Recently democracy day was marked in our country which heralded the beginning of a new government in Nigeria and at the same time marked the end of another government. In Plateau state, Rt.Hon. Barr. Simon Bako Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over the mantle of leadership on May 29, 2015 amidst huge expectations from the people of Plateau. At a time that poverty bites harder at the masses, the morals of the workforce is very low, the economy is in recession and indices for development look abysmal, most citizens of Plateau look up to the new government with so much hope and goodwill. Hence the incoming APC government must do everything possible to succeed so as not to dash the hopes of majority of the people of Plateau.

Since the inception of this era of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, there are certain disturbing patterns that have consistently been seen with the previous administrations in Plateau state. The pattern usually begins with the coming into power of a new government with so much fun fare, goodwill and expectations at the beginning only to be replaced by so much angst, ignominy and dashed hopes when such government exits power.

As we get way into the tenure of the governor, he becomes disconnected and detached from the people, pursuing an agenda that is not people-oriented. The governor and his team then become paternalistic and even angry when accountability is demanded by the followers. A careful observer would notice that the retinue of aides, advisers and officials has created a wall around the governor such that he becomes impregnable to the voices of reason, truth and caution.

From the above, it is obvious that one of the reasons for our governors in Plateau state not finishing strong is due to lack of a viable, effective and efficient feedback system in governance.

The Oxford dictionary defines feedback as, ‘information about reactions to a product, a person’s performance of a task…, which is used as a basis for improvement.’ A definition proposed by Keystone accountability is that “feedback is information about constituents’ perception of a set of activities and their impact. “ Feedback is essential in communication between leaders and followers so as to know whether a message is understood and agreed with or not. Ensuring feedback mechanisms are in place enables leaders and communicators to measure the pulse of their followers’ opinions.

The advantages of establishing a feedback mechanism in governance are that it supports accountability; engenders transparency and trust; empowers the citizens; ensures monitoring and evaluation of activities and programs; or projects improvement through better project management and outcomes. Feedback mechanisms are also expected to help government identify issues and risks early and address them in a timely manner before they become larger and more difficult and expensive to manage or resolve. Hence, it can act as an “early warning system”

Criticism which is a form of feedback is critical to the success of a leader and could either be constructive or destructive. A constructive criticism points out faults and includes practical advice on how they can be corrected without attacking directly the person receiving the criticism. A destructive criticism on the other hand, points out faults and directly attacks the person receiving the criticism and no practical advice or consideration is given.

Handling criticism especially the destructive type can be a difficult and unpleasant experience for a leader to handle since he is also an emotional being. This is why many leaders prefer the easy path of shying away or shutting down all forms of criticisms while preferring their world to be saturated with praises. An American preacher John Hagee once said, “If you don’t like criticisms, then you would be destroyed by the praises”. Praises and sycophants have destroyed many leaders, even in Plateau state.

Today’s leaders are dealing with an exponential change rate and information and communication channels that are easier accessible, faster and more widespread than before. It also means that they, as part of their job, will almost inevitably face criticism in many occasions. Great leaders are aware of this and deal with criticism constructively. They see it as a normal part of their role and approach it with an open mind. Aad Boot in an article, “Leading change: How great leaders deal with criticism,” outlined six (6) traits great leaders employed in dealing with criticisms:

i. They don’t take it personally- Great leaders do take the situation seriously but they control emotions like ‘feelings of being attacked’, ‘feelings of not being treated fairly’ or ‘being hunted’.

ii. They use criticism as fuel for improvement-Great leaders see criticism as an opportunity to engage people, create awareness and improve.

iii. They make complexity understandable to others- Great leaders focus on explaining openly and honestly what they believe is the essence of the complexity and its potential consequences, what they believe should be done to create change and why it is important.

iv. They communicate clear values – Great leaders pay special attention to communicating values even when they deal with criticism. They don’t try to counter criticism by losing themselves in technical arguments and details, by showing their knowledge and expertise. Instead they explain the values on which they based their decisions and actions and the importance of these values.

v. They admit their mistakes- Great leaders are not too proud to admit their mistakes. When the criticism is valid they are willing to adjust their decisions and actions.

vi. They engage critics and keep them informed – Great leaders engage their critics actively by challenging them to come up with ideas and alternate scenarios. They pro-actively keep their critics informed on the progress and the results, and invite them to give feedbacks.

As the new administration of Rt. Hon. Barr. Simon Lalong takes over the mantle of leadership and governance in Plateau state, most Plateau citizens are hopeful and desire that it succeeds in the arduous task of developing Plateau state. However, to achieve success, the incoming governor must learn from history and avoid the mistakes and pitfalls of our past leaders. The governor should be wary of sycophants that would detach him or insulate him from the people of Plateau state. He must put in place viable and efficient feedback mechanisms or systems that would put him in direct access to the people, their perceptions and opinions. Interacting with the man on the street from time to time will provide veritable feedback means as well as town hall meetings and media engagements. Technology have even provided more personalized means of feedback such as email; social media such as Facebook and twitter and many more. Citizens would be able to reach out directly to their leader, beyond aides and officials who would want to shield the governor from them.
The work is plentiful, and there is little time. Plateau people are praying that our governor would finish strong because the end is more important than the beginning. Godspeed Mr. Governor!

Dr. Daniel Meshak
Convener, Plateau Intelligentsia
@mesh007/[email protected]

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Lack of viable feedback mechanism: The bane of governors in Plateau by Dan Meshak