Osinbajo speaks on the role of Strategic Leadership in Nigeria’s handling of COVID-19 Pandemic

14 Nov Osinbajo speaks on the role of Strategic Leadership in Nigeria’s handling of COVID-19 Pandemic

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has explained how strategic leadership through a Presidential Order in 2020, enabled Nigeria to effectively tackle the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying a responsive and an effective public health framework, at a time when more developed and wealthier countries were struggling to deal with the fallouts of the global pandemic.

Speaking at the public presentation of the book, “Winning Leadership” authored by Major-General Pat Akem-Vingir (rtd), Osinbajo noted that the step was a good example of strategic leadership in a crisis.

According to the VP, with the daunting challenges of the 21st century, such kind of leadership, which can effectively mobilise national and organizational resources to achieve results, is more important now than ever.

He said Nigeria’s COVID-19 response has been celebrated locally and internationally as a result of such strategic leadership.

Osinbajo mentioned the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, an inter-ministerial interagency team led by the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) as a reference.

He said, “As General Pat Akem argues in Winning Leadership that knowledgeable and agile leadership at the strategic level is one that is able to mobilize resources – human, financial and material – of nations and organisations – in an effective and result-oriented manner. Such leadership is able to attain goals and visions and also able to protect and promote interests. In other words, effective strategic leadership purposefully provides direction and inspires. One of the biggest surprises for many was how some of the wealthiest and most developed economies of the world were tragically unprepared to handle a public health crisis on the scale and uncertainty of Covid-19. Whereas countries with more modest economic profiles, quickly deployed a public health framework that was responsive and effective.

“The task force swiftly issued and enforced COVID-19 protocols for travel and general movement. We restricted travel into Nigeria before most OECD countries did. Once the first case was discovered, the African Center of Excellence for Genomic of Infectious Diseases, in Ede gave Africa the first genomic sequence for Corona virus SARS 2. When the first doses of vaccines came, the task force developed the protocols and the public health system already used to mass vaccination campaigns, deployed across the country in every nook and cranny of Nigeria so that the first eligible vaccine candidates received their vaccinations seamlessly.”

“As a nation, the threats to our corporate existence today are unprecedented and hitherto unimagined. It is against this background that the author’s prescriptions have to be taken seriously. As he pointed out, exceptional leaders do not just emerge, they are the products of deliberate efforts in policy making, training and grooming.”

While acknowledging that there are no silver bullets that leaders can deploy to solve 21st Century economic, social and security challenges, Osinbajo stated that only knowledgeable, well developed, trained and motivated leaders will win.

“The strategies and techniques of yesterday will not work today, in the corporate workplace, in our public institutions and even in our homes. Thanks in no small part to the leaps made in technological advancement. The advent of social media has completely changed the nature of human interactions, and with that has added layers of ambiguity and complexity in state-corporate relations. In terms of human capital, what drives today’s workforce is very different even from just two decades ago,” he added

Osinbajo described the book as an essential contribution to the existing body of knowledge on the subject of strategic leadership.

He also noted that its public presentation was timely and coming at the most auspicious moment in our nation’s history.

His words: “Major General Pat Akem-Vingir has outdone himself with this important new book, and he has articulated military strategies and fresh thinking on the concept of strategic leadership. There are many books and ideas on leadership but one of the reasons why I think this book Winning Leadership is unique is that it draws from the best scholars in the world on the subject—leaders of advanced militaries and C-suite leaders of international organisations and institutions.”