Main Question Post Week 3 Discussion [RSCH-8310] Discussion 1: Conceptualizing a Qualitative Research Question A Positionality Memo on Leadership Crisis in Africa: Nigeria in Context Maxwell (2013) as cited by Ravitch and Carl (2016) explain that the purpose of a researcher/positionality memo is to provide “a structure, at an early stage in the research development process, to facilitate a focused written reflection on your research identity, including social location, personality, and how external and internal aspects of your experiences and identity affect and shape your meaning-making process and influence your research” (p.70). From this perspective, I will hereafter present a positionality memo to reflect my relationship to the topic of my personal qualitative research interest: “Leadership Crisis in Africa: Nigeria in Context”. As Arogbofa (2017) stated in Week 1 Discussion 2, the phenomenon of interest is the unprecedented high level of corruption and inept leadership of past administrations in Nigeria and other African states. My connection to this topic is as a key player during the immediate past administration in Nigeria. The experience, observations, and challenges faced while I served in the past administration were eye openers to that fact that no doubt leadership problems exist that need to be urgently addressed. Also, my experience over the years serving my country as a Military officer, my outstanding contribution in global and domestic leadership at various levels of public and military services, and my deeply rooted interest in leadership styles have inspired me to develop deep interest in this topic. Furthermore, the purpose of my qualitative study is to explore how Nigeria’s democratic structures have been administered from the second republic in 1979 to 2015, and why leadership crisis still persists now that Nigeria has enjoyed over 16 years of successive democratic rule. According to Crawford et al. (2016,p.5) the purpose of a study shapes the development of research questions and/or hypotheses. Also, “an understanding of the body of knowledge on the research topic, including what is known and not known, also shapes research questions and hypotheses”. Therefore, “in the process of developing research questions, your ideas about the concepts under study become more clarified as you consider how to operationally define them and link research questions with a particular approach to inquiry and research design” (p.5). Thus, through this research study I hope to find answer to the main research question on why there is a lacuna in good leadership in Nigeria. To further corroborate my choice of research question, Rubin and Rubin (2012) advise that “once you have chosen a suitable topic, you next specify the research question - the puzzle you are going to try to solve” (p.49).  From the foregoing therefore, it is expedient to note that the rationale for the choice of “Leadership Crisis in Africa: Nigeria in Context” is i ...

1. Main Question Post
Week 3 Discussion [RSCH-8310]
Discussion 1: Conceptualizing a Qualitative Research Question
A Positionality Memo on Leadership Crisis in Africa: Nigeria in
Context
Maxwell (2013) as cited by Ravitch and Carl (2016) explain that
the purpose of a researcher/positionality memo is to provide “a
structure, at an early stage in the research development process,
to facilitate a focused written reflection on your research
identity, including social location, personality, and how
external and internal aspects of your experiences and identity
affect and shape your meaning-making process and influence
your research” (p.70). From this perspective, I will hereafter
present a positionality memo to reflect my relationship to the
topic of my personal qualitative research interest: “Leadership
Crisis in Africa: Nigeria in Context”. As Arogbofa (2017) stated
in Week 1 Discussion 2, the phenomenon of interest is the
unprecedented high level of corruption and inept leadership of
past administrations in Nigeria and other African states. My
connection to this topic is as a key player during the immediate
past administration in Nigeria. The experience, observations,
and challenges faced while I served in the past administration
were eye openers to that fact that no doubt leadership problems
exist that need to be urgently addressed. Also, my experience
over the years serving my country as a Military officer, my
outstanding contribution in global and domestic leadership at
various levels of public and military services, and my deeply
rooted interest in leadership styles have inspired me to develop
deep interest in this topic.
Furthermore, the purpose of my qualitative study is to explore

2. how Nigeria’s democratic structures have been administered
from the second republic in 1979 to 2015, and why leadership
crisis still persists now that Nigeria has enjoyed over 16 years
of successive democratic rule. According to Crawford et al.
(2016,p.5) the purpose of a study shapes the development of
research questions and/or hypotheses. Also, “an understanding
of the body of knowledge on the research topic, including what
is known and not known, also shapes research questions and
hypotheses”. Therefore, “in the process of developing research
questions, your ideas about the concepts under study become
more clarified as you consider how to operationally define them
and link research questions with a particular approach to inquiry
and research design” (p.5). Thus, through this research study I
hope to find answer to the main research question on why there
is a lacuna in good leadership in Nigeria. To further corroborate
my choice of research question, Rubin and Rubin (2012) advise
that “once you have chosen a suitable topic, you next specify
the research question - the puzzle you are going to try to solve”
(p.49).
From the foregoing therefore, it is expedient to note that the
rationale for the choice of “Leadership Crisis in Africa: Nigeria
in Context” is informed by my constant desire as a leader to
improve ethical and moral abilities as this will in no small way
help me to empower and enhance the lives of the people I lead.
This in my opinion is consistent with the tenets of
transformational leadership as posited by MacGregor as cited by
McCloskey (n.d.) that the “relationship of mutual stimulation
and elevation that convert followers into leaders and may
convert leaders into moral agents” (p.3) are adhered to. Scholars
of African socio-economic and political studies have at various
times come to the conclusion in their academic works that
Africa is the poorest continent in the world in spite of her
enormous human and natural resources. This poor state has
often been associated with unprecedented high level of
corruption and endemic leadership crisis. The narrative is

3. particularly sickening in Nigeria where in spite of her enormous
human and natural resources, development is still a dream of the
future. The reasons associated with this abysmal condition are
among others, corruption and inept leadership which are
responsible for Nigeria’s socio-economic and political
problems. No nation has ever achieved any meaningful socio-
economic and political development without an effective
leadership. It is quite unfortunate that Nigeria, the most
populous and largest economic power bloc in Africa is not only
finding it difficult to provide transformational leadership to
other African countries in development but sadly remain
crippled with leadership crisis. In their submission, Lawal,
Imokhuede, and Johnson (2012) suggest that “the socio-
economic and political development of any country depends
largely on its leadership to facilitate, entrench, and sustain good
governance” (p.185). Therefore, Lawal et al. point to the fact
that bad governance is synonymous with poor leadership, and
that importantly, “good governance is a manifestation of
committed, patriotic, and discipline leadership” (p.185).
However, they further observe that “in Africa, particularly in
Nigeria, poor leadership and leadership failure have been
responsible for governance crisis since independence and this
trend has continued unabated” (p.186).
The whole essence of the leadership problem is succinctly
captured in the words of one of Nigeria’s most powerful former
President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (1990), who says “Africa
salvation lies in the hands of her leaders and nowhere else. Only
Africans can be the architects of their own fortunes; as they
have been the architects of their misfortune for the past quarter
of a century. Africans should therefore make their world a
relevant part of the rest of the world”. To lend credence to the
discourse, Ochulor (2011) argues that “the leadership failure
Nigerians experience is not the fault of their stars but the fault
of leaders and the led alike” (p.265), thereby exploring a gap in
the leadership literature. He adds that “the efficient leadership

4. Nigerians are in dire need of, will remain a mirage except the
leaders and the led, change their attitude to politics and
politicking” (p.265). Asaju et al. (2014,p.122) suggest that lack
of moral values by the leaders had led to Nigeria’s leadership
crisis. Other causes include maladministratiton, corruption,
ethical problems, nepotism, tribal sentiments, religious
differences, electoral malpractices, military incursion into
democracy, ethnicity, lopsided devolution of power among the
three tiers of government, security challenges, poor
infrastructural development, institutional breakdown, and
economic recession.
References
Arogbofa, J. O. (2017). Week 1 Discussion 2: What would you
like to study? Walden University (unpublished).
Asaju, K., Arome, S., & Mukaila, I. (2014). Leadership crisis in
Nigeria: The urgent need for moral education and value re-
orientation. Public Administration Research, 3(1), 117-124.
Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/par.v3n1p117
Crawford, L.M., Burkholder, G.J., & Cox, K.A. (eds.) (2016).
Writing the research proposal. In G.J. Burkholder, K.A. Cox, &
L.M. Crawford (eds.). The Scholar-Practitioner’s Guide to
Research Design. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Publishing, Inc.
Lawal, T., Imokhuede, K., & Johnson, I. (2012). Governance
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2(7), 185-191. Retrieved from
www.hrmars.com/journals
McCloskey (n.d). What is transformational leadership? retrieved
from

5. http://people.bethel.edu/~pferris/otcommon/TransformationalLe
adership.pdf
Obasanjo, O., & D’Orville, H. (1990). Challenges of leadership
in African development. New York, N.Y.: Crane Russak.
Ochulor, C.L. (2011). Failure of leadership in Nigeria.
American Journal of Social and Management Sciences, 2(3),
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Ravitch, S.M., & Carl, N.M. (2016). Qualitative research:
Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Rubin, H.J., & Rubin, I.S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The
art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.