LEADERSHIP, THE FINANCIAL SECTOR AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Studies have shown that leadership is a vital factor for the realization of organizational goals in the public and private sector of any economy. This article therefore examines leadership, the financial sector and development in Nigeria. The financial sector represented by banks in this article is so crucial to the Nigerian economy in terms of its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, and in addition to being a vital source of employment. To appreciate the role of leadership in an organization vis-à-vis the financial sector and development in Nigeria, the paper focused on the challenge in some Nigerian banks in 2009, which borders on unethical practice of certain bank executives. This development almost led to the collapse of some notable banks in Nigeria resulting from their inability to meet financial obligations to customers. With the use of secondary data, the paper identified leadership failure of unethical practice (corruption in terms of granting unsecured loans to family members and personal companies to the detriment of bank depositors and shareholders) as the greatest problems militating against banks’ roles as facilitator of development in Nigeria. The study recommends among others the introduction of formal education in ethics as a way of making sure that staff members imbibe ethical practice as a check against abuse of office.