A former Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Prof. Aize Obayan, has identified wrong perception of leadership as the biggest challenge facing good governance in the country.
Obayan said this while presenting a paper with the theme, New Dimension: What Women can do to Push Forward the Frontiers of Corporate and National Performance, at an event organised by the Nigeria Institute of Management in Lagos.
She said that leadership roles were for both men and women.
Obayan, currently the Education Secretary, Living Faith Church Worldwide, explained that in the local environment today, the relatively patriarchal and sometimes feudal structure becloud the people’s definitions of leadership
She said, “This therefore equates leadership to power and control, a position which has been seriously strengthened by the many years of military rule and has become the synonym of leadership in our nation.
“This fundamental ‘mis-defining’ and faulty perspectives of leadership result in faulty leadership,” she said.
She however said that the main challenge currently facing the society was for the women to take on the frontiers as they continue to emerge and open up to new vistas.
“ Let us go on to validate the famous words of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, one time Prime Minister of Great Britain, when she said, Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman,’’ she said.
Obayan identified the need to bring substance into leadership as a major tool for women to push forward the frontiers of corporate and national leadership performance.
She added, “There appears to be ‘a lot of leadership’ everywhere and not enough to introduce ‘substance’ to go with it.
“This is indeed similar to the quote credited to the poet, Samuel Coleridge – Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.”
The professor of Counselling Psychology explained that leadership must go beyond being called a leader or being nominated or promoted to a leadership position.
According to her, this would be manifest in the quality of service that every leader renders, and not just the celebration of the position.
