Magnus Onyibe Releases New Book on Leadership

Wale Igbintade

A new book aimed at getting leadership in Nigeria to be more considerate and inclusive of the views, opinions and concerns of those outside the corridors of power written by a development strategist, public policy analyst and media columnist,  Magnus Onyibe, has just been released.

The book titled: “Leading From The Streets. Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual (1999-2019)” is a compilation of 77 articles written and published in the mass media by the author, spanning 20 years of the return to democracy in Nigeria, from 1999 to 2019.

Onyibe announced the book release in a statement signed by Tervel Kejih.

According to him, the book features essays that dwell on the core and relevant issues concerning the existence of Nigeria as a country and what needs to be done to make her flourish.

According to the statement: “The book serves as a vital lesson in civic engagement and history,  provides an in-depth exploration of how power has been wielded and sometimes misused in Nigeria between 1999-2019 which is during the reign of presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari; and the consequent impact of their leadership on the masses who depend on them for direction”.

Some of the topics focused on in the seven chapters are, democracy and governance, politics and practice of politics, business and economy, leaders and leadership, and ethnic nationalism, separatism and religious insurgency, corruption and graft – the unending fight against it, and Nigeria’s  relations with other African countries and the rest of the world.

Every chapter of the book has an afterwards writers, including former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, (Rtd), Former Primate of Anglican Church, Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, and Head Transparency International, Nigeria, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim, among others.

As the ‘afterwords’ writer, on the chapter: ” Business, Economy and Development,” the renowned accountant Mr J.K. Randle pointed out: “He (Onyibe) has adopted a prose style that is both elegant and incisive to the point that we are entitled to ask: what else is to be done to bend the ears of those whose responsibility it is to make crucial decisions on our behalf? “

Also, the former Head of State,  Gowon, noted in his foreword: “The book is more than just a collection of past articles but rather a compilation as well as an expression of passionate intellectual effort aimed at getting leadership in Nigeria to be more considerate and inclusive of the views, opinions and concerns of those outside the corridors of power.

“This is in order to help guide policy makers in their work of policy formulation for the good of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.”

He further stated: “In this book, Onyibe has made compelling contributions and given sound ideas and possible solutions to many burning national and global issues”.

He added that reading through the articles, it was obvious that Onyibe, as someone with composite work experience as a broadcaster, insurance man and banker, as well as in the public sector as a commissioner in the government of Delta State, is very familiar with the various issues that our country has had to deal with since independence 1960.

The former Head of State added: “As a way of proffering solutions to these seemingly intractable challenges, he wrote these articles as interventions from someone who does not function from the official government circle. Nonetheless, he has deep insight about the challenges that we face as a nation and how we could possibly successfully resolve them.

“Typical with the opinion pieces and editorials in these essays, they go to the heart of many of the issues over a span of 20 years since the return of the country to democratic governance in 1999.

 “The issues were usually incisively analysed, and possible solutions proffered. If only the successive leaders, since 1999, had leveraged the good pieces of advice given in those presentations, one wonders how better off the country would have been. “

One of the unique features of the book is that each of the seven chapters contained have an ‘afterwords’ writer who is an authority in the topic focused.

“Invariably, owing to the insightful and invaluable perspectives brought to bear by the eight afterwords writers, the book can be said to have eight co- authors because the chapter with the theme: “Ethnic Nationalism, Separatism and Religious Insurgency” had both Christian and Muslim clergymen as co-writers, which was done in order to strike a balance in our country that is very religion sensitive.

“Coming at this point in the life of the new administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the book serves as an appraisal of the leadership strength of past leaders since the return of multi-party democracy in Nigeria in 1999 and a guide for the incumbent leadership to improve upon for the greater good of Nigerians.”

The book has been published on Amazon for both the paperback and kindle versions.