“Nigeria faces a defining leadership test. Can political leaders live by the freedoms they preach? Until practice aligns with principle, godfatherism will continue to undermine peace, weaken governance, and delay democratic maturity”.
Nigeria’s democracy continues to wrestle with a troubling contradiction: leaders who publicly condemn godfatherism while privately exercising political control. This inconsistency is not merely a moral concern; it is a leadership, peace, and security challenge that directly affects democratic stability and national cohesion.
The issue resurfaced strongly when comparisons were drawn between former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s public advice to former Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Wike’s later posture toward his own successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The contrast offers Nigeria an important leadership lesson.
When Ambode’s second-term ambition was opposed within his party structure, Wike advised him to stand firm and resist political godfathers. His message was simple and powerful: no elected leader should be held hostage by unelected power brokers. At the time, this advice resonated nationwide as a courageous defence of democratic independence and institutional authority.
However, leadership credibility is measured not by counsel given to others, but by conduct displayed when influence is personal and power is close.
In Rivers State, the relationship between Wike and his successor degenerated into a struggle over control, loyalty, and authority. The expectation that succession must translate into continued dominance reflects the very godfatherism that was once criticized. This contradiction exposes a deeper national challenge: power is often condemned in theory but defended in practice.
From a peace and security leadership perspective, this pattern is dangerous. Godfatherism fuels elite conflict, weakens institutions, triggers legislative crises, and often spills into street-level violence. Where personal loyalty replaces constitutional order, governance becomes unstable and public trust erodes.
The Bible offers sober warning on the consequences of such inconsistency:
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).
True counsel must be principled, consistent, and practiced, not selective or convenient.
Democratic leadership demands the discipline of letting go. Political mentorship should strengthen institutions, not control them. The true measure of leadership is not how long influence is retained after office, but how peacefully governance functions without interference.
Scripture further cautions against using power for domination:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… but it shall not be so among you” (Matthew 20:25–26).
Leadership, especially in a democracy, is meant to serve, not to subdue.
Nigeria faces a defining leadership test. Can political leaders live by the freedoms they preach? Until practice aligns with principle, godfatherism will continue to undermine peace, weaken governance, and delay democratic maturity.
For Nigeria to move forward, leadership must embrace restraint, institutional respect, and ethical succession. Only then can power serve democracy rather than control it and only then can peace and stability truly endure.
Prof. Ofonime Emmanuel Bassey, Chairman, POCACOV South-South Zone, is an International Peace Education and Leadership Professor, Conflict Resolution Strategist, and Advisor on Ethical Leadership, Security Governance, and Peace Systems Development.
He supports governments, faith institutions, civil society organizations, and leadership structures in designing and governing peace-sensitive systems, strengthening ethical decision-making, protecting social and institutional stability, and aligning leadership practice with long-term security outcomes.
With over 33 years of practical peace leadership experience, he combines research-driven advisory, executive coaching, and institutional mentoring to address conflict prevention, governance integrity, human capital development, and national resilience.
He is President and Chancellor of the NISSI Safety Management Institute, an Apostolic Bishop, and author of more than 30 books.
www.nissiinstitute.net).
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