THE Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, yesterday, identified lack of sacrifice by Nigerian leaders as one of the major reasons for slow development in the country.
Adeyemi, who is also a strategic leadership consultant, spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
He harped on the need for leaders to map out a long-term development plan which would be embraced by their followers, stressing that nobody can change Nigeria in four or eight years.
According to him, most Nigerians want development and that is why the people and the leaders need to develop the country to be like those nations Nigerians are migrating to.
The leadership consultant said that there must be a discussion among Nigerians about where they want Nigeria to be, adding that it must start with dusting the report of the 2014 National Conference and carrying out some of the recommendations in it.
He said: “What drives people in leadership now is money, rather than making sacrifices for the country, leaders look for how to make money and thereby stunt the nation’s development.
“Nigerians are not foolish, the survival instinct is the strongest, the people you are asking to collaborate, and the only collaboration that makes sense to them is how they make more money. All the contracts going out of the MDAs, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, even the oversight functions for the National Assembly, it is money driving it.
“That is why vision is very important as a leader. You have to sell that idea, transfer that idea to people’s hearts about where we are going and how we will get there and it’s that where we are going to that will give motivation to people to sacrifice.
“The people in leadership need to make sacrifices now but I promise you most people in leadership now are not thinking sacrifice, they are thinking survival.”