Who Will Show Them the Way? Leadership, Corruption, and the Crisis of Mentorship in Nigeria

By

Ola Olateju

“Very thoughtful piece on the state of democracy and governance in Nigeria! My concern has been on how to stop the corrupting influence of career politicians on our youths. How can they become good leaders when no one is modeling good leadership or good governance to them? Where do they learn to be good leaders where all they have ever seen is hopelessness and deceit? When student leaders on our campuses are already being bought by powerful politicians who sponsor their elections into student government leadership positions, where is the hope? I don’t want to sound hopeless, but are we modeling good leadership, even for the students that we teach? When we take bribe to change grades, are we not telling them that that is the way to live and get ahead in life?” (Professor Bosede Aworuwa, Professor of Curriculum Development, Achievers University reacting to “Power to the People, Not to the Dictators: Why Nigerians Must Vote Credibly in 2027,” published on Wednesday, April 1, 2025)

These poignant reflections by Professor Aworuwa reveal an often overlooked but deeply consequential dimension of Nigeria’s leadership crisis: the corruption of youth leadership pathways and the erosion of ethical role models. It is not simply a question of whether Nigeria will find good leaders. The deeper, more troubling question is: where will they come from, and who is showing them the way?

Corruption of the Leadership Pipeline                        

In Nigeria today, youth politics no longer serves as a training ground for democratic engagement but as a preparatory school for patronage and political capture. Universities and colleges, which once nurtured idealists and radicals who challenged state power—from the 1978 “Ali Must Go” protest to the 1990s anti-military activism—have now become breeding grounds for corruption and clientelism. As Adebanwi and Obadare (2011) explain, the Nigerian political system has successfully exported its prebendal logic into the campuses, where student unionism is now heavily influenced, if not outright sponsored, by external political godfathers.

The result is the early indoctrination of future political leaders into the corrupt norms of transactional politics. Our campuses have become arenas where ambition is groomed not by civic ideals but by opportunistic loyalty to power brokers.

The Institutionalization of Moral Failure

The university, long seen as the last bastion of rationality and moral clarity, is itself implicated. From lecturers who extort money or sex for grades to administrators who facilitate admissions fraud, the rot is pervasive. The 2019 Sex for Grades investigation by BBC Africa Eye exposed not only individual deviance but a culture of impunity in Nigerian universities. This culture sends a dangerous message to students: integrity is naïve, corruption is rewarded, and ethics are optional.

Indeed, as Professor Aworuwa rightly observed, we—educators, administrators, public servants—are often guilty of modeling the very behaviors we decry in politicians. We reproduce the logic of corruption in the very environments meant to be safe havens for moral development.

The Strategic Capture of the Youth

Nigeria’s politicians are not blind to the power of the youth demographic. They recognize that controlling the political attitudes of young people ensures the longevity of elite dominance. Through student union patronage, youth empowerment charades, and even the militarization of campus politics, political actors are strategically shaping the leadership psyche of the next generation. As the National Bureau of Statistics (2022) notes, over 60% of Nigeria’s population is under 25. This is not a demographic dividend—it is a battleground.

Chabal and Daloz (1999) argue that disorder is not simply tolerated in African political systems—it is weaponized. Nigeria’s youth are being socialized into a form of political nihilism where disorder is the norm, and ethical leadership is dismissed as impractical idealism.

A Culture of Fatalism

This systemic failure leads to a dangerous form of moral resignation. Young people, observing the apparent futility of virtue in public life, are increasingly adopting fatalism. “If you can’t beat them, join them,” has become a mantra, not out of cynicism but as a survival strategy. In such a context, democracy loses its meaning, elections become performative, and legitimacy is decoupled from accountability.

This descent into moral despair is dangerous not only for Nigeria’s democracy but for its very survival. As Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) remind us, nations fail not because they lack resources but because they allow extractive institutions—political and educational—to dominate inclusive ones.

Reimagining Mentorship and Civic Leadership

To reverse this moral collapse, Nigeria must invest in value-based mentorship at all levels. Civic education must be restructured to emphasize ethical citizenship, political literacy, and community service. Student leaders must be insulated from partisan capture through reforms that promote transparent, internally democratic student governance systems. Political parties should be compelled to create mentorship pipelines for youth based on civic values, not just loyalty or identity.

In our classrooms, we must model the integrity we expect in public life. Teachers must stop taking bribes, administrators must enforce discipline, and professional associations must sanction unethical behavior. The university must once again become a site of resistance, not replication, of societal decay.

The Role of the State and Civil Society

The state must also fulfill its constitutional responsibility to promote ethics in public service. Anti-corruption agencies such as the ICPC and EFCC must be adequately funded and genuinely independent. Politicians must be held accountable, not just through elections, but through strong institutions of justice and transparency. Civil society organizations must also step up their engagement with youth—providing civic education, mentorship, and platforms for ethical expression.

Religious leaders and cultural institutions must abandon their neutrality in the face of corruption. Their moral voice must once again become prophetic, not sycophantic.

Conclusion: A Call to Moral Awakening

The challenge is clear: we cannot expect ethical leaders to emerge from a society that consistently punishes virtue and rewards vice. If we want to change Nigeria’s future, we must first change its moral curriculum. Leadership begins with example. Reform begins with courage. And redemption begins with truth-telling.

So once again, the question remains: Who will show them the way? The answer lies not in Abuja, or in ballot boxes, but in the classrooms, homes, pulpits, and campuses across Nigeria. If we do not model ethical leadership now, we will have no moral authority to demand it tomorrow.

Let each of us—educators, civil servants, clergy, parents, professionals—rise to the responsibility of modeling the Nigeria we want to see.

The next generation is watching.

OLA OLATEJU, A DISTINGUISHED ACADEMIC AND LECTURER IN POLITICAL SCIENCE WITH SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND ADMINISTRATION WRITES FROM ACHIEVERS UNIVERSITY, OWO IN ONDO STATE OF NIGERIA. HIS PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY INCLUDES SERVING AS CHIEF LECTURER AND DEPUTY RECTOR (ADMINISTRATION) AT LAGOS STATE POLYTECHNIC DR. OLATEJU HOLDS A PH.D. IN POLITICS FROM THE SWANSEA UNIVERSITY, UK, WHERE HE ALSO SERVED AS AN HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOW. ADDITIONALLY, HE HOLDS A BACHELOR’S AND MASTER’S DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AS WELL AS AN M.A. IN DEMOCRATIC STUDIES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, UK