Values, therefore, can be defined as worth, the quality of being useful and important and beliefs about what is right and wrong and what is important. These values are what motivate people from within. When a society adopts bad values such as materialism, greed and nepotism, the outcome is the kind of tragedy that has befallen nations such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Iraq, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.
Nigeria’s journey to democracy was supposed to identify societal lapses and loop-holes and, thereby, to allow a reinstatement of lost Nigerian values. Instead, this journey has enthroned mediocrity, resulting in the emergence of largely incompetent, self-centered leadership in the country. Thus, major issues confronting society are treated with levity.
The values of Nigerian society have unfortunately been deviated by years of military rule, which buried the country deep in misinformation, propaganda, manipulation, materialism, greed and brutality. The scars of these vices have almost destroyed the good values that Nigerian society once esteemed. The result is the unruly Nigerian society we have today. It is obvious that the above stated anomalies are linked and rooted to corruption.
Deciding what essential values a good Nigerian society should be built upon requires insight into the earlier ways of life of the societies that now make up Nigeria. We must ask ourselves what can be done to bring those values into the people’s perception and to build on them so as to form a values-based leadership. These values include high morality, integrity, fair play, a sense of social justice, honesty, concern for others, respect, social decorum, hospitality and patriotism expressed in loyalty. These are no different from values that successful countries all around the world embrace, the only difference being that these values were successfully imbued into modern leadership style in those countries, unlike in Nigeria.
Be that as it may, personalities in Nigeria have to stand up to resist the overwhelming effect of the country’s devalued system. An exemplary icon is the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) who has politely shown herself, in Nigeria and also globally, to have a values-based character. Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili, an internationally renowned pharmacist and pharmacologist, an erudite scholar and a seasoned administrator, has proven that, even in the midst of a corrupt system, one can step forward to effect positive impacts. Since her assumption of the leadership of NAFDAC (a body that regulates and monitor the operation of medicinal and beverages contents in Nigeria) seven years ago, Akunyili’s giant strides in the war against counterfeit drugs and unsafe foods have raised awareness on issues concerning the well-being of Nigerians. She has moved people to joining the fight en masse.
Before her appointment as NAFDAC’s Director General, fake and sub-standard foods and drugs were being dumped into the Nigerian market without any form of regulations or monitoring. Many diseases like malaria and tuberculosis were being ‘fought’ with little more than sugar syrup and chalk tablets, trickily packaged to resemble original medications. One would easily consider these counterfeit drugs to have met official standards and to have proper medicinal contents. When NAFDAC ransacked pharmaceutical companies, markets, hospitals and clinics, their discoveries were shocking. They confirmed a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) that showed that more than half of the drugs sold in Nigeria were fake or sub-standard.
The operations of NAFDAC in recent years prove that things have changed. Since her assumption of office as NAFDAC’s boss, Professor Akunyili has shown determination to combat the perpetrators of such crimes, even in the face of risks to her personal safety. Little wonder that, within a couple of years, her determination to fight counterfeit drugs in Nigeria has gained her international recognition and won her a line up of awards. A synopsis of the various awards is given below:
2006: Named “one of the eighteen heroes of our time” by Time Magazine.
2003: “Integrity Awards” by Transparency International, South Korea.
2003 & 2005: “International Euro Market Award” by the European Marketing Research Centre (EMRC), Belgium.
2003: “Total Quality Leadership Award” by the African Institute for Democracy and Good Governance.
2004: “Special Award for Combating Economic Crime” by the International Chamber of Commerce-Commercial Crime Services (ICC-CCS), London.
2004: “Quintessence Award” by the African Writers’ Endowment Inc. USA and
2005: The “Industrial Pharmacy Medal Award” by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).
Professor Akunyili has bluntly exhibited good values of high moral integrity, fair play, sense of social justice, honesty, concern for others, social decorum and patriotism. Her determination and positive outspokenness have conversely presented lessons for other leaders to learn.
The bad values-system in Nigeria can be changed if and only if people with different positions countrywide emulate the transparent and worthwhile values exhibited by Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili, which have proved her to have a “values-based Nigerian character” that exhibits “values-based leadership”.
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