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A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. John C. Maxwell
The responsibility of a leader is sacrosanct to achieving anything as an organization, group, industry and team. The crucial role of leadership especially for the Nigerian transport sector which faces several challenges today engineered the inaugural Transport Leadership Lecture which was put forward by Kings Communication Limited in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Transport.
The Guest Speaker at the summit, Prof. David Baike delivered a lecture with the theme: “Driving Change with Leadership in the Transport Industry”
According to Prof. Baike, one can have a leadership without having positive changes but he noted that an ideal leadership was one that guarantees positive changes.
“You can have a leadership without having change but what we are talking about here is a leadership that guarantees changes for the better.”
He asserted that in order to change the transport sector in Nigeria, there was a need to go back to the past because the nation had not gone far off from its past.
“Even our past has depreciated. So leadership change is necessary but leaders must first be clear on the fact that the change has to take place. They must be sure of this before they proceed to what needs to be changed and how to go about the changes”
“Leadership shouldn’t be just for the sake of having leaders, but leadership should be geared towards production to always bring about positive changes”
Several industry veterans also gave their submissions on the role of leadership in transforming the nation’s transport sector and the lessons they learnt from the lecture.
According to Barrister Emeka Akabogu, one of the things he got from the leadership lecture was that leadership should be about meeting goals.
“Leadership is more than attending meetings or seminars. It is about having an agenda and implementing that agenda. Within the transport industry, it is important that this strategy or agenda is driven down the line and this underscores the significance of this lecture”
Mr. Galtima Liman, expounded that leadership was a critical element that forms the three (3) Ms; Men, Money and Materials.
According to Galtima, the bane of Nigeria’s development has always been implementation. He asserted that the bane of Nigeria’s development had always been implementation.
He said, “You can have fine leaders but where are the infrastructure? In Nigeria we have a lot of good leaders with good ideas but we have infrastructural challenges. Look at the petrol sector, railway, pipelines are all facing challenges, even vehicular utilization has become a problem caused by inefficient use of private vehicles”
He opined that the nation was in dire need of conducive mass transit buses to move the transport sector forward in the short term and he added that only a leadership that was focused would be able to provide this.
Meanwhile the chairperson of the occasion, Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi stressed that professionalism was a key component for leaders in the transport industry.
“Professionalism raises the level of efficiency but people who aren’t professionals would tend to serve their own interest rather than that of the country”
Orakwusi noted that leaders in the transport industry should play a key role in ensuring compliance to policies even as she stressed that punishments be initiated for failure while rewards should be arranged for good service delivery, timeliness and loyalty.
“Leadership in the transport industry should ensure it adheres to the statutory functions and maintain transparency in financial dealings as found in some agencies”
“Leaders must have zero tolerance for corruption and ineffectiveness. These are the steps that can guarantee changes to maximize the potentials of the industry and provide millions of job opportunities. Succession plans in the leadership of these transport agencies are also pertinent” Orakwusi said.
Since the task of the leader is to get his people from where they are and take them to new heights where they have not been, it will be very wise for leaders in the transportation sector and beyond to take a cue from these astute assertions.
Leadership is also about leading by example so the top executives at the various transport agencies should seek to take exemplary actions to write their names in the sands of time and not get themselves engrossed in corrupt practices that will ultimately ruin their image.
By Kenneth Jukpor
