Nigeria’s leadership crisis: Why professionals must not be silent – Dr. Muiz Banire
In Nigeria today, we are confronted with an increasingly familiar pattern: Cycles of leadership crises that leave citizens frustrated, institutions weakened, and the national spirit fatigued. From the federal to the local levels, we see manifestations of indecision, inconsistency in policy direction, erosion of public trust, weaponization of office, and a widening gap between leadership rhetoric and the lived reality of the people. Yet, in the midst of this turbulence, one constituency with the capacity to steady the national ship, our professional associations, often stands at a crossroads, sometimes vocal, sometimes timid, and at other times retreating into comfortable silence.
But history has demonstrated that in moments when political leadership falters, professional bodies must rise, not merely as sectoral regulators but as guardians of national conscience. Nigeria needs this intervention now more than ever. It is impossible to ignore the fact that our leadership crises are multi-layered. They manifest in policy contradictions that confuse investors, in legislative-executive rivalries that stall governance, in the politicization of security architecture, in decaying infrastructure that betrays planning failures, and in the rising inability of institutions to deliver basic services. The Nigerian Bar Association witnesses daily the consequences of a system where court orders are disobeyed, where justice is delayed into irrelevance, and where the rule of law is treated as a suggestion rather than an obligation.
The Nigerian Medical Association sees the collapse of public hospitals, the exodus of trained personnel, and the inability of government to sustain the health infrastructure required for a population of over 200 million, though I must admit that over time,they have relatively shown concern. The Nigerian Society of Engineers contends with roads that fail within months, bridges that require emergency interventions, and mega-projects executed without adherence to global standards. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria encounters the perennial opacity in public accounting, budget padding controversies, weak auditing regimes, and the misalignment between public expenditure and public outcomes. In all these, the patterns of crisis are clear: leadership at many levels has failed to respect technical advice, abandoned meritocracy, undermined institutions, and created an atmosphere where professionalism struggles to breathe.
Yet, the more significant concern is not merely the presence of crisis, but the passivity of many professional associations at moments when Nigeria requires the force of their collective voice. When leadership wobbles, society looks toward its most organized communities for clarity. Professional bodies possess both the numerical strength and the moral capital to intervene meaningfully, but too often internal divisions, political infiltration, and fear of reprisal keep them muted. This silence is costly. A doctor who remains silent when health financing collapses cannot escape responsibility for the preventable deaths that follow. An engineer who ignores reckless government contracting practices must share blame for the infrastructural decay that worsens poverty. Lawyers who see constitutional violations but offer only timid murmurs cannot absolve themselves when democratic foundations begin to erode.
The failure of professional bodies to speak boldly is, in itself, a contributor to Nigeria’s cascading leadership dysfunction. We have precedents in our own national history that demonstrate what is possible when professionals rise above fear and place the nation first. The days of glory of the labour movement were carefully preserved in history under the leadership of the immortal Pa Michael Imoudu when the struggle for independence was top on peoples of the colony of Nigeria and various professional associations were always ready to give the labour movement the desired support whenever duty called. We witnessed the enviable leadership of Comrade Hassan Sunmonu who dazzled the military might of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1978 with active support of the various professional associations in the country.
During the resistance to military authoritarianism in the 1990s, Nigerian professionals, lawyers, doctors, academics, journalists, and others, were among the backbone of the pro-democracy struggle. The NBA stood firm against the subversion of judicial independence. Members of ASUU insisted on defending the integrity of the university system. The Nigerian Labour Congress mobilized workers in the fight for democratic restoration. Even the press, through associations of journalists, acted as the conscience of the nation. That era confirms that when Nigerian professionals decide to act, leadership tyranny weakens. But as democracy matured, many professional associations retreated into corporatism, speaking only when fees, wages, or internal matters are at stake, and avoiding the broader duty of shaping the national direction. It is time to rediscover that old courage.
Today, Nigeria is gripped by several urgent leadership crises, economic instability that fuels inflation and weakens the currency, insecurity that threatens rural and urban existence alike, infrastructural gaps that widen inequality, corruption that defies institutional safeguards, judicial delays that frustrate justice, and governance inefficiencies that have become normalized. These crises affect every profession, and therefore every professional association must see itself as an active stakeholder rather than a distant observer. The Institute of Personnel Management cannot ignore the rising culture of nepotism and incompetent appointments. The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners cannot overlook the chaos in urban development, the disregard for masterplans, and the unrelenting spate of building collapses.
The Chartered Institute of Bankers cannot remain silent when monetary and fiscal misalignment creates avoidable shocks while the Bankers Committee ought to see to enforcement of ethical rules among its members. The advertising and media institutes must confront the ethical lapses that accompany political propaganda. The Nigerian Union of Journalists must re-examine the role of sensational reportage in worsening insecurity and undermining public calm.
But it is not enough to merely lament. Professional bodies must take deliberate steps to reclaim public trust. First, they must insist on meritocracy in public appointments. Associations know their members, know the best in their fields, and understand the requirements of competence far better than political actors. When governments fill technical roles with political loyalists, professional bodies must raise their voices, not rudely, but firmly. A nation cannot progress when round pegs are forced into square holes. Second, professional associations must provide evidence-based policy direction.
For too long, Nigerian governance has been driven by impulse, personality preferences, political considerations, and external pressures rather than technical reasoning. Every association should produce periodic policy papers, annual national state-of-the-sector reports, and independent monitoring of government projects and reforms. These documents must become part of national discourse and guide leadership towards informed decisions. Third, professional bodies must act as mediators in times of political tension. Nigeria is often a nation standing close to the precipice, where misunderstandings escalate into crises and crises escalate into widespread instability.
Because professionals are perceived as relatively neutral actors, they can convene dialogues that political players cannot. Through roundtables, communiqués, position papers, and discreet diplomacy, they can help de-escalate conflicts that threaten national cohesion. Fourth, professional associations must fight corruption not only in government but within their own structures. A body that cannot maintain internal discipline cannot credibly confront societal misconduct. Leadership emerges from example, not rhetoric. Fifth, professional bodies must take responsibility for citizenship education.
When leadership crisis intensifies, civic values collapse. Professionals interact with millions of citizens daily, in clinics, banks, classrooms, construction sites, farms, factories, and courtrooms. Through public enlightenment, mentorship programmes, ethical campaigns, and community outreach, these associations can rebuild national values from the ground up. The Nigerian situation also demands that professional associations rediscover their advocacy power. Advocacy is not an act of rebellion; it is a patriotic duty. It means standing with the people when policies fail, standing with the truth when narratives are manipulated, and standing with the future when the present seems uncertain.
It is the engineer stating that certain projects are substandard irrespective of the awarding authority. It is the auditor insisting that financial disclosures must be transparent. It is the journalist declining to publish falsehood for political reward. It is the medical professional exposing systemic failures that kill patients. It is the teacher calling attention to the collapse of foundational education. It is the lawyer refusing to defend the trampling of constitutional rights. In all these, professionalism becomes leadership, and leadership becomes nation-building.We must also confront the uncomfortable reality that many Nigerian professional associations have allowed themselves to become politicized.
Government patronage, appointments, contract allocations, conference sponsorships, and regulatory concessions have sometimes compromised the independence of these bodies. In times of leadership crisis, such compromise becomes evident in their muted criticisms and their inability to challenge excesses. For these associations to play any meaningful role, they must reclaim their autonomy. Without independence, there can be no moral authority. Without moral authority, there can be no national influence. Nigeria is at a stage where leadership crisis is not episodic but structural. Weak institutions, inconsistent policies, governance deficits, insecurity, and public distrust have made crisis an almost permanent companion. This means professional bodies must also adopt a permanent posture of vigilance, advocacy, and engagement. They cannot wait until the house is burning before looking for water. Their responsibility is preventive, not merely corrective. And when their interventions are consistent, intelligent, and untainted by partisan coloration, they can serve as catalysts for national renewal.
What the nation needs is not just professionals who excel in their fields, but professionals who understand that excellence carries a public responsibility. A doctor who saves a patient contributes to society; a medical association that saves a health system transforms a nation. An engineer who designs a strong bridge leaves a mark; an engineering body that ensures national compliance with standards leaves a legacy. A lawyer who wins a case for the weak defends justice; a legal association that protects judicial independence secures democracy for generations. A teacher who educates a child shapes a future; an educational association that reforms learning transforms destiny. The Nigerian situation calls for a new awakening.
Professional associations must not behave like spectators in a match where the nation itself is the losing side. They must stand as conscience, as stabilizers, as advocates, as mediators, as watchdogs, and as architects of reform. Leadership crisis thrives where knowledge retreats. But when professionals rise, competence returns to the table, ethics becomes a national expectation, and leaders are compelled, by public pressure and moral authority, to act responsibly. The nation waits. The moment demands courage. Posterity will record whether Nigerian professional associations rose to their duty or hid behind silence while the house shook.
