POLISCI C33 Leadership and Progress During the meeting of G8 in Italy, the US President Barack Obama addressed that

poor governance is the cause of the declination of the economy in Africa. He used Kenyas present struggling economic status and compared it to Koreas industrialized economy as an example in his statement. According to him, Kenyas GDP was higher than Koreas when his father left Kenya 50 years ago. Even the Africans themselves said that their main concern or issue at hand is poor leadership. If we put this into context, we can deduct from the situation of Africa that leadership is one of the causes for their current situation. Given from the example of Africa, we believe that leadership is important for the progress of a nation. Leaders should be guided and have the initiative to make improvements for their nation and not just for their self-interests. With good leaders, we can say that we are in capable hands because we can trust them in doing their jobs well in serving their constituents. This idea is supported by Mrs. Hilary Clinton when she gave a speech in one of her visits in Nigeria. She blamed the poor leadership in Nigeria for their current state. Nigeria has the 7th largest oil reserve and yet, 76% of their people are below the poverty line. Through the years, Nigerians have suffered religious extremism, militancy and criminality and the solution to this is effective management brought about by proficient leaders. Another leader that accepts our view about leadership is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said that India is in need of wise and experienced leadership to overcome the challenges of modern world and unite the country instead of dividing it. Reliable leaders will become examples to their constituents and thus, making good citizens. Good leadership will also bring about peace and harmony in the country. Lastly, wise governance can improve the countrys economic status.