₦airaland Forum

adeaks:
Very good answer. However, many scholars opine that Awolowo having moved to the center to contest elections still wanted to control the western region under Akintola as the premier, which is reminiscent of the type of godfathers we have today. It's like a former state governor who went to contest the presidential election and lost wanting to still control the state now under his protege. This led to the clash between their supporters and the infamous operation 'wetie'.

This was why I asked if Awolowo is not actually a bad example of godfatherism.

Please note that despite the fact that Awolowo contested election at the federal level, he was still the leader of AG on whose back Akintola rode to power. My opinion here is that Awolowo, having seen the obvious deviation of Akintola from AG's ideology and his increasing relationship with the Balewa government-the perceived enemy of AG is enough reason for Awolowo to mount pressure on Akintola to return to the ideology of the party or face the wrath of the party. It was not a gesture to control the government under Akintola but to make sure his legacies and the ideology of AG never go into extinction in their stronghold.

It was never a case of Godfatherism gone bad because I can't say who the godson is in their context. Awolowo and Akintola led AG, so I don't see where Akintola became godson to Awolowo.

I hope I have been able to debunk the claim of those scholars that Awolowo was a godfather to Akintola.

adeaks:
Yes, your point is well taken, but I think you have not answered the question.
Track records cannot replace experience at the highest level. If we eliminate godfatherism and we vote in youths all round, wont we suffer from their inevitable youthful exuberance without the guiding hands and experience of the godfathers to rely on?

Sir, track records equals experience ( the records were obtained from a job welldone).

As for the guiding hands we have a constitution and we a legislature.
The youth can also learn from history.

Audience you can ask your questions...




Judges compile the scores and forward to Nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com



Adeaks
Joseph1832
Jarus

obiZEAL:
I have said repeatedly, that Godfathers are very influential, and in any election the man with the most influence ( and most often with little credibility ) is likely to win, not only because the election was rigged in his favour, but because he was able to campaign by often unconventional means ( example by handing cash to electorates). I'm not refuting the reforming of our electoral institutions, but we should reform our institutions and extinguish Godfatherism simultaneously to obtain effective in leadership .

Now you agreed that Godfatherism cannot be singled out the sole bane of effective leadership. It is not even the problem ab initio. When our electoral institutions are reformed, there won't be any need to be afraid of godfathers.

Thanks for eventually agreeing to the fact that, concentrating our effort on the extinction of godfatherism doesn't worth it, but using the same effort in choosing leaders with integrity, accountability and transparency. I believe you know that godfatherism is still practised in advance countries we are looking up to.

Catalyst4real:
.

You wrote this in your essay:

"As perversely as this culture may have been re-engineered, it's dilaceration will be more inimical than logical.
"

How do you mean? You mean Nigeria is going to suffer if it removes the touches and mights of political Godfathers in its political landscape? What benefit has Godfatherism had on this country before now, now, and would even have after now?

You guys are wonderful... Make sure you clear all questions posited to you...


If you have duly done that, then you can conclude so we can bring the debate to a close, while we await results.

You guys are wonderful... Make sure you clear all questions posited to you...


If you have duly done that, then you can conclude so we can bring the debate to a close, while we await results.



Abuklaw
Catalyst4real
ObiZEAL
Noskyboy

Abuklaw:
Now you agreed that Godfatherism cannot be singled out the sole bane of effective leadership. It is not even the problem ab initio. When our electoral institutions are reformed, there won't be any need to be afraid of godfathers.

Thanks for eventually agreeing to the fact that, concentrating our effort on the extinction of godfatherism doesn't worth it, but using the same effort in choosing leaders with integrity, accountability and transparency. I believe you know that godfatherism is still practised in advance countries we are looking up to.

Lolz....
You wish

I only mentioned the reformation of our electoral system because he brought it up, like I mentioned in one of my replies, the process of Godfatherism does not start during the election, it is inherent in political parties where INEC has no jurisdiction, it plays out in the campaign processes too,,, so sir, electoral reform is a secondary solution to a primary problem.

sammyscholar:
You wrote this in your essay:

"As perversely as this culture may have been re-engineered, it's dilaceration will be more inimical than logical.
"

How do you mean? You mean Nigeria is going to suffer if it removes the touches and mights of political Godfathers in its political landscape? What benefit has Godfatherism had on this country before now, now, and would even have after now?

Refer to my definition of Godfatherism, or I don't mind reiterating
"the architectural motive behind the evolution of godfathers is to have an experienced role model to look up to, who is godly in nature and fatherly in principle"
Removing Godfatherism is like eliminating that guide and support from people who have thread on the same part as the present leader.

What has Godfatherism done in Nigeria? very minimal i must say, because we haven't discovered it's true purpose. Nigerian Godfatherism may have been abused, but take reference from developed nations that practice it, and see how well they thrive.
Looking carefully, it is not the godfatherism itself that pulls us back, but how deeply we continuously misplace priorities, we live in an economy where people are more loyal to their tribes, villages and ethnics than they are to the country at large.
Eliminating godfatherism won't even help us, that's like cutting the branch, ignoring the roots

a big thank you to Abuklaw, Catalyst4real and ObiZeal for this exhaustive, very educative and interesting intellectual exercise. I would conclude by saying that Nigeria's politics is one that is growing and needs credible leaders, and if credible leaders must emerge, then the process for emergence of good leaders must be open to all, and to do that, godfatherism must be discouraged.

I will summarily conclude that godfatherism should not be said to be the problem of effective leaders but that Reformation needs to be made to our electoral system. That effective leaders with the positive character, integrity, vision, purpose and mission do not see any threat in godfatherism since they know what they want to achieve as leaders.

I hope the readers would agree with me, that removing godfatherism from Nigeria's political sphere won't solve the inadequacies of our leaders.

Well. We have finally come to the end of today's debate.



*sigh* the judges are working on the results. Please bear with us, as there is probability that we may not Annouce the winner today....



Hang around. Thanks...

Big shout out to Abuklaw and Catalyst4real, you guys gave me a run for my data and time.
For my final thoughts;

obiZEAL:
Nigeria Practices a democratic system of Government, and that alone is a reason why Godfatherism should be scrapped. TheY people should be left to decide who should rule them, without having to contend with the choices of the often influential Godfathers.
That is our stand.

Thumbs up to all debaters tonight,you guys dealt extensively well on the aforementioned topic..

But my humble take on this topic," if you take away godfatherism in the political scene,then politics become a charade,cause godfatherism has it own advantages it provides to politics and as well as it disadvantages too.

So reformation is the key factor here,without giving recourse to demands and selfish interest of the supposed godfathers at the detriment of the mass.

Well done debaters. I must say you all really wowed me with your points, rebuttals and counter rebuttals.

However, I must call to your attention that you guys still lack the spirit to carry out proper research. I believe by now in your various schools, you should have been taught Research Methodology? And if you haven't, you should make proper effort to learn/study this, it will open and broaden your minds....

I wonder what happened to books, journals and newspapers? You guys should make use of your school library when debating topics like this, many of your seniors have written 'projects' on this topic, I expected to see more use of books, journals and newspaper references but didn't. As at the time when 'godfatherism' was in vogue, (the fourth republic to be precise) the internet wasn't even in use then, but you guys kept posting links as your references

I must not fail to inform you guys to please know how to make adequate and appropriate references when quoting books, journals, newspapers or even the internet. Your research methodology will teach you further as regard this.

Once again, I enjoyed this debate, thank you guys for your time and I wish you the best in your studies and endeavors.

arcnomec:
Thumbs up to all debaters tonight,you guys dealt extensively well on the aforementioned topic..

But my humble take on this topic," if you take away godfatherism in the political scene,then politics become a charade,cause godfatherism has it own advantages it provides to politics and as well as it disadvantages too.

So reformation is the key factor here,without giving recourse to demands and selfish interest of the supposed godfathers at the detriment of the mass.

a big thank you for this assertion. That is what team ABU is trying to pass across to the readers.

Barackodam, I can see you observing from that corner.

Great, great effort guys. I definitely learnt one or two things from your essays.

Just a little advice for Catalyst4real. I felt your reply below and one or two of your rebuttals were overly acerbic.

As this is an intellectual exercise, I think you can deliver your rebuttals without taking personal potshots or denigrating your co-debaters. Tackle the question and not the person.
I feel all the other debaters did very well in this regard.

That being said, I would love to see both teams in the next round.

Kudos

Catalyst4real:
Agree with you? Quite sarcastic.Your philosophy is unrealistic.
We keep blaming Godfatherism to shield ourselves of the truth which stares at us in the face

You evade my question, I guess it was beyond your acute proficience.
I'll ask a simple one next time.

joseph1832:
Well done debaters. I must say you all really wowed me with your points, rebuttals and counter rebuttals.

However, I must call to your attention that you guys still lack the spirit to carry out proper research. I believe by now in your various schools, you should have been taught Research Methodology? And if you haven't, you should make proper effort to learn/study this, it will open and broaden your minds....

I wonder what happened to books, journals and newspapers? You guys should make use of your school library when debating topics like this, many of your seniors have written 'projects' on this topic, I expected to see more use of books, journals and newspaper references but didn't. As at the time when 'godfatherism' was in vogue, (the fourth republic to be precise) the internet wasn't even in use then, but you guys kept posting links as your references

I must not fail to inform you guys to please know how to make adequate and appropriate references when quoting books, journals, newspapers or even the internet. Your research methodology will teach you further as regard this.

Once again, I enjoyed this debate, thank you guys for your time and I wish you the best in your studies and endeavors.

Thanks for the advice. We will note it in subsequent fixtures. But I want you to know that I personally think there is no need bugging people with references few will end up checking. And word count to is an impediment to posting numerous references.

Once again, thanks for the invaluable advice. We hope to hear from you soon.

Abuklaw:
a big thank you for this assertion. That is what team ABU is trying to pass across to the readers.

Barackodam, I can see you observing from that corner.

To support our own, ghost mode wise

adeaks:
Great, great effort guys. I definitely learnt one or two things from your essays.

Just a little advice for Catalyst4real. I felt your reply below and one or two of your rebuttals were overly acerbic.

As this is an intellectual exercise, I think you can deliver your rebuttals without taking personal potshots or denigrating your co-debaters. Tackle the question and not the person.
I feel all the other debaters did very well in this regard.

That being said, I would love to see both teams in the next round.

Kudos

Thanks for this sarcasm. you will only see one of us in the next round and that is probably team ABU.

Abuklaw:
Thanks for the advice. We will note it in subsequent fixtures. But I want you to know that I personally think there is no need bugging people with references few will end up checking. And word count to is an impediment to posting numerous references.

Once again, thanks for the invaluable advice. We hope to hear from you soon.

The reference(s) is to give your work validity and credibility. It doesn't matter whether anybody checks it or not.

In social sciences, it was noted that whatever ever one writes is based or was based on a previous work or idea, that's why many want to know what influenced your thought or idea. That's one of the need for using references.

When you get to your pen ultimate year in school and when they teach you research methodology, you'll understand more.

This is a debate that has to do with ideas, fact and proof, thus, this is the education section where we dwell on facts and evidence, not baseless and senseless opinions like we see in Romance section. LOL.

adeaks:
Great, great effort guys. I definitely learnt one or two things from your essays.

Just a little advice for Catalyst4real. I felt your reply below and one or two of your rebuttals were overly acerbic.

As this is an intellectual exercise, I think you can deliver your rebuttals without taking personal potshots or denigrating your co-debaters. Tackle the question and not the person.
I feel all the other debaters did very well in this regard.

That being said, I would love to see both teams in the next round.

Kudos

Alright. Noted
Emotions were high then, I meant no contempt
I believe Obizeal concurs

barackodam:


To support our own, ghost mode wise

And we really need the support. It came in nick of time. Thanks to all abusite for your unwavering support.

Catalyst4real:
Alright. Noted
Emotions were high then, I meant no contempt
I believe Obizeal concurs

Yea
..indeed, it was a great experience regardless of the outcome. We all did great.

Nice topic

Good morning Fynestboi. We hope the result will be available as soon as possible.

Abuklaw:
Good morning Fynestboi. We hope the result will be available as soon as possible.

Yes sir....

Abuklaw:
Does Godfatherism really poses any threat to an effective leader?

I have seen people gathered at newspaper stand discussing the effect of Godfatherism, read people’s comment on social media, and notice the increasing public opinion on the negative effect of Godfatherism. I have nevertheless, tried to educate people on the subject matter and at the same time enlighten them on the real bane to effective leadership in Nigeria political sphere.

Before I become carried away in my quest to make the audience, Judges and co-debaters reason with me, I won’t fail to acknowledge the indispensable personalities oiling the machine of this intellectual tussle.

Mr. Seun Osewa, the untiring and ever-industrious organizers, the perspicacious and sagacious panel of Judges, readers and followers of this invaluable initiative. I am saying good day as usual.

My monicker is Abuklaw, representing the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I will be employing this medium to elucidate the reasons why Godfatherism plays no role in whatever means in the inefficiency of our leaders, how the rot in our political circle should not be attributed to Godfatherism.

Owing to the fact some people might be coming across the subject for the first time, it is pertinent to briefly expound the key terms.

Godfatherism is a symbiotic relationship between two persons namely; the godfather and the godson, where the godfather uses his political connection to secure political position for the godson, who upon ascension into power pays gratification to his godfather in kind or cash.
Effective leaders are those that deliver value to those whom they are accountable to. In this case, the electorate.

The question I often ask is, can something that was never the source of a problem be pointed out as the solution to such problem if removed? No! You said. But why do we continue to practise psychological defense mechanism known as “distortion” to evade the modern day realities of what is expected of effective leaders? Why do we choose to rationalise the inefficiency of our rulers under the guise of godfatherism? Many questions you queried!

I am glad to inform you now, that henceforth, you will know what yardstick to employ when evaluating our current and potential leaders. You would agree with on the long run that godfatherism poses no threat to effective leaders if the below qualities are present in our leaders.
A leader must have a genuine reason to serve others; putting service ahead of self-interest. It is a known fact that any leader who truly want to serve his people won’t succumb to the selfish request of his godfather in whatever respect if the interest of the masses is at stake. Absence of this important quality in our leader is the problem not godfatherism. Sen. Rashidi Ladoja, former Governor of Oyo state refuse to compromise when the Late Lamidi Adedibu demanded the sharing of security votes that belong to the whole state. This honourable act endears him to majority of the electorate in Oyo state till today.

Another bane of effective leaders is lack of accountability and integrity in both actions and word. The democracy that we adopt in Nigeria is one that gives sovereign power to the electorate not godfathers. Political office holder should be solely accountable to the electorate. An effective leader that is accountable, poses high degree of integrity would never allow the selfish interest of godfather to prevail over the collective national interest.

Lack of vision, purpose and mission is the problem of our leaders not godfatherism. Many at times, people seek leadership position for the purpose of fame, money, and the likes. Purpose and vision show a leader what direction is meant to go in life. Effective leaders believe they are on earth to do something important for humanity and won’t allow godfathers or godfatherism to deter them from achieving their goal.
There are so many qualities that make an effective leader which godaftherism can’t thwart. But apparently, our leaders are lacking those paramount characteristics. We have breed of leaders without vision, leaders without the courage to do the right thing. We are being ruled by people who place self-interest above national interest.

Moreover, godfatherism should not be seen as anti-progress or anti-development. It is indeed, healthy to the development of a nation with purpose. Late Obafemi Awolowo, Late Ahmadu Bello, Late Nnamdi Azikwe were godfathers that used their influence to seek the progress of the geographical entity we are occupying today. These past and unforgettable leaders influenced and controlled political activities in the country through a version of godfatherism known as “ideological godfatherism.” Albert (2005) opined that from the First Republic (1960-1966) to the Second Republic (1978-1983), the practice of godfatherism was guided by the selfless service to the community.

Our pious godfathers supported and nurtured their godsons positively not negatively. Their emphasis was on developmental issue. They did not demand pound of flesh from their adopted godsons. These godfathers of blessed memory motivated their adopted sons to higher levels of political morality and made it necessary for them to be accountable to those who voted them into office.

I will encapsulate here, that the extinction of godfatherism won’t solve the problem of ineffective leadership in Nigeria when our leaders lack character, vision, accountability, integrity and selflessness. It is actually one of the tools we can use to make effective leaders if rightly practised.

References
Albert, O., 2005 “explaining ‘godfatherism’ in Nigeria Politics”, African sociological review.

Henry S. Givray. 12 Distinguishing Qualities that Define True Leaders. Retrieved @ www.smithbucklin.com.

Myles Munroe (2014). The power of character in leadership. Whitaker house. New Kensington. USA.

Great job "Abuklaw", your presentation was amazing , you were able to engage me through out with your scintillating view points . Though only but few founding political godfathers were able to influence our political system, I this was due the early military intervention With this your political ideas stated, I'm proud to say that Nigeria politics sure have a hope in you. Keep it up.

Score sent

noskyboy:
A good evening to the able moderators and organizers, my fellow debaters and all Nairalanders, I am NOSKYBOY, representing the great students of university of Jos.
Many would agree that the major problem facing Nigeria from its inception till this date is poor leadership at almost every level of government, a lot of factors have been pointed to as the reason for the leadership problems of Nigeria, but only few have come to the realization that the major problem facing quality leadership in Nigeria is the disease called “godfatherism” and once it is eliminated Nigerians can be assured that a generation of great leaders would emerge. Before I go further to prove why godfatheriam must be eliminated in Nigeria, if she must develop, I would first of all create a background understanding of the issues at hand pertaining to this discussion.
The concept “god father” mean different things to different people, but the most popular origin of the concept can be traced to a practice by the Catholic church, where a person not the biological father of a child would agree to be a mentor to the child known as the godson, guiding him in the right path and supporting him in achieving his goals. Godfather, as a concept has gained ground in politics around the world and it is usually used to mean an individual who supports the political ambition of another person, this support may come in many forms but mostly it comes in the form of finance and the use of influence and “connection”. The godfathers usually expects some form of payback when success is achieved. In Nigerian politics, godfatherism is a very common practice majority of the politicians in Nigeria have a godfather of some sort, some known and others not known. This statement is true and various cases exits to prove it such as the case of former governor chimaroke Nnamani and Jim Nwobodo, senator Jonah Jang and late sen GNS Pwajor, Ngige and Chris Uba, also, it can’t be denied that Tinubu contributed greatly to the emergence of Buhari as president, such cases proves the existence of godfatherism in Nigeria.
The major question however is what good do godfatherism hold for Nigeria, with regards to good leadership and development? The answer with seek is simple, godfatherism has done more harm than good to leadership in Nigeria, and the reasons being;
Godfatherism in Nigeria is a medium for investment rather mentorship. In the real sense, godfathers are meant to serve as mentors, advice and guide their godsons in the right way to lead, but the case in Nigeria is different, the idea and orientation behind godfatherism is totally different. Godfathers rather expect to be paid back for their support once success is achieved; therefore most rich and influential Nigerians see a less influential, less wealthy and willing leadership aspirant, as a business investment and profit making opportunity. Therefore, when a less wealthy individual is financially supported to win an election, he pays back with the state funds; therefore the effect on the country is never good. The refusal of the godson to obey the godfather is also another source of problem for the country, simply because the leaders loses focus and the godfather is likely to embark on a mission to sabotage the godson leading to backward development of Nigeria, the case of the former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu, who had a running battle with his godfather, Senator Jim Nwobo, for over two years, infact Nnamani himself described a godfather as “…an impervious guardian figure who provided the lifeline and direction to the godson, perceived to live a life of total submission, subservience and protection of the oracular personality located in the large, material frame of opulence, affluence and decisiveness, that is, if not ruthless... strictly, the godfather is simply a self-seeking individual out there to use the government for his own purposes.
Another reason is that, leaders loss their autonomy and personal initiative to lead and control resources of the state; this is a negative attribute of godfatherism in Nigeria because in most cases the godfathers like to dictate how the godson would lead, who would be appointed and even how public funds would be spent, therefore even if the leaders has all the criteria of a good leader, he/she can’t use them, such cases can be seen in Nigeria especially when it comes to appointment, the godfather decides who would be appointed, the case of president Buhari and the ministerial appointment saga is a clear indication of this fact, the appointment of Amaechi, Fashola and the likes is simply a compensation for their support and also the invisible hand of Tinubu was noticed through the whole process.
Godfatherism has made it almost impossible for qualified and credible individuals without “connection” to emerge as leaders, rather individuals who are loyal and easily manipulated emerge as leaders therefore giving the godfather control and serving as a mare figure head. The concept of “connection” is not new to Nigerians, and those who are likely to be connected to rich godfathers are members of the upper class, therefore the chances of poor lower class occupant with great leadership skills who knows what the majority of poor Nigerians really need is likely never going to emerge as a leader.
To conclude, I would say that, the trend in Nigeria is that, most godfathers are usually past leaders and individuals who have served the country in various capacities and during their time they weren’t good leaders, these people are expected to groom their godsons to be like them therefore what we get at the end is duplication of incompetence in the name of godfatherism. If Nigeria must develop, god leaders must emerge and for good leaders to emerge the foundational problem of godfatherism must be eliminated, and only then would Nigeria get credible leaders, until then we would continue running in a circle of underdevelopment due to poor leadership.

References
Chimaroke Nnamani, ‘The godfather phenomenon in democratic Nigeria: Silicon
or real?’, The Source, 2 June, 2003 pp. 5-6.
Chris Ngige, ‘My problem with Uba’, Tell, 28 July, 2003, p. 42.
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/danjuma-tinubu-to-determine-buharis-ministers/

‘The Godfa thers list’, Newsweek, December 2003-February 2004, p.56.

Well done "Noskyboy" your points were quite factual and expository , I'm looking at a great future mouthpiece of the voiceless Nigerians. But please pay more attention on your vocabulary and proper spacing of your write up for easier reading.

Score sent

obiZEAL:
It was Abraham Lincoln who defined democracy as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Many scholars have opined that democracy is the best form of government, I can't agree less since democracy is being practiced by about 153 countries in the world, including world powers like United states of America, France, Russia. However, over here in Nigeria we have been practicing democracy for 17 years now, but we have not seen effective leaders who will provide the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. The reason for this unfortunate situation is not far-fetched; it is Political Godfatherism that has made our leaders ineffective and our democracy inefficient. Hence the extinction of political Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics is the panacea to producing effective leaders and ensuring efficient leadership


Good evening respectable judges, hardworking coordinators, my fellow opponents and all Nairaland intelligentsia following this debate. As always, my profound appreciation goes to Mr. Seun Osewa for the platform and opportunity to engage our contemporaries in this intellectual tussle.
My name is obiZEAL and I am representing the distinguished students of University of Jos, I and my colleague are supporting the motion which says; the extinction of Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics; A panacea for effective leaders.


I will start my first argument by giving a succinct definition of godfather and Godfatherism;
In Christendom, a godfather is defined as a man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner and is responsible for the child’s spiritual needs and growth.
Godfatherism on the other hand, is the relationship that exists between the godfather and the child. In the Nigerian politicosphere, Godfatherism have been bastardized and eroded of its actual meaning. The best definition of the Godfatherism being practiced in Nigeria’s political arena is as defined by one of Nigeria's renowned novelist and poet, Chinua Achebe, he defined Godfatherism as ''an archaic, corrupt practice in which individuals with lots of money and time to spare (many of them half-baked, poorly educated thugs) sponsor their chosen candidates and push them right through to the desired political position, bribing, threatening, and, on occasion, murdering any opposition in the process. Needless to say, anybody brought into any leadership position through any such means that undermines democracy in a democratic country cannot make an effective leader. Deep study of the definition provided by Chinua Achebe will show that not only does political Godfatherism sabotage democracy, it also disqualifies honorable men who almost always make effective leaders. No man of good moral standing will take part is such a process, when upright men rejects Godfatherism and its antecedents, all that will be left are men who will fall for anything, and with the influence of their godfather, these morally bankrupt men make it to the position of power, and as expected, they will constitute ineffective leaders.


Secondly, if Godfatherism was an illness one of its symptoms will be corruption, and like all diseases if left untreated will lead to death, but in this case, it will lead to death of effective leadership. In Nigerian politics, Godfatherism goes beyond the electioneering process, godson's are expected to show unwavering loyalty to their godfathers throughout their tenure. These loyalty has no definition nor limit, the godfather is at liberty to decides who gets what, he decides who is innocent and who is guilty, in some cases the godson even go as far as diverting the finance of his office to the pocket of the godfather and his cronies under the guise of phantom projects and contracts. These acts of nepotism, selective justice and financial mismanagement are all features of an ineffective leader, they are acts of corruption which blossoms under Godfatherism.
My opponents might want to argue that godfathers only play a financial or advisory role, but we are all aware of the common Nigerian idiom; nothing goes for nothing, it is he who plays the drum that dictates the dance moves.



I will end with giving a short account of Godfatherism gone wrong and how it has rendered leadership ineffective; Chief Chris Ubah and Chris Ngige of Anambara state, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu and Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo state, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of kano state, Senator Modu Ali sheriff and Governor Mala Kachalla of Borno State, Senator Jim Nwobodo and Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Sir Emeka Offor and Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambara state. These names are synonymous to Godfatherism in Nigerian politics, the events that took place in each of the situation is unique, but all the situation occurred by the same mechanism; a disagreement between a Godfather and a Godson which yielded anarchy in the affected states.
To prove my point, I will do a brief run-down of the events that took place in Anambra state, one of the states that have had its own fair share of ineffective leadership which stemmed from Godfatherism, During the 1999 election, Sir Emeka Offor played the role of Governor Mbadinuju’s godfather and elevated him into office, after a brief period of Mbadinuju’s rule, he incurred the wrath of his Godfather for not ‘playing by the rules’ and as expected a political battle ensued between the erstwhile Godfather and the state Governor, during that period, workers salaries where owed for months, state institutions went on strike, and all the trappings of a failed leadership was in full display, consequently the governor was given an Ultimatum to resign or put the state in order.
The events that occurred in Anambra state have repeated itself in various levels of leadership in our country Nigeria, hence our slowed level of development.
It is for the reasons given above and many more that I stand to say that the extinction of Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics is the panacea for engendering effective leadership.




REFERENCES
A short definition of democracy
http:www.democracy-building.info/definition-democracy.html

Which countries are democratic as at April 2015
http:www.quora.com/Which-countries-are-democratic-countries-as-of-April-2015-and-which are democratic-in-name-only

There Was A Country A Personal History of Biafra; Chinua Achebe, 2012. ISBN:978-1-846-14792-0

Politics and political Godfatherism by Samuel Uwhejevwe-Togbolo
http:www.gamji.com/article4000/NEWS4468.htm

Criminal Politics: violence, “Godfathers” and Curruption in Nigeria: Case Study B: Anambra State
https://www.hrw.org/reporths/2007/nigeria1007/8.htm

Good job "Obizeal" I admire your logic, nice presentation. You Simplified the idea of "godfatherism" in regards to Nigerian politics , well done our future professor . Score sent

Catalyst4real:
Name : Catalyst4real

Institution : A.B.U Zaria


Topic: The Extinction Of Godfatherism In Contemporary Nigerian Politics -- A panacea for effective leaders.

Stance: Against


I unequivocally recognize the presence of the unbiased judges, the coordinators, my honourable colleague, Abuklaw, the tenacious opponents and my intelligible audience.

What is Godfatherism? It can in clear context be depicted from the word "god" and "father"
Meaning godly in nature and fatherly in principle.

I implore you to let that echo in your minds, the architectural motive behind the evolution of godfathers is to have an experienced role model to look up to, who is godly in nature and fatherly in principle.

>>>>>>>>>>>The Inception<<<<<<<<<<
Godfatherism is as old as politics itself, it gained popularity following the movie "THE GODFATHER" directed by Francis Coppola

As the movie depicts, godfathers were never pioneered to select leaders, but to direct leaders, not to mesmerise leaders, but to orient leaders, not for the purpose of embezzlement, but for the furnishing of the elect, not to gratify self desires and personal needs or greed, But to uplift and build a nation.

Godfathers were established to serve as mentors, as role models and as guides to the succeeding leaders, to nurture and to train; All for the promotion of good governance and in exchange for "NOTHING" other than National progress.


>>>>>>>>>The Misconception<<<<<<<<<<<
With utmost assurance, at this stage, I expect my opponents to have garrulously and intricately divulged on how Godfatherism is a sole malignant engineer of political corruption in contemporary Nigeria.

And I couldn't agree more, but about it's extinction I am resolutely defiant .

The symbiotic relationship between democracy and godfatherism started eons ago. Democracy, politics and godfatherism have been the three major and harmonious elements of governance. So, in a true democratically oriented political environment, the trio work hand in glove.


Owing to political ossification, some eggheads are groaning beneath godfatherism, depleting it's prior motive and tarnishing it's sole purpose; Nigerian politics has dilapidated this sublime culture and zapped the nectar from it's life force.

Godfatherism has been abused and manipulated for personal gain, it is now a field for the exasperation of greed and an avenue for wealth acquisition. How pitiful!!!

As perversely as this culture may have been re-engineered, it's dilaceration will be more inimical than logical.

There was a time when godfatherism stood for mentorship, that is the very time we need to relive, relay and rediscover.

It is characteristic of humans to look for who to blame or what to blame when things acutely take an ugly turn.

The corruption and manipulation in Godfatherism is what we need to extinguish, not godfatherism itself. If we suddenly start eliminating every tenets of the society that have been stained by corruption, then we'll wake up someday to have nothing left. Corruption has it's roots in almost all branches of this country, even in the grass level; I believe in change.

>>>>>>The Way Forward<<<<<<<<<<<<
It is highly preposterous to think that the elimination of godfatherism ultimately open doors to producing effective leaders; No!!! That is not the answer we seek, we need competent leaders; Selfless leaders who hunger for the growth and excellence of this great nation Nigeria, leaders who'll rather starve than watch this country dwindle and decay, leaders with national pride, leaders filled with immutable integrity and love towards uplifting Nigeria; And I do not in anyway see godfatherism standing in the way of the emanation of leaders with the above listed idiosyncrasies.

Prof. Kenneth Taylor, a H.O.D In a certain high institution walked into a 400L philosophy class and asked the students a simple question. "What would you do, if made the president of Nigeria for 24 hours?"
The responses he received weren't too far away from expectation; they were all self-seeking, stained with self acquisition, having no plans whatsoever to make this country a better place.
That's as bad as it has gotten.

Godfatherism is not the hindrance against producing effective leaders but our unpatriotism and lack of love for our nation.

The corruption, the manipulations, the crime, the insurgence, the vandalism, the perpetration and the animosity in Nigerian politics aren't really the problems pulling this country down, all these are symptoms; Symptoms of lack of love for Nigeria.

We're looking for a culture to eliminate? This is the starting point.

Quite frankly, when we look at developed countries like U.S.A, we get drenched in envy and all we see is the present glory, but behind all that glamour are leaders who have made sacrifices for their nation.
With love, comes sacrifice.


You know where it gets more interesting? America also practices godfatherism, it plays a huge role in United state's government, and yet, they thrive almost impeccably.
I assure you, godfatherism is far from the problem Nigeria faces in producing effective leaders.

Godfatherism use to be a glamorous umpire of good governance, an epitaph of beauty and admiration, a propellant and the very backbone of national reformation.

We live in a country where every leader comes in with a promise, void promises most of the time.
I can never blame godfatherism for our inability to produce competent, uncompromising leaders.
Until our love for Nigeria outweighs our differences and quest for self luxury, progress will remain mythical.






Reference
>(Godfatherism and Democracy)
phemmynaija..co.ke/2011/01/godfatherism-phemmynaija..co.ke-democracy.html?m=1

>(History of Godfatherism)
https://naudigitallibrary./tag/history-of-godfatherism-in-nigeria/

>(Influence of Godfatherism in Nigeria)
www.iproject.com.ng/political-science/final-year-project-topics/the-influence-of-godfatherism-in-nigeria-politics-in-the-fourth-republic-the-role-of-education/project-topics

Great job "Catalyst4real" liked the way you painted the image of "godfatherism" bright and enlightening us how it is wrongfully practised in Nigeria. I won't fail to commend on your creative approach you employed in writing, well done. I Score sent.

The time we are waiting for is here....