In the wild, leadership is not just about dominance – it is about how societies are held together, broken apart, or reborn. The animal kingdom, with its raw, unfiltered social dynamics, offers us powerful metaphors for understanding our human condition. And perhaps, if we pay close attention to these metaphors, we may just find a path forward for Nigeria.
Let us consider the Lion’s Pride, the Hyena’s Clan, and the Elephant’s Herd – not as zoological curiosities, but as blueprints of power, participation, and preservation.
The lion’s pride: The strong leader, the cheering few
The lion is majestic, no doubt. His roar shakes the plains. He walks like a king – because, in the Pride, he is one. But look closer and you will find that beneath this power lies an economy of high-handedness. The lion eats first. He mates with whom he wants. He disciplines rivals swiftly, often with violence.
Some cheer him, not because he is just, but because they benefit from his scraps. This kind of leadership flourishes when a few selfish beneficiaries suppress the will of the many for short-term gain.
In Nigeria, we have known this lion model. Leaders, even in a democracy, become distant kings. They eat first while the rest scavenge for leftovers. They silence dissent and reward loyalty, not competence. From Abacha’s iron grip to more recent civilian regimes with autocratic tendencies, we have danced to the roar of the lion, often too afraid – or too hungry – to question.
History warns us of what lion-style leadership can bring. Think of Mussolini, whose show of strength plunged Italy into ruin. Or Idi Amin, whose brutality masked a hollow state. The lion may command fear, but fear is not a development strategy.
The pride’s people: Silenced by fear, deceived by privilege
Yet we must ask: where was the Pride when the lion became unaccountable? When followers see leadership excess and stay silent – either out of fear or because they benefit—the system corrodes.
In Nigeria, we have often praised “strong men” while despising institutions. We have watched the misuse of public funds and justified it with ethnic loyalty or political calculations. But in doing so, we have enabled a system that rewards roars and punishes thoughtful whispers.
It is time to stop cheering the lion and start demanding better.
The hyena’s clan: Matriarchy, manipulation, and the chaos of competition
Hyenas operate differently. Power is more distributed – often matriarchal – and their survival hinges on cunning. They scavenge, steal, and challenge one another constantly. In a hyena clan, life is a game of survival, not sustainability.
This mirrors a society where institutions are weak, values are fluid, and everyone is in it for themselves. Laws exist, but enforcement depends on who you know. Leadership may be decentralised, but decisions are transactional. Think of countries where corruption is decentralised – where everyone, from the minister to the messenger, is taking their share.
There is a lesson here. A fragmented society, no matter how “democratic” on paper, will fail if its foundation is moral relativism and civic erosion.
The hyena’s people: Distrustful, disconnected, and desperate
When people begin to mirror hyena behaviour – fighting for scraps, distrustful of each other, laughing through pain – it is a sign of deep social dysfunction.
In Nigeria, this is evident in our daily interactions: bribing our way through processes, glorifying “sharpness” over integrity, and weaponising survival at the cost of others. If everyone is both predator and prey, how can progress take root?
This is not how greatness is built. Societies do not thrive on suspicion. They thrive on shared belief in fairness, order, and hope.
The elephant’s Herd: Leadership with wisdom, governance with grace
Now, enter the elephant.
The matriarch does not rule by fear. She guides. She remembers. She leads migrations across perilous terrains, ensuring the survival of all, especially the young. Leadership here is not about consumption, but custodianship.
The elephant represents societies where leaders are not above the people, but accountable to them. Think of leaders like Nelson Mandela, who led not with roars but with reason. Or post-war Germany, which rebuilt on the back of wise, principled leadership.
In Nigeria, we have had glimpses of this – Obafemi Awolowo’s developmental planning, Murtala Muhammed’s purposeful governance – but they were short-lived. We need leaders who are not just strong, but deeply wise, deeply accountable, and deeply moral.
The herd’s people: Cohesive, cooperative, committed
And yet, no elephant matriarch can succeed without the herd. The people must be as socially intelligent as their leaders. In such societies, everyone plays their part. They pay taxes. They demand accountability. They build together and trust one another.
Nations like Japan or Sweden did not become developed just because of leaders, but because of a culture of civic excellence. In Nigeria, if we all stop cutting corners, stop justifying corruption, stop seeing national duty as someone else’s job, then we too can build an elephant society.
The call to action: Time to choose our animal instinct
Nigerians face a dilemma: remain a Pride, cheering a lion that consumes our commonwealth, or rise to become wise, united, and dignified elephants. Democracy is not possible without docile people and rotten civic character. To achieve reform, we must fix values at home, markets, and the ballot box. Let the lion be tamed by accountability and replace the hyena with a new civic code.
Nigeria can only evolve if we do.
Sodik Olofin, an economist at NESG, writes from Lagos, Nigeria
