The Interview Editors
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said to achieve National sustainability in the post-oil Nigerian economy, the highest standard of ethical leadership is required of all leaders, especially in the public sector.
Danbatta spoke at the 2020 Annual Directors Conference organised by the Institute of Directors, which held between the 3rd and 4th of November 2020.
Danbatta said at the conference that ethical leaders possessed attributes that enable them function effectively.
These attributes, he said include honesty, integrity, accountability, empathy, humility, resilience, vision, influence and positivity.
He said, “A leader with such attributes plays a very important role in effectively and adequately harnessing the natural and human resources of the Country.
“In order to achieve sustainable economic development, such leader focuses on team building, encourages initiatives by putting the right people in the right places, is a visioner who can forecast and adequately prepare for the future and above all show leadership by example.”
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Sustainability, he said, is the concept of conserving resources for future generations and it can be viewed from the economic, environmental and social perspectives.
Danbatta said, “Economic sustainability can be described as a process, which focuses on ensuring that there is growth, which would be sufficient for all kinds of social improvement.
“It should be noted that economic sustainability can only be achieved where we have ethical leaders at the helm of affairs especially the public sector of the economy.”
He said, “In order to achieve National sustainability in the post-oil Nigerian economy, the highest standard of ethical leadership is required of all leaders especially in the public sector.
“This is because the government has enormous authoritative influence on citizens. Therefore, taxpayers expect a high level of integrity from their leaders. Peoples’ confidence and trust in the government increases when their leaders develop policies and take actions that promote the interests and wellbeing of the entire society.”
He said, this is because public policies have a direct impact on the citizens.
“Therefore ensuring ethics in the public service is very important. In this regard, the Federal government came up with a Code of Conduct for public officers, which is spelt out in the Fifth Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution. The aim of the code is to establish and maintain a high standard of integrity in the conduct of government business and to ensure that the actions and behavior of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.”
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Leaders at all levels, he said, were expected to exhibit ethical behaviour not only to those they lead within public organisations and institutions but everyone in the society.
“They are expected to be committed to the principles and values of ethical leadership. It should be noted that the citizens are demanding higher standards of ethics, transparency and accountability,” the NCC chief executive said.
Therefore, he said, the only thing that would take Nigeria out of its current economic crisis is the diversification of the economy and having ethical leaders who will manage its resources effectively and efficiently, by ensuring adequate planning and proper management of resources, all-inclusive growth and prudence.
