For twenty-four years, Linus Okorie, the founder of GOTNI (Guardians of the Nation International) has been a leadership coach, organising leadership workshop, conferences, as well as talks on television. As the nation heads for the polls next year, Okorie bares his mind on the kind of leaders Nigerians should be electing. Contrary to the insinuations that young Nigerians are not keen on politics, which has resulted in the recycling of old leaders, Okorie says the society itself has contributed to the relegation of the youths in politics by encouraging a culture of reticence among the youths. Time has come, he says, for young people to play a critical role and set the agenda in Nigerian politics: “And when I’m talking about young people, most of the time. I don’t just mean every young person, because there are some young people who basically don’t care about what happens in the system. But there are young people, who are ready to make progress.”  Okorie, who may be running for governorship election in Imo state in 2019, spoke to Henry Akubuiro in Lagos.

You have been a leadership coach for over two decades, inculcating leadership value to Nigerian youths.   2019 general election is around the corner, what kind of leaders should we be electing?

I believe that our democracy has grown over the last few years, and more people are becoming very enlightened about governance, thanks to the ready access to information now through the internet and our smart phones. Most Nigerians are aware now more than ever before that political leadership plays a major role in shaping every aspect of the polity, especially the nation’s socio economic realities. Therefore, Nigerians must become very deliberate about the quality of political leaders they elect.

I would say that we should be electing people with vision, competence, selflessness, integrity and honour. So, any electorate who has a PVC in their hands must seriously ask: “Can this person deliver? Can this person bring value? Can this person make a difference? Specifically, can this person help leave a legacy? Those are the things we should be critically looking out for.

There’s this perception that, anybody who must be voted for, must have run for office somewhat, or must have been in the political circle, or as a career for a while; and that it takes a while to get elected after trying and trying. Do you see leadership in your concept to mean people who may have succeeded in business, for instance, people who would have shown all of these qualities in any other sphere, even if it’s not politics?

Absolutely! I mean, just like the job that I do for a living –as a leadership coach. I have been a leadership coach for twenty-four years specifically, and I can tell you that every person who has the capacity to build a business from scratch, to rise to top levels in any organisation, which means he has dealt with human beings, and he has the capacity to deal with all kinds of complicated issues can lead. If that individual precisely is compassionate and is called to play a role in politics, because politics is a calling specifically. Somebody might have built a business or must have led even a non-profit institution, and built it some top level, and, at some point, he feels that it is time for him to utilise his calling for politics, to make a difference in that space.

Politics is basically about visibility. It is a game of numbers, in that context. So, if you have been able to build a name, say, in broadcasting for instance, your name is recognisable, you can decide to run for any political position that you want to run for. If you have the compassion and the calling for it, then go for it. So, I do not believe that you must climb the ladder of a political career first. But you can actually come from the way things are done in the private sector, and come out with energy, with new thinking, new ideas, best practices, and it rubs off on the political space and brings value that is unprecedented.

With the French and Liberian elections, the paradigm shift has begun; why are Nigerian youths not pulling their weight in Nigerian politics yet, as we still have the elderly being recycled in power?

The truth of the matter is that there is no way anybody is going to give you power and say, “Oh, I am tired”, or an elder comes in, even if he is 84-years old, and says,   “Oh, I am tired of this position; please, young people, come and take.” It has never happened in history. The only time it probably happened was maybe during Mandela’s era. But the point I’m trying to make is that the young people must set the agenda. And when I’m talking about young people, most of the time. I don’t just mean every young person, because there are some young people who basically don’t care about what happens in the system. But there are young people, who are ready to make progress. They are preparing themselves, developing themselves, and investing in themselves. This set of young people who have invested in themselves, must begin to look out for the other young people who do not know where they are going to and help them to find their perspectives. At the end of the day, there will be hunger for impact that the young people will say, “We want to make a difference for our country”. This country belongs to the young people of this country.  The young people of this country can actually, become so prepared that they would push to be elected into positions because they have the competencies required, the leadership skills required as they have invested in their capacities.

I can tell you that, in this country, I have found many young people, who, despite the fact that they are in their thirties, are already accomplished in their own rights. And they are also exposed, well-travelled, and they have the correct attitude to be able to drive progress. There are quite a lot of people like that. So, in my thinking, if you have these kinds of people, mobilise others, then you have a government where young people can begin to play critical roles, not the roles of standing by and looking for who to collect money from.  That’s not the kind of generation I’m talking about. We must, because there’s a sense of urgency for transformation to happen. If you look at the poverty rate in this country, at the number of people who suffer and die every day, the number of people who the system has not really helped to actually progress, it calls for a paradigm shift in the way things are done. There must be new ways of doing things and young people must be at the heart of inspiring change. All over the world, if you check history, countries have been transformed by young people. Young people got to a point in their country’s existence where things were not working and they decided to rise and make things work. Look at every revolution that has happened; it wasn’t old people who were responsible for those revolutions. Young people actually drove those revolutions.

Moreover, we must also take it beyond the young people on social media to the young people at the grassroots. We need to get to the point where these young people can say, “You know what; our future can no longer be bought again by politicians. We will throw them out if they have not performed well.” 

Do you understand what I’m saying? And we look out for fresh and high thinking, quality people, and bring them into the system, and make them part of the political class. That is the only way you can begin to achieve quality leadership, because they now know that young people have grown; they have refused their monies; they have refused to be tossed; they have refused to be political jobbers; they now want to take responsibility to lead. So, that will be the future of our great country. It is only until then, that young people can gain respect.

In the Western world, when things are not going right, people take to the streets to protest. This is hardly the case in Nigeria. Are young Nigerians cowards?

Literally, a lot of young Nigerians grew up in an environment where oppression is the word they know. From the university days, even from secondary school, you are not expected to say anything. Do you get what I mean? There is a culture that does not allow for expression to happen over a period of time.  So, a lot of young people have been in that mode of thinking. But the truth of the matter is that there comes a time in every generation where young people begin to groom themselves to think differently; that protesting against what is wrong is not a bad thing. Speaking out is not a bad thing. They must begin to develop excellent ways of speaking out without necessarily being a threat to the system.  Imagine if all the young people decide to write a letter every day, I mean one million people write a letter to the National Assembly and say, “We don’t like this policy.” Will there be space in the National Assembly? They will know something is serious.

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However, I would advise the government to begin to respond to the needs of young people and not wait until they are pushed to the wall.

You’re from Imo, the intellectual capital of Nigeria, so to speak, in terms of the number of graduates and scholars it has produced in the country, as well as the leading state in university matriculation exams for years now; yet it has become the mockery of Nigeria based on the governors it has produced. Aren’t you ashamed of this development? What are vibrant, young intellectuals doing to reverse this trend?

I have made it clear in several fora that the deficit of leadership capital across Nigeria, of which Imo state is also one of those major states, has caused us great shame, poverty, and disgrace. Politics, for a long time, has been termed dirty, tagged as being synonymous with evil; therefore, a lot of the “good and highly intellectual guys have distanced themselves from participating in it. So the political parties have had to always throw up the candidates they have whether or not they are qualified for the job, godfatherism and money politics being major factors as well.

It is, however, a shame that Imo state, with all the potentials and opportunities, has not been able to rise to the point of international and global recognition for prosperity and major accomplishments. And, so, that’s why, some of us have decided to say we don’t want to stay at the sidelines. We want to come and influence, impact, and create an agenda to create prosperity for these people using our human capital which is our greatest strength, to be able to drive progress.

Some Nigerian governors have boasted that they’ll produce their successors in 2019. Do you think this is this healthy for the system?

First things first, I’d like to say that, number one, power belongs to God. Right? God decides who gets power. No human being decides that. So, governors are not God; they are just opportune to be governors. Two, power also belongs to the people –the electorate. They are the ones that make the decisions. It has been a faulty system, a system that has celebrated mediocrity over a long time, where one individual can say he is the one who is going to produce his successor. That is absolutely wrong and unacceptable.

The governor can come to the people to still say, “I have done well; see my report card; I am presenting my deputy who has performed under me for a while or any other person to continue my legacy.” But it will still depend on the people to decide whether they are convinced that the governor has performed. If he has not, and these individuals come out, they can throw them out. And, then, the people decide for themselves who they want to lead them. The people’s decision is critical at this point in time. That’s why we are in a democracy. We are not in a dictatorship where one individual creates the law. The people should be able to decide who they want to vote for. INEC and all the other institutions of government responsible for ensuring that there is free and fair elections within the system should be able to take note of the fact that it is the people who decide, not one institution or individual.

From your perspective, what do you think has been missing in leadership in Nigeria?

The truth of the matter is that Nigeria as a country is a blessed nation. Nigeria is one of the most beautiful places anybody would want to live. However, like we are aware of, the challenge in Nigeria has been our leadership. I would say that the missing factor in leadership in Nigeria is selfless and visionary leaders with the political will power to effect the much needed transformational change.

In 2015, voters’ disenfranchisement was used to rob so many eligible voters in the country. What do you think is the remedy as we head for the polls next year?

First things first. I am excited that it looks like INEC is beginning to get it right. And they have started very early to discuss 2019 and take various steps to ensure that the challenges of previous elections do not repeat themselves. The recent Anambra election is a very positive case where candidates have been declared winners using the polling booths specifically. You know, no longer collating as some Local governments that will create an opportunity for the booths to be rigged. I hear now that people can actually know from the polling booth who has won the election. Imagine if all the other institutions like the Police that are in partnership with INEC do not interfere with the process.

The problem is, once there’s human interference, they can make machines not to work. No matter the high level of sophistication of the machines, once there is human intervention, when human beings want to impose candidates on the people, then they would dislodge some things. So my advice to the political class would be, don’t interfere with the process. Allow the people of Nigeria for the first time, to produce people that they want to lead them. And once we do that, I can assure you that, we will be able to make a lot of progress.

And then I will advise that the proper training also takes place in terms of those who are managing the machines. So that at the end of the day, we have people who have the correct technical skills to manage the machines. I also implore all Nigerians to create time consciously to register and get their PVCs early and not wait till the last minute to do this. Do not be disenfranchised by your lack of a PVC.