The International Conference Centre in Abuja on Monday hosted the book presentation on the ‘Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’, a case study of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The author, John Paden, a Professor of International Studies, who had written a book on late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, described President Buhari as a charismatic leader who would never do anything except it benefits the country.
Professor Paden said President Buhari had the courageous and upright personality that Nigeria needed at this time to forge a united country.
“President Buhari has the challenge of promoting unity and security, as mentioned in the book. I have dedicated this book and my previous three books to the unity of Nigeria.
“The challenges of the leadership in Nigeria are larger than any individual. But the commitment and passion of individual leaders to do the right thing without consideration of personal gain clearly makes a difference,” he told the gathering.
The 320-page book was reviewed by two politicians and two diplomats.
The event was attended by three presidents from Chad, Niger and
Benin Republic and two former Nigerian leaders; General Yakubu Gowon and Mr Olusegun Obasanjo among other prominent Nigerians.
For Gowon, this is a time for President Buhari to restore Nigeria.
“Mr President has been doing his best to get things going, to ensure that the economy is restored to good health and the suffering of the masses of the people is alleviated,” the former military leader stressed.
Giving a speech about the presentation of events in the book, Mr Obasanjo said that the simple and chronological presentation made the book readable without stress and “makes you to not want to put it down when you start reading it”.
Also at the ceremony were the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Mr John Oyegun and the leader of the party that had called for Mr Oyegun’s resignation, Mr Bola Tinubu. They sat side by side at the occasion.
Reviewing the book, Mr Tinubu said that as a sitting president, Mr Buhari was on an assignment to undo the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance.
Another reviewer told the gathering that the book was on Buhari, with focus on leadership issues and some of the ways which leadership responds to challenges facing a nation of people.
The author wrote: “Leadership is clearly the key to the success of the Nigerian project which is a quest for prosperous and unified Nigeria”.
For President Buhari, the reviewers of the book had done a great job, making it possible for those at the gathering to have a clear view of what the book was about without having to read it.
There are expectations that the book would be widely read in Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as a lesson in true leadership.
Nigeria’s culture was not left out of the ceremony, as a several dance groups also entertained the gathering.
