THE IRONY OF LEADERSHIP, OBSERVANCE OF CIVIC VALUES AND APPLICATION OF RECIPROCITY IN NIGERIA
Abstract
It is notable from several events in the country that key issues in Nigeria’s democracy and in her governance structure are far from been determined. Bad leadership yields nothing good in the society, ranging from poor and discriminatory selection of those who man our various government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), where squared pegs (leaders) are placed in round holes to the formation of unprogressive, irritant clique, popularly called cabals which make them not to perform according to the yearnings of the governed. Governance is misapplied through the practice of the constitution and laws negatively; paying no regard to good policies as enshrined in Chapter 2, section 17, subsection 3, and section 18 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended). This paper adopted historical and hermeneutical approaches to highlight the failures of leadership and lack of observance of civic values in Nigeria as noted in the polity. A theory of reciprocity was also applied with a notable example from a text in the Bible to explain the irony in the leadership and observance of civic values in Nigeria. The paper recommends that good governance; provision of social amenities, adequate security, equitable allocation of amenities and gender/age equity in democratic politicking would result to multifarious development and signify positive observance of civic values in Nigeria.