“The greatest source of power available to a leader is the trust that derives from faithfully serving followers”
_-JAMES O’TOOLE, PROFESSOR OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES,_
_UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA_

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful,”
_-1 CORINTHIANS 4:2

“Leadership is character in motion”.
– Les T. Csorba_

A profoundly resourceful author of an informative and educative book on leadership said a very important thing about how contemporary Americans look at the government and view their political leaders essentially.

From his evaluation of a country that is rated as the most advanced democracy in the world, it would seem that the philosophical and logically well-rounded generalisation that no human being is perfect, was proven.

But beyond that, what we Nigerians living through some of the most incompetent, corrupt, inept and ineffective political governance system would decode from the Central proposition of this book about the American politicians, is that if Americans have these unsalutary opinion about the ethical inadequacies of their political leaders of a Country looked upon as a model of where institutions are working without interference, it goes without doubt that the Nigerian situation is abysmally incomparable.

This Nigeria is a place whereby the current President was accused of compromising both the electoral commission and security agencies to rig himself into the office of President of Nigeria in 2023, was due to the dysfunctionality in the constition, he was sworn into office even before the dispute about the integrity of his candidacy and the manipulated process were resolved. The Nigerian President then went to work to capture the seemingly corruption prone judiciary in the Country which then went ahead to certify the compromised and heavily stolen 2023 presidential election as valid meaning that a man convicted of hard drugs related offences in the USA, became the Nigerian President. This is when the rain started to beat us as a nation because if someone with integrity deficit becomes a leader then the question of legitimacy is as good as an experiment in futility. But let’s continue analysing the book about Americans.

The author who would be identified at the end of the citations from his book, stated as follows: “It is true, when we begin to view the various social and cultural ills surrounding us, that we invariably comment on the deficiencies of certain leaders-politicians in government, journalists on television and in print, fathers in families, the clergy in churches, and corporate executives in business.

Surveys have questioned Americans about their perceptions of the “governing elite” regarding their patriotism, intentions, commitment to values, character, religion, and whether they were to be considered threatening or sympathetic: The result is a distrust and cynicism that are at the highest levels in our nation’s history.

In America, it is deep-seated and directed primarily at leaders. Perhaps at no other time in our history has leadership been in such great demand, both in terms of the quantity of leaders as well as its quality. (Source: TRUST The one thing makes or breaks a leader by Les T. Csorba).

Going through Csorba’s postulations aforementioned, and looking at how the general climate of fear enveloping Nigeria and Nigerians due to the crass and institutional failures of Nigerian political leaders beginning from the President who lawfully controls the military and police architectures, down to the governors of the 36 States including the political leadership of the Federal Capital Territory, we can conclude that political corruption has made Nigeria a FAILED STATE.

Even if we decide not to use the general situation in the Country devastated by insecurity and terrorism, and delve exclusively to the attacks by armed Fulani insurgents in only Benue and Plateau states, we can conclude that President Tinubu and the governors have lost the trust of the people of Nigeria for the reason that the Constitution in section 14 clearly extrapolated that the security and welfare of lives and property of the citizens are the primary duties of government.

And also if we also reason that chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution states that Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from where government derives the LEGITIMACY to exercise authority, we can justify our conclusion that President Tinubu and the governors irrespective of their political affiliations have failed and subsequently lost the LEGITIMACY TO EXERCISE AUTHORITY.

If we were in advanced democracies, there would have been very loud calls for resignation of the President who primarily has the responsibility to control and command the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the constitutionally clothed Commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But we are in our Nigeria whereby majority of the citizens are not ready to defend democracy and fight for their rights no matter the threats from the government, especially the President who controls the Armed Forces.

Amnesty International has raised the alarm over what it described as the Nigerian government’s failure to protect citizens from relentless attacks by armed groups and bandits, revealing that at least 10,217 people have been killed and 672 villages sacked in the past two years.

In a new report released on Wednesday, the human rights organisation said Benue State recorded the highest number of deaths with 6,896 people killed, followed by Plateau State with 2,630 deaths.
Other heavily affected states include Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

“A new investigation shows that, in the two years since the current government has been in power, at least 10,217 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara states.

“Benue State accounts for the highest death toll of 6,896, followed by Plateau state, where 2,630 people were killed.
“Since 29 May 2023, hundreds of people have been killed in rural areas where, our research since 2020 shows, a total absence of governance has given gunmen and criminal groups a free hand to commit atrocities.
“Our investigation verified the killing of over 294 people in Katsina state and documented the abduction of 306 people, mostly women and girls, between May 2023 and May 2025.” the report partly read.

In Zamfara, AI said no fewer than 529 villages are under the country of bandits.
“In Zamfara State, attacks have occurred daily, with multiple attacks sometimes taking place in a single day. In the last two years, over 273 people have been killed and 467 people abducted. Since the beginning of the bloody security crisis, bandits have sacked 481 villages across while
529 villages are under the control of bandits, across 13 local governments of Zamfara state,” It stated.

“In Plateau State, armed herders carried out 38 attacks. Bandits have sacked at least 43 villages
in four local government areas. Between 27 March and 2 April 2025,” the report added.
The Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, lamented that insecurity has been on the rise since the president took over.
He said, “Today marks exactly two years since President Bola Tinubu assumed office with a promise to enhance security. Instead, things have only gotten worse.
“The authorities continue to fail to protect the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty and the security of tens of thousands of people across the country.”
The organisation, however, warned of looming humanitarian crises as a result of the rising insecurity.

“The majority, if not all of those affected by these attacks, are farmers, whose displacement means they can no longer cultivate their farms. This is causing a looming humanitarian crisis.
“The majority of those displaced in Plateau and Katsina states told Amnesty International that they had to resort to begging to survive daily life. At Dangulbi district of Zamfara state, farmers
have to watch their harvest of sweet potatoes rot because bandits have prevented them from transporting them to the nearest market, ” the report added.

This author, Emmanuel NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO endorses the report of Amnesty International aforementioned as factually accurate and reliable.

I can only then add that it is only in a country like ours with the generality of the populace concerned only about chasing for their daily bread and nothing else that a President like Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the largely corrupt and ineffective governors are sitting pretty tight in their offices even when the people who voted for them are facing imminent extinction particularly from primarily Fulani insurgents and Islamic terrorists.

In Nigeria, government both at the centre and the federating units fraternise with terrorists and Fulani herders who have mostly become terrorists, insurgents and mass killers of farmers in their communities. Take for instance, the Nigeria Army pampers terrorists they re-baptised as repentant terrorists and have armed these bloodied mass killers to lead the Army in their attacks of other terrorists who are killing Nigerians and have seized control of over 3 local government areas in Borno state. This undermining of the Constitution by pampering terrorists is replicated in other states especially in the North West such as Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kaduna state.

Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Sokoto State Governor, Col. Ahmed Usman (rtd), had reiterated the state government’s commitment to the so-called lasting peace and security, expressing readiness to explore non-violent solutions to the lingering insecurity challenges in the region. And of course what this statement is going to say in the next paragraph is that the Sokoto State Governor is about to romance and pamper terrorists through the unlawful peaceful settlement with terrorists who have blood of Sokoto citizens in their hands.

It bears repeating to state that by this above flowery semantics, the governor of Sokoto state has started ROMANCING TERRORISTS in a country with unambiguous laws spelling out penalties for blood thirty terrorists.

This Nigeria Army, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara evil models of going to bed with terrorists apparently against the clear provisions of the law is the reason most experts both locally and internationally have asserted that Nigeria as it were is a failed state and this verdict emblematises the President Tinubu’s romantic entanglement and friendship with terrorists.

Usman, the man who spoke for Sokoto governor, while speaking with newsmen, declared the government’s so-called openness to dialogue with repentant bandits, who are ‘genuinely’ willing to lay down arms and embrace peace. Just imagine a government and a governor who holding the constitution on one hand and his religious holy book on the other, swore an oath to abide by the provisions of the Constitution but this same person has decided to pamper mass killers and terrorists. How wouldn’t the public trust vanish into thin air about the Nigerian political architecture?

In his attempt at justification of the illegality, the Sokoto state governor went into overdrive by committing several genres of FALLACY by stating as follows: “We wholeheartedly welcome any development that promotes peace and security in our region.

“It’s important to recognise that, historically, many conflicts have ended not solely through force, but through dialogue.

“In Sokoto, we’re open to engaging in negotiations with bandits who are genuinely willing to surrender and embrace peace.”

In Katsina state, the governor has established special schools for terrorists even when there is a law against mass murders. This pampering of terrorists by Tinubu and almost all the governors of the federating units has led to the loss of trust of the people on their so-called political leaders. I propose that the citizens should wake up and demand accountability from the President and the so-called governors.

Emmanuel Onwubiko Writes From Abuja.