The founder and Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, says good leadership and internal division are major factors hindering Nigeria’s growth and development.
He said this during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on his programme ‘Mic On’ podcast, where the duo discussed “Leadership Beyond Governance Politics and the Role of the Younger Generation in Nigeria.”
The video, lasting one hour, thirty minutes, and forty-seven seconds, was streamed on the Mic On YouTube channel on Sunday.
He highlighted some of the challenges facing the country on how the nation handled “leadership” with levity both among our leaders and the educational curriculum.
Earlier this year, Adeyemi explained why the older generations of Nigerians must put their acts together and make Nigeria work.
He said it was important for the older generations, including the political and religious leaders, to retrace their steps and get the country working because the younger generation would soon begin asking questions.
Adeyemi disclosed this when asked if Nigeria, after a year under the current government, seems to be led by vision-driven leadership.
PUNCH Online reports that the current administration will mark its first anniversary on Wednesday, May 29, with nationwide projects being commissioned by the president.
He said, “Honestly, I’ll tell you that what I’m waiting to hear is a national discussion on where Nigeria is going long-term.”
The pastor acknowledged that the scope for a futuristic approach to engaging the nation’s challenges is beyond the four- or eight-year term of government, which he called “short-term vision.”
“Anybody working only for what they can do in four years may have a short-term vision, or maybe what they can do in eight years—that’s still a short-term vision.
“In the life of a nation, if you’re going to build development in the nation, you’ve got to be thinking decades and centuries,” he explained.
Last year, he proposed a weekly practice of addressing constituents if he were in a leadership role as President of Nigeria or the governor of a state.
The gospel preacher added that all hands must be on the deck to get things right in the nation.
“So, to that extent, I put the responsibility on all of us. I put it on those in government. I put it on the citizens. To me, it looks like we’ve not even started the journey.
“I’m waiting to hear any leader describe what a developed Nigeria would look like in five years: milestone; 10 years; 20 years; 30; 40; and even beyond. It is then that such a leader will get my attention.”
Answering whether President Bola Tinubu’s administration seems like a focus-driven government, he continued, “I don’t think so. The country is very divided right now, and I’m saying this even more carefully.
“Because, as I said, when you discuss leadership, most Africans think about personalities, not in terms of issues or principles.
“So even though I’m trying to discuss principles, some people are already prejudiced or biased. They will think, Oh, I’m attacking this party or that party, and I am not.
“I’m just saying collectively as a nation, now when you come down to the subgovernments—for example, the ministerial level—you would see some ministers demonstrating good visions.
“The big issue is some of the things they’re doing when they’ve left office; the likelihood is somebody’s going to reverse those good visions and policies. The same is applied at the state level with governors too.
