By FWENJI GO’AR
LEADERSHIP is often idolised, celebrated, admired, honoured or even exalted. We celebrate the visionary, the trailblazer, the one who stands tall in the face of adversity. But what if the real story isn’t just about the leader? What if the people behind them, such as the followers, are equally responsible for the rise or ruin of leadership?
In Nigeria, we have spent years blaming bad leaders for our woes. Yet, we rarely flip the coin and ask the harder question: What kind of followers allowed them to hold sway?
The traditional view of leadership is top-down: the leader commands, the followers obey. But modern leadership theory challenges this, arguing that leadership is a dynamic relationship between leaders, followers and context. Followers are not passive recipients of direction; they are active participants in shaping outcomes.
When followers are disengaged, fearful or blindly loyal, they create fertile ground for poor leadership. A corrupt politician doesn’t rise in a vacuum; they are kept afloat by voters who ignore red flags, party members who stay silent, and institutions that fail to hold them accountable. In essence, bad leaders are often reflections of the people they lead.
So, what makes a follower ‘bad’? It is not simply about obedience but the quality of that obedience. Bad followers exhibit traits that enable dysfunction. Blind loyalty is one: when allegiance to a person or party overrides moral judgment, followers become enablers. Fearful silence is another: when speaking out is punished, silence becomes the norm. A third is self-interest, especially in our clime, where followers support leaders in expectation of appointments, favours or contracts, undermining collective progress.
As has been observed, when dissent is discouraged, critical thinking dies, and poor decisions go unchallenged. This is not just sad, it is tragic.
Unfortunately, these dynamics have repeatedly played out in Nigeria. Leaders accused of corruption are defended by supporters who claim tribal bias, political witch-hunts, or simply shrug and say, “They all do it.” This normalisation of bad behaviour is not just a leadership failure; it is a followership crisis.
History offers stark reminders. Adolf Hitler did not act alone during the Second World War. He was supported by millions who either believed in his ideology or chose not to resist. Likewise, in Nigeria’s political landscape, many leaders have risen to power on waves of populism, only to disappoint. Yet they were re-elected, celebrated or shielded from scrutiny by their followers.
The issue, therefore, is not just why leaders failed, but why we let them fail. Bad leadership and bad followership are not isolated. They feed off each other. A leader who demands loyalty over competence attracts sycophants, who then reinforce the leader’s worst instincts. Over time, the system becomes self-sustaining: mediocrity is rewarded, dissent is punished, and the cycle continues.
This feedback loop is particularly dangerous in environments where institutions are weak. Without strong checks and balances, followers become the last line of defence. When they fail, the consequences are monumental.
All hope, however, is not lost. The cycle can be broken. If bad followers make bad leaders, then good followers must be part of the solution. Active followership is not about rebellion but about responsibility. It is about speaking truth to power, providing constructive criticism that strengthens leadership. It is about demanding accountability, insisting on transparency, performance, and ethical conduct, while voting wisely to safeguard the future.
Elections must not be treated as popularity contests. Going to the polls should offer citizens the opportunity to choose competence over charisma. An informed citizenry is difficult to manipulate because they have educated themselves. Journalists, young people and civic tech platforms all have critical roles to play in this evolution of followership.
One saying often strikes me: “A people deserve the leaders they get.” This harsh truth is worth confronting. Leadership is created, not bestowed. Whenever we excuse incompetence, ignore corruption or prioritise tribe over truth, we contribute to the problem.
If we truly desire better leadership, we must begin with better followership. We must not only ask what our leaders are doing wrong; we must probe deeper and ask what we, the followers, must do right.