The Role of Language and Literature in Solving Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Nigeria

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa with a population of about 200 million people and is blessed with abundant natural resources. However, poor leadership has led to several developmental challenges in the different sectors of the economy such as security, education, health, transportation and in its infrastructural base. According to National Bureau of Statistics, 63% of persons living within Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor, with poverty levels across States ranging from as low as 27% in Ondo to as high as 91% in Sokoto. The political will to address these developmental challenges and ensure sustainable development is grossly lacking. Previous studies have attributed bad leadership to absence of sound ethical leadership that is rooted in respect, service, justice, honesty and community with little attention to the role of language and literature. Hence, in this paper, an attempt was made to examine the role of language and literature in solving leadership challenges in the contemporary Nigeria. The paper recommends the need for building language and literature teachers through better training and retraining for improved communication of government’s policies and programmes.