Drama and Leader-Follower Symbiosis for Sustainable Development in Africa: Lessons from Paul Ugbede’s Our Son the Minister

Abstract

Many African countries, including Nigeria, are underdeveloped in spite of their rich natural and human resources. This is a call for concern given the continent’s natural endowments. Regrettably, some of the African countries that are making great strides in development such as Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Egypt are finding it difficult to sustain such developmental strides due to political, religious and economic factors. This paper therefore advocates a synergetic relationship between political leaders and followers in order to achieve sustainable development in Africa. The paper holds that the apathy of followers in relation to leadership policies and programmes, as well as their selfish demands, has further facilitated the failure of leadership in Africa. This is predicated on the fact that no matter how good the developmental agenda of a nation is, if the followership fails to take ownership of it, it cannot be sustained, which sadly deepens its underdevelopment. Consequent upon this premise, the paper submits that Africa can only experience sustainable development if there is leader-follower symbiosis in order for all parties to take ownership of developmental projects. Drawing lessons from Paul Ugbede’s Our Son the Minister (2017), it recommends that the African people should refrain from making too many frivolous personal demands on their leaders in order not to shift focus from the primary responsibility of leadership towards attaining sustainable socio-economic and political development.