Jonathan’s transformational leadership in Nigeria: Lessons from the biblical Abraham

Abstract

The issue of getting the right leadership to propel national growth and prosperity has been in the forefront of national debate in the last decade. Countries that desire to develop need special kind of leaders, leaders that are more than accomplished administrators and managers. They need leaders that have some charisma and possess the ability to inspire followers to subordinate their self interests for the good of the entire country. What most countries need are transformational leaders. Arguably, one of the greatest transformational leaders of all time was the Biblical Abraham. This paper examines the transformational leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan with special reference to the traits Abraham
possessed. These are traits said to be useful to individuals desiring to become transformational leaders. With the use of Weber’s theory of charisma, the paper analyzed issues of transformational leadership and the role it can play in sustainable development. Drawing experiences from developed and developing countries in the globalized era, it concludes that Nigerian leadership cannot successfully address challenges of national development, unless it embraces the qualities of transformational leadership which include vision, charisma, confidence, a willingness to be different, courageous, humility, a willingness to make great sacrifices for (his) vision, a strong sense of justice, and concern for others as well as
-14-best practices cultivated and propagated from within Africa in the
global era.

Keywords: Development, Transformational, Leadership, Sustainability, Biblical Abraham