sufficiently all that education is supposed to be and concerned

with in practice. Moreover, providing a proper definition of

education is complicated by the fact that there is no clear

consensus about what is important about being educated. For many

people the importance of education lies in future job prospect,

for others its quality of citizenship, and yet others just want

literacy, critical thinking and creativity.

Adiele (1975), Leonard (1967) and Ukeje (1973) all agree that

education is a process which produces a positive change in human

behaviour. The above differences in opinion of what it means to

be educated, notwithstanding, our perception of an educated

person is someone who perceives accurately, thinks clearly, and

acts effectively on self-selected goals. For our purpose here,

therefore, education is conceptualized simply as a formal

education and knowledge given to the individuals for the purpose

of producing good and well-informed citizen who know their

rights, duties and obligations and who are capable of making

positive contributions to the development of the society at large

(Toluhi, 2001). It is the type that places premium on the

inculcation in the minds of individuals the knowledge and

appreciation of their physical environment in various spheres.

Thus, our concept of education (we explore the interlinking

leadership and education discourse) implies a process of

attaining and assisting others to attain optimal attitudes that

enable a person to perceive effectively, think clearly, and act

effectively according to self-selected goals.

THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION

In Nigeria as elsewhere in the world, education is considered as

the main instrument for social promotion and the key to knowledge

and power. In fact it is always referred to as the bed rock of

the society. This is because the purpose of education in any

human society is to train successive generations within the

society about its norms and value system so as to ensure its

continuity and collective survival into the indefinite future. By

this it means to pass on the knowledge of the past in order to

have a framework with which to evaluate the present and to make

proper decisions for the future. Any society or community that

is not able to do that effectively stands the risk of apparent

drift into anarchy, underdevelopment and disintegration.

Education like democracy, freedom of the press, and universal

human rights is one of those subjects whose virtue is considered

self-evident: Education not only provides for the economic

prosperity of the country, but even at a personal level today,

the purpose of education is to be able to earn a respectable

living. The general acceptance of education as the surest means

for upward social mobility, survival and development of any

society has increased the demand for education to such an extent

that even the proliferation of educational institutions of all

types cannot satisfy demand. Nigerians seems to place a great

deal of hope, zeal and faith in education as an instrument for

the rectification of anomalies, equalization of opportunities,

satisfaction of manpower needs, improvement of culture,

unification and stability. Consequently, the country expended a

lot of her resources to providing education for her citizens.

In every well-ordered community there is always a recognized

pattern of inculcating in the youths its norms and values or what

the community has learnt in its history as well as what it wants

them to do and be when they are grown up. The accumulated wisdom

of several decades and generations of what is considered as norms

and values or as appropriate behavior is passed on to the new

generation, this equipping it with what to do and where to go in

future. The educated man or woman is consequently required to

exhibit particular characteristics in his or her thoughts and

social behaviour, which ordinarily distinguish him or her from

those who had no similar training. His objective is set at all

times to living up to the moral and intellectual demands of his

community, and to realize himself only in the process. To be

educated then is to be intelligent, knowledgeable in the ideals,

values and ethics of the society or community and work to

carefully uphold these virtues. Such an educated person is not

only intimately acquainted with the highest ethical and

intellectual values cherished by the society, but well equipped

with skills, information, attitudes and or intrinsic worth which

will enable him or her live a successful life within the

community and to make meaningful contributions to improve his

world. Education, in this sense, like culture, includes

everything about life in the community: it is the sum total of

the community’s collective experiences in history, distilled into

particular principles and norms to help guide its individual

members in their day to day effort to harness their personal

resources and successfully come to terms with their environment.

In his forward to Paulo Freire’s (1993) Pedagogy of the Oppressed,

Richard Shaul (1970) observes, There is no such thing as a neutral educational process. Education either

functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of

generations into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to

it, or it becomes the ‘practice of freedom,’ the means by which men and women

deal critically with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation

of their world.

Education, therefore, is the quickest means to achieve economic,

social and technological growth. A functional system of education

assumes the responsibility of introducing new, useful modes of

behaviour and reinforces the good traditions that are still

relevant, while at the same time rejecting those that have become

objectionable. Thus Omachi (2007: 129) drew conclusion that,

“education remains the fulcrum on which any nation’s economy,

socio-political, cultural, religious etc. development rotates. No

government, traditional, military or civilian can ignore it and

not pay dearly in the long run”. Herein lays its great

importance, value, and purpose.

THE INTERFACE BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION

As observed previously, education is both a process, (a vehicle)

and a means. As a process, it involves the acquisition of

knowledge of some basic fact of life, and as a means it is the

vehicle by which one generation transmit to its succeeding

generation(s) those of its own cherished cultural norms and

essentials for the society’s positive development (Yesufu, 2000;

Toluhi, 2001; Muodumoga, 2006). In this respect, education is

certainly one major pillar of nation building, reconstruction and

righting the wrongs of the past of any society. Several

authorities (Fafunwa, 1974; Brandit, 1983, Tyler, 1999; and

Wheatly, 1999) have described education as the bedrock of any

society, whether developed or developing. Thus in this context,

education is the process by which every society attempts to

preserve and upgrade accumulated knowledge, skills and attitudes

in its cultural setting and heritage in order to foster

continually the well-being of man and guarantee its survival

against the unpredictable, at times hostile and destructive

elements and forces of man and nature. In this sense, education

is not only an instrument for liberation; it is a vital tool for

empowerment that allows meaningful contributions to society. The

ability of education to justify these hopes and aspirations – the

rectification of anomalies, equalization of opportunities,

satisfaction of manpower needs, instrument for liberation and

freedoms, improvement of culture and value system, unification

and stability of the society, will depend on the availability of

committed leadership in that society. Such a leadership or

leaders will understand better the relevance and implications to

education of environmental changes and the current rapid

political, economic, technological and value changes and can make

plans and policies to adjust the system in line with such changes

to the advantage of the generality of the people within the

community or society.

It naturally follows that for a minority ethnic group like Igede,

which is virtually eclipsed by the larger ethnic groups in

Nigeria and even in Benue state, education will surely decide the

extent to which the Igede society can exercise its freedoms. If

the central purpose of education is to develop rational power of

the individual or his capabilities to think and reason, it then

means that education will be the most significant way to approach

the Igede society growth and development. Omachi (2007: 127)

succinctly captured the reality of this argument when he observes

that,

Today Igedeland is backward because of her lateness and lackadaisicalacceptance of this great value (education) which has come to be themiraculous key to global success. The Asian Tigers, the Advance countries andthe Latin Americans have recorded miraculous breakthroughs with the help ofeducation. It then remains the only ray of hope for the people of Igedeland.

Thus, if Igede nation must forge ahead in any meaningful way in

the comity of nations, in terms of development, freedom etc., and

sufficiently meanders from this collective conspiracy and tyranny

of the so called larger ethnic groups and crump-seekers, in Benue

in particular and Nigeria in general, its leadership must be

educated and sufficiently imbued with a vision and a discipline

to work single mindedly towards achieving the common Igede

objective (peace, unity and development). As Freire (1993)

maintains, education allows the oppressed to regain their sense

of humanity, and in turn overcome their condition. Similarly,

Ajala in Maduagwu and Mohamed (2006: 131), rightly observes,

“Making intelligent decisions relating to the individual and

community development requires the exercise of one’s rational

reasoning powers and understanding of the issues and factors

involved”. Since leadership is pivotal to the success of any

organization or society, the Igede leadership of our dream, must

provide direction or establish direction. It should not only be

in a position to create an agendum or agenda and develop a

network for achieving the agenda. The leadership must align

people, motivate and inspire Igede people, communicate directions

by words and deeds to all those whose cooperation may be needed

to help create teams and coalitions that understand the vision

and strategies, and accept their validity (Ede, 20067). This will

also requires that the leadership should understand/discern as

necessarily entailing life-long formal and informal processes of

equipping an individual to be fully aware of his environment and

to exploit, manage and dominate same for the benefit of himself

and the larger Igede society.

THE IGEDE LEADERSHIP QUESTION

Nigeria is undergoing rapid political, economic, technological,

and educational and value changes. The democratic system of

government is now relatively stable. The Presidential system of

government as practiced has introduced a great deal of changes in

the political, administrative and legal structures of the

country. There is now a growing awareness of the benefits of

political participation leading to greater intensity, rivalry and

competition for political offices, positions and benefits. The

rapid economic growth consequent on the discovery and

exploitation of oil has revolutionized values and generated a

certain amount of restlessness, confusion and uncertainty among

the people. There is rapid industrial and technological growth

(globalization) which is increasing environmental pollution

leading to the spread of virulent, deadly and unfamiliar

diseases. It is an era where every society, community and even

organizations now begin to strategize on how best (or the best

leadership) to cope with the exigencies of the time. It is

certainly a time when the Igede leadership issue calls for

discussion and re-examination to be able to adapt effectively to

these changing situations. For every act of influence on a matter

relevant to the group or community functioning and survival is an

act of leadership.

As discussed in the foregoing, Igede has had leaders and still

does. Although a comparative analysis of Igede pre-colonial,

colonial and post-independence leadership and our modern crop of

leaders shows that while the former were sufficiently imbued with

zeal, vision, and ‘nationalist’ fervor and passions for the good

of Igede nation and had actually inspired our people, culturally,

socially, the latter merely show despicable disdain for these

virtues and are not even able to inspire our people politically

and educationally.

Here, our contention is not, to necessarily define leadership by

office though a few of such office holders are, unavoidably,

leaders. The situation in Igede today, as Adenyuma (2009) rightly

observes is that only office holders in the local, state and

federal political hierarch are leaders. Pitiably, in Igede, we

have had occasions where people who successfully lobbied their

ways to appointive positions suddenly adorn the hollowed-cap of

Igede political leaders – whether their stock in trade while in

office was to daily plot for the downfall of fellow Igede man and

woman or merely recruiting a confused group of surrogates and

thugs for protection and further intimidation of the Igede man.

At home he is a big man, “the leader”, whether or not he performs

his functions well at the state and national levels. Thus, as of

now, Igede nation hardly have a recognizable leadership that

fulfills the tenets of our conceptual analysis of leadership

above.

Worse still, aspiration to leadership in Igede today is mono-

cultural, that is through politics. The Igede nation has no

recognizable leader in commerce, education or even in the

traditional institutions. Thus, core civil servants and even our

traditional rulers, all have become political zealots. As the

combative jostling for political positions and political

leadership not bereft of disaffection and discontent ensues, the

discontent between competitors and the desire and notion to hold

tenaciously to office, and therefore ‘leadership’, by our leaders

have become the bane of leadership in Igede society. Thus, the

quest to remain relevant in the political scheme of things at the

expense of providing quality direction in the building of

institutions, the human person and values is the greatest

leadership challenge in Igedeland (Adenyuma, 2006).

CONCLUSION

Every organization, society or community has a particular work

environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its

leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought

about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.

Successful organizations, societies or communities have leaders

who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum. Such

standards or goals reflect the concern and knowledge the

leadership has for its people. What we have set out here is not

to disparage any of our revered leaders. We also acknowledge the

problem of followership and other various odds in their pursuit

to provide leadership and direction for Igede people. But a

situation whereby our leaders preferred the crumps from the

master’s table and allow our children with no jobs to do after

their graduation with certificates and degrees and are forced to

go to Kurumi and or ride okadas about for sustenance, cannot

really inspire both their parents and themselves to nation

building and all those other jargons of what democracy entails.

It also does not show in our leaders as being imbued with “this

great value which has come to be the miraculous key to global

success”. Prof. Abdul Rahaman of Centre for Theoretical Physics

in Trieste, Italy, once told his countrymen in India that the

only way to be relevant in the community of nations is to invest

in education and research. This is because all the activities in

the world today, as he saw them revolve round education, and were

going to be knowledge driven. This advice wad heeded by the

Indian Government. Today India is so properly placed in the

comity of nations that it has become the envy of many powerful

nations. Recently, the President of the most powerful Nation in

the world (USA), Barack Obama during his visit to India, publicly

advocated that India be mad e one of the permanent

representatives in the Security Council of the United Nations.

Singapore, one of the Asian Tigers, rose to prominence

internationally through re-structuring and re-engineering of its

leadership and educational systems.

As a minority group, in terms of number; a minority that is

constrained, cramped and hamstrung by many artificial factors,

the Igede nation need a high profile, well-educated leadership.

As Onah (2010: 4) rightly puts it, “a high profile personalities

as representatives such that even in silence they will be sourced

(and sought) for, to be heard”. Here, we lend our voices to the

advocacy initiatives of this august body to say that there is

still room for improvement. We enjoin Igede leaders to advance

more the course of unity, peace, socio-economic, political and

educational developments of the Igede people without which we

cannot genuinely talk of or adorn anybody the enviable toga of

Igede leadership or leaders. Finally, we must by all means resist

the Igede predatory elite, the political urban guerrillas, who

will always look up to for salvation, but who shamelessly join

hands with our oppressors to further demean and marginalize us,

driving us willy-nilly and using our contributed resources to

effect this collective slavery. We must rise up to the challenge.

The time to do it is now.

References:

Adaja, A.M.A. (2003). “The Failure of Indigenous DemocraticLeadership in Nigeria: A Thematic Discourse of a Novel”. InAfrican Journal of Indigenous Development (AJID) Vol. 1, No 1,April

Adenyuma, G. (2009).“Leadership and the Challenges of NationBuilding in Igedeland”.A Paper presented at the AnnualConference of Igede Youth Progressive Forum.

Agu, G.A. (2010). The political Economy of Development in Africa, Makurdi:Destiny Ventures Printing and Publishing Company.

Aja, O.P. (1996). Successful and Bible-Principled Leadership. Uburu ,Nigeria: Truth and Life Publications Ltd.

Anya, O.A. (2004). “When will Nigeria take charge of Nigeria?” Alecture presented at the Gindiri Old Boys Association, HillStation Jos, Plateau State, November.

Ayodele, B. and Adeyemi, L.O. (2007). “Leadership Crisis andAfrica’s Development Dilemma: A Case of Nigeria”.Webmaster@dawodu.com

Coleman, J. (1958). Background to Nationalism. California: Berkeleyand Los Angeles Press.

Dubrin, J.A. (1998). Leadership: Research, Findings, Practice, and Skills. NewYork: Houghton Mifflin Company

Ede, J.E. (2006). Wanted: Leaders Who Lead. Enugu: Anointed SeedPublishers.

Ede, S.A. (2000). Educational Administration and Management. Jos,Nigeria: Ichejun Publications.

Elliston, J.E. (1998). “Designing Leadership Education inMissiology”. An International Review. Vol Xvi, No 2, April.

Fafunwa, A.B. (1974). History of Education in Nigeria. London: GeorgeAllen and Unwin Ltd.

Forsyth D.R. (2009). Group Dynamic. (5th Edition)pacific Grove, C.A:Brooks /Cole.

Freiro, P. (1993) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum.

Haggai, J. (1986). Lead On: Leadership that Endures in a Challenging World.Waco Texas: World Books.

Iganga, O.I. (2008). Groundwork of Igede History: From the Pre-Colonial Era to 1926.Onyike: His Grace Printing Press.

Joseph, R. (1987). Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise andFall of the Second Republic. Cambridge University Press.

Makar, T. (1975). A History of Political Change among the Tiv inthe Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Ph.D Thesis, ABU Zaria.Department of History.

Mann, D. (1959). A Review of the Relationship between Personalityand Performance in Small Groups. Psychology Bulletin, 56, 241 –270.

Maxwell, C.J. (1993). Developing the Leader within You. Port Harcourt,Nigeria: Spiritual Life Publishers.

Morphet, et al, (1974). Educational Organization and Administration:Concepts Practices and Issues. Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Ocho, L.O. (1997). “Administration and Leadership in Education”.In Dynamics of Educational Administration and Management: The NigerianPerspective. Onitsha: Meks Publishers Ltd.

Pearson, J.E. (1986). Applied Leadership Principles: A StudyGuide. Belgium: ICI.

Ode, G.E. (1982).“The Impact of British Colonialism on the Peopleof Idoma Division – 1908- 1950”.Unpublished M.A.Project. ABU, Department of History.

Ode, G.E. (2003). “History of Secondary Education in Igedeland:1960 – 2002 AD”. In Eriba, et al (Ed); Issues in the Promotion ofQuality Education in Igedeland. Onitsha: West and Solomon PublishingCompany Ltd.

Okpaga, A. (2000). Forging Igede Identity, Integration and Development through Socio-Cultural Institutions. Makurdi: Lime Light Publishing

Company.

Omachi, S. (2007). Re-Engineering Education in Igedeland throughthe Philosophy of Affection in Promoting Quality Education inIgedeland: The Role of Stakeholders. In Eriba, J.O. et al(Ed) Makurdi: Destiny Ventures.

Onah, S.E. (2010). “The Ethnic Minority Struggle for Relevance:The Case of Igede People of Benue State, Nigeria. Paperpresented on the occasion of Okpawule Wule Social Club WeekCelebration/Scholarship Award, held at College of Education, Oju.

Onjefu, B.O. (2001). The Church in Igedeland: An Assessment. Otukpo:Eagle Press Limited.

Sanders, J.O. (1994). Spiritual Leadership. Wheaton, USA: VictorBooks.

Stogdill, R.M. (1948). Personal Factors Associated withLeadership: A Survey of Literature. Journal of Psychology, 25-35-71.

Toluhi, J.O. (2001). Essentials of Citizenship Education. Ilorin: VictoryPublications.

Ukeje, et al, (1992). Educational Administration. Enugu: FourthDimension.

Yesufu, T.M. (2000). The Human Factor in National Development. Ibadan:George Allen and Unwin Ltd.