Revisiting Leadership, Democracy and National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper critically examined the meaning, theories and importance of the concepts of leadership, democracy, national development and sustainable development. It presents the trends in development generally and national development in Nigeria in the context of leadership and democracy. It examines Nigeria’s quest for national development, the challenges of leadership and problems of her democratic experiment, and contends that Nigeria, and indeed every Third World country in the development rat race, have huge potentials that could and should be tapped for development. However, they need strong leaders and political systems that are able to drive positive changes and reforms, in order to realise their developmental dreams. Recommendations also point to the need for their governments to understand the concept of developmental state where government plays a crucial role in promoting industrialisation.