By Samuel DanAuta Kyarshik (SDK)
In today’s Nigeria, we’ve glamorized surface appearances over substance. We applaud polished grammar, imported accents, designer suits, and intimidating academic credentials. Our leaders deliver eloquent speeches laced with economic jargon, often more suited for classrooms than crisis rooms. But Nigeria’s economic woes cannot be solved by degrees, grammar, or grandstanding. Fixing this nation requires bold, sacrificial leadership grounded in truth, character, and strategic action.
Too many Nigerians still believe that economic recovery depends on electing leaders who studied at elite schools, those who parade certificates from Harvard, London School of Economics, or other prestigious institutions. And yet, we’ve had several such individuals in key government positions like ministers, special advisers, state governors, all armed with global education but lacking the courage, patriotism, or integrity to implement real reforms. They spoke fine grammar, made good impressions abroad, but left behind broken systems at home.
Let it be said plainly: many Harvard-trained technocrats and Ivy League-educated officials have failed to fix Nigeria’s economy. Worse still, some chose not the path of honor, but of self-interest. With all their education, they became part of the same old machinery trading public trust for personal gain. If a man graduates from the best university in the world but cannot reject corruption, then he is simply an educated liability.
History teaches us that transforming economy is not reserved for the academically gifted, it is the work of visionary leaders committed to national redemption and transformation.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who led the United States out of the Great Depression, was not an economist. Paul Kagame, a military man, rebuilt Rwanda from ashes to economic stability. Lee Kuan Yew, a trained lawyer, transformed Singapore into one of the most developed nations globally without a finance or economics degree.
These leaders weren’t known for elite academic credentials or long-winded grammar. They were known for their results. They valued discipline over display, national interest over personal gain, and long-term transformation over short-term applause.
Nigeria’s problem is not a lack of education. It is the absence of ethical, decisive, and visionary leadership. We have a bloated political class filled with experts in theory but amateurs in delivery.
Many state governors are quick to speak of “economic blueprints,” “revenue optimization,” and “public-private partnerships”, but their states are economic wastelands. Potholes, unpaid salaries, and joblessness continue to define the lives of their citizens.
Grammar won’t build infrastructure. Degrees won’t end corruption. Foreign schooling won’t create jobs unless it is backed by homegrown integrity and political will.
It’s time we stop being impressed by credentials and start demanding results. Our leaders must stop hiding behind suits and CVs and start confronting the rot within the system. We must raise the bar for what leadership truly means not a parade of titles, but a commitment to nation-building.
Let it be known: Nigerians are no longer interested in being governed by men and women who are fluent in English but bankrupt in character. This nation needs leaders who are not afraid to do the hard, unglamorous work of reforming institutions, empowering industries, and lifting citizens out of poverty.
From the Presidency to the 36 state governors, we must demand more. We must demand leaders who don’t just look the part, but act the part. Leaders who do not confuse education for wisdom, nor grammar for governance.
Because at the end of the day, suits fade, titles lose their shine, and degrees grow old, but the impact of transformational real leadership lives on.
This is SDK with the Value-Based No Excuse Leadership Perspective.
