Speech at the Award Ceremony of 1996 Zik Prize in Leadership,
March 10, 1997

Let me begin by expressing my pleasure at the opportunity given to me to chair this very important occasion – the award ceremony of the 1996 Zik Prize in Leadership. The Zik Prize in Leadership is indeed a very worthy venture. It was inaugurated in 1994 as part of annual activities to honour the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its relevance is even more so at this crucial period in world history. As we approach the end of the millennium, the issue of leadership in all spheres of life assumes a very strategic importance for all humanity.

There is little doubt that the world emerging out there is brand new. For Africans and indeed all black men in the African Diaspora, the challenges of finding the right type of leadership that would grapple with the complexities of a rapidly changing socio-economic and political environment is of paramount interest. At the dawn of the sixties when many African countries acquired the right to self-government, the prevailing environment was entirely different from contemporary times.

The politics of the world at that time was defined by a raging Cold War fought by combatants from fortified enclaves in Moscow and Washington. Their world views were diametrically opposed. Together, they determined both the colour and texture of the social, economic, cultural and political circumstances of the world. For the emergent African nations therefore the challenges of leadership were very much clear. It often involved a choice between the offers of a bi-polar world which has now given way to a unipolarism which paradoxically has introduced a new complexity in grappling with the unique challenges of leadership.The United States of America which is the arrow head in the triumph of the capitalist order has prescribed an agenda for the new world. For America, the only way to deal with the peculiar requirements of the new order is to democratise politically and to liberalise economically.

Your Excellency, the special guest of honour, ladies and gentlemen, let me say that over three decades of independence have earned for Africa the position of adulthood. As an adult, therefore, this continent must redefine itself now! The era of latching onto the lapel of foreign superpowers and swallowing their creed should be gone with the Cold War. Africa must evolve its own responses to the peculiarities of the New World Order.

These responses should reflect the value system of the African people, their world view and their vision of the future. The problems ravaging the continent should form a necessary guideline. The multiplicity of ethnic communities in Africa means that the political class must evolve a robust political system based on the principles of adult suffrage which would ensure fair representation of the various ethnic groups within any African country. The system of winner-takes-all is un-African in the first instance, and thus incapable of ensuring national cohesion, peace and stability which are all crucial elements for sustained development.

The concept of collective leadership should be promoted and pursued with vigour. In the long run, the domination of political power by one individual or even a group of individuals is without doubt the main cause of the problems in many of the troubled areas in Africa today. Power should be shared. This should be the fundamental principle underpinning the political world view of our continent in the next millennium. The economic outlook for Africa in the next decade is dismal. A pre-dominantly agricultural population has been sucked into the global grid of hi-tech and consumerism. It is a strange world of robots, Internet and biotechnology. What is the way out for a people grappling with illiteracy, disease, squalor and the vagaries of rural life?

I believe that it will be a disaster if in the pursuit of development we abandon the way of life a great number of our people are used to. It seems to me that the best course to navigate would be to incorporate elements of the new technology into a system that includes aspects of our people’s lives in order to ensure continuity. Most importantly, there is an urgent need for Africa to feed itself. To do this, there is also a compelling need for Africa to pursue the task of greater cooperation among its various countries. There should be greater intracontinental and regional trade. Let us be self-sufficient and locally interdependent first, this will facilitate our dealings with the outside world.

It is in this regard that the pioneering role of the early generation of African leaders is worthy of commendation and emulation.

The Right Honourable Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in whose honour this prize was instituted, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa have all played crucial roles in bringing the continent together. Let met also commend General Sani Abacha, the Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his own noble efforts in promoting cooperation among countries in the West African sub-region.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in a sense, it can be said that the Zik Prize in Leadership is also pursuing these noble objectives of building bridges of friendship and brotherhood across Africa. A past recipient of the prize is the Ghanaian President, Mr. Jerry Rawlings.

Today, another great son of Africa, a man who commands a great deal of respect and admiration within Africa and beyond, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, truly deserves every honour and gratitude from all of us. He has demonstrated in practical terms the eternal values of honour, integrity and commitment and good leadership. By the authenticity and bold originality of Ujama’a, by his exemplary bow to the demands of democracy at the height of electability, and by his refusal to be discouraged by the woeful failures of Africa’s political class, and his unshaken belief in the potentials of the light at the end of Africa’s horizon, he has shown us the way.

The other two recipients are no less esteemed. The revered economist, Dr. Pius Okigbo – this ageless academic – is in many ways cast in the tradition of the great Zik – minus the politics; and Dr. Liman Ciroma, the great technocrat, is to this nation a great benefactor for his administrative acumen, solid advice and ready and dependable foresight. The two are highly qualified Nigerians of national and international repute. It is most fitting and proper therefore that these two gentlemen are sharing this prize. It is a testimony to the nobility of mind of the advisory board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre.

We must express our gratitude to the centre, most especially General Domkat Bali, its respected patron, for the foresight in setting up this award scheme and giving honour to those who truly deserve it. Let me also thank you all, for coming. I believe, for every one of us here tonight, it is a shared glory.

Thank you all.