Leadership, Governance, and Poverty in Nigeria

Abstract

Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the incidence of poverty has been on the rise in spite of the fact that the country had again returned to democratic governance in 1999. The poverty profile of the country had not improved after over thirteen years of uninterrupted purportedly liberal democratic practice. This paper therefore examines the relationship between leadership, governance, and poverty in Nigeria with particular reference to the Fourth Republic; and argues that the worsening poverty situation in the country is due principally to poor political leadership and the resultant bad governance. It was therefore recommended that a more rigorous and competitive political recruitment procedure should be put in place so as to ensure that only the best available persons with transformational vision are elected to high political offices.

Keywords: Leadership, Political Leadership, Good Governance , Poverty, Nigeria