Leadership, politics, and social change: nigeria and the struggle for survival to lead a multi ethnic society while remaining committed to democratic principles or norms is an uphill task. This is because incorporating several ethnic groups into a single political system means bringing together the basic problem of ethnic conflict as well. Group loyalties dividing a multi ethnic society can, and do undermine, a common identity, national culture, or consensus on democratic values. Nigeria is a nation of many ethnic and religious groups and for this, governing the society is an enormous job. Given the presence of politically assertive ethnic groups, the stability and survival of the present democratic politics depends on how the leader controls the potential ethnic disputes that would result.

Change is ubiquitous in any society, particularly in that which strives to fulfil human needs. And it takes a committed leadership to accomplish a propitious change in a society. There has been the shift from regions to states, from farms to cities, from agriculture to industries, and now power shift from the north to the south. Only those in the corridor of power have gained from those with multiplicity of riches, while the ordinary citizens have remained in wallowing penury. In other words, the masses have been preoccupied with the struggle for daily survival.

Since independence in 1960, the nation has mostly been under the claws of the military. The dominance, predominance, and prolongation of military rule in nigeria combined with corruption to undermine due process, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and efficiency in government. But the people have rightly rejected the military, with the election of a civilian president who assumed leadership of the nation on may 29, 19. The euphoria in the nation now is crucial to the understanding that the present democratic undertaking will succeed.

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Democracy will increase the role of the ordinary people in the system, and the irrepressible struggle of the people to humanize the society. Political democracy should remain our goal, because with it as the explicit goal nigeria would attain her goals. President olusegun obasanjo should employ the democratic principles to improve the living conditions of the deprived group, and re integrate into the society those who have been excluded from the economic and political system by the many years of military rule. However, if nothing else would make us behave the threat of soldiers planning a comeback should. Is 145 uncle sege 146 the answer? despite the recent positive actions by the civilian administration, it is still dark inside and nigeria is waiting for the dawn. How can the nation 146 s problems of acute state failure or political collapse be addressed? one option is self critical leadership, good governance, and transparency in state activities. Let 146 s spend some thought on leadership as it relates to social change or development.

Before delving into the issue of leadership, it is necessary to make certain what a leader is. The definition of a 145 leader 146 is as diverse as the myriad of books and articles written on the construct. No matter the angle from which the definition of leadership is viewed, a leader is one who exerts unusual influence and considerable power. According to mcfarland, a leader is one who makes things happen that would not happen otherwise. If the leader causes changes that he intended, he has exercised power, but if the leader causes changes that he did not intend or want, he has exercised influence, but not power macfarland, 1969, pp.167 178 kofele kale, 1976, p.81. In his work, the hero in history, hook depicted a heroic leader as one who makes things happen that ordinarily would not have happened.

The hero in history, he opined is the individual to whom we can justifiably attribute preponderant influence in determining an issue or event whose consequences would have been profoundly different if he had not acted as he did. The hero is an event making individual who re deter mines the course of history hook, 1943, p.229. Obviously, students of leadership would share the views of hook and mcfarland, that the prerequisites of leadership are influence and power. Accordingly, a person who is endowed with these qualities in the context of a group, community or nation has the personality of a leader kofele kale, 1976, p.8. Henry kissinger us secretary of state in nixon administration pointed out in one of his famous speeches that a leader has the power to invoke the 145 alchemy of great vision.

146 this, in other words, means that a leader should possess the power or influence of transforming something common into something precious. Leaders must also help people know how they can be at their best 133 with malice toward none, with charity for all 133 in a free society leaders perform these functions within a framework of constraints. This includes an uncorrupted electoral process, the rule of law, institutional checks and balances and a free press ibid. Obviously, the checks on power must be in working condition, or the laws of the land would be circumvented. In this essay a leader refers to persons who occupy important positions in the formal polity such as presidents, prime ministers, ministers, governors, legislators, party officials, local government chairmen, council members and of course, the local chiefs.

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In this article we will discuss the two types of political leadership found in contemporary african societies, namely: instrumental and societal leadership. The instrumental leader uses power and influence primarily in the pursuit of private personal, close family, cohorts goals. The main concern of the instrumental leader is how he can use his office to achieve personal objectives.

He may not be lacking in social/community commitments, but in practice more considerations are given to self over the interests of the society which he governs eulau, 1963, p.96. The societal leader is a public servant first and only secondarily a private person. While the instrumental leader uses his position to promote private and selfish goals, the societal leader subordinates private narrow goals for broader community objectives.