A former Governor of Lagos State and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that the political class in the country has fallen short of providing the strategic political leadership needed to hasten the course of development.
This was as he observed, that the Nigerian military was built primarily to confront “Third Generation” challenges, as opposed to ideological warfare, mostly thrown up by non-state actors.
The former governor advanced these positions yesterday in Abuja, while delivering a Lecture at the National Defence College (NDC). According to the former governor, a good leader must be faithful to whatever vision he espouses, in order to meet desired objectives.
“Excellent strategic political leadership is based on commitment to a political vision. A leader must have a coherent objective in mind. Strategy and tactics are then fashioned to work toward that vision. “This is an essential consideration. There cannot be strategic leadership without a conscious objective.
Political leadership in Nigeria generally has fallen short in this regard. “Leadership has been short-sighted and fixed on narrow, immediate objectives.
Because of this, leadership has been more transactional than strategic in nature. It has been more focused on the retention of power and control than on the substantive results and long-term consequences of its policies and actions,” the two-time governor noted.
He further noted that: “My public life spans over three decades. I have had my share of triumphs. I have felt the sting of setback.
Through it all, I have tried to keep faith with the overarching vision I earlier set forth – of a more democratic Nigeria with a robust economy that provides sufficiently for all-.
“Throughout most of this time span, the strategic focus has been on politics, free enterprise and as suring democracy. I believe the toil and sacrifice has been worthwhile.” On the challenges confronting today’s military, Tinubu stated: “The Nigerian military was established to respond to challenges resident in Third Generation or Trinitarian Warfare.
The genesis of standard military philosophy can be traced to the works of classical and neo-classical theorists and practitioners.
“Today, much of the world’s military challenges have little to do with the confrontation of standing army against standing army.
You now must adapt your concepts and your very institution to Fourth Generation or Non-trinitarian Warfare. “Here, you deal with the intersection of ideology, politics and highly weaponized non-state actors whose membership, tactics and aims are fluid and inconstant.
“In the space of the last 10 years, the Nigerian military has had to face violent militants in the tropical Niger Delta, then turn to battle wicked Boko Haram in the Sahelian Northern Nigeria.” In his estimation, the NDC must lead transformation, through “fertile intellectual exchange.”
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