Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described leadership failure as a sin against both God and the people entrusted to a leader’s care, warning that those who accept positions of responsibility must be prepared to discharge their duties effectively.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while delivering the keynote address at the Leadership Empowerment International Conference (LEIC) Nigeria 2026.
The conference, organised by the Perspectives Leadership Development Institute (PLDI) in collaboration with the Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute, was held under the theme, **“The Gravity of Leadership Failure & Correction Methodologies.”**
The former president identified leadership as the single most important factor determining the success or failure of any human organisation, whether a family, business, institution, state or nation.
> “If anybody asks me what is the most important factor, what is the most important issue, what is the most important element that makes the difference between success and failure in any human organisation, the answer is leadership,” he said.
According to Obasanjo, organisations with similar resources and structures can achieve vastly different results because of the quality of leadership at their helm.
“You will find two institutions or two organisations that are very similar and one is doing well, the other is not doing too well. The difference is in leadership,” he said.
Leadership failure brings consequences
Obasanjo warned that poor leadership could have devastating consequences, stressing that the problem was not limited to governments or political institutions.
He said leadership failure in a nation could prevent development, while failure within a family or other institution could equally hinder progress and cause serious damage.
“A nation, leadership failure will mean that the nation is not making progress as it should. A family, the leadership failure in the family means that the family is not making progress as it should. Any human institution, any human organisation, leadership failure means great calamity,” he said.
The former president urged leaders to accept responsibility when they make mistakes, apologise where necessary, demonstrate remorse and take practical steps to correct their actions.
“As long as you are active as a leader, you are likely to do things wrong. But what is very, very important is to make sure that when you do wrong, you appreciate that you have done wrong. And then you atone and make corrections,” he said.
He added that acknowledging wrongdoing was the first step towards restoring trust and correcting the damage caused by poor decisions.
“When we make mistakes as leaders or as even human beings, the first thing we have to do is acknowledge that we have made mistakes and have gone wrong. And then go back to make corrections,” he said.
‘Leadership failure is a sin’
Obasanjo said leaders who disappoint the people they are responsible for also fail in their obligations before God.
“Where you fail, it means that you have disappointed human beings and you have also disappointed God. Where you fail, you have disappointed human beings and you have also disappointed God,” he said.
He therefore cautioned people against accepting leadership positions if they were unwilling or incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities attached to them.
“If you cannot carry out the responsibility of leadership, then don’t accept. If you accept, then do it as it should be done,” he said.
The former president also rejected the practice of blaming inherited problems for poor performance in office.
He illustrated his point with Nigeria’s longstanding economic challenges, questioning the usefulness of a leader claiming that the country had always been poor rather than taking responsibility for improving its circumstances.
“If I say that, yes, since I was born, Nigeria has been poor. If I am put in a position not to make Nigeria poor and all I can say is that since I was born, Nigeria has been poor, I wonder what I am saying to Nigerians,” he said.
Obasanjo stressed that leadership was a responsibility entrusted to individuals by both God and the people.
“If you are a leader, you are put here by God and by people to do what is right. And your failure to do what is right is a sin against God and against the people that we are supposed to be looking after,” he said.
He further warned that leaders should not assume they could escape the consequences of failing in their responsibilities.
“Don’t think that you will do it and get away. If you fail where you should not fail and you do not make adjustment or action, you will pay for it,” he said.
Adebutu calls for principled leadership
Also speaking at the conference, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, called for collective, principled and value-driven leadership as a foundation for building a stronger Nigeria.
Adebutu, who received a doctoral award from the institute in recognition of his contributions and achievements in society, compared nation-building to the construction of a mountain, saying it requires sustained efforts and contributions from individuals working towards a common objective.
He urged leaders to work together to build the strong social and institutional bonds needed to preserve the nation and advance humanity.
According to him, leadership can only thrive when it is anchored on clearly defined ideologies and principles.
Adebutu said a good leader must believe in something and remain committed to those convictions, rather than constantly changing positions for convenience.
He identified transparency, honour and self-awareness as essential qualities of effective leadership.
The PDP candidate also referenced the Rotary Club’s ethical principle of asking, **“How would I feel if this act were committed upon me?”**
He said the principle encourages leaders to reflect on the consequences of their decisions before imposing them on others and should form part of the mindset of responsible leadership.
Adebutu urged Nigerians to build a nation founded on strong moral values, arguing that faith and belief in God could provide important guidance in the pursuit of a better society.
He expressed hope that participants would leave the conference with a renewed commitment to improving themselves and contributing positively to humanity.
Conference targets leadership failures
In his welcome address, the President of PLDI, Prof. Olusesi Obateye, said the conference was designed to bring together political leaders, academics, business executives, professionals, traditional stakeholders and other critical actors to examine the causes of leadership failure.
Obateye said the conference also sought to develop practical approaches to promoting more effective and responsible leadership across society.
He described LEIC Nigeria 2026 as a platform for meaningful dialogue, knowledge exchange and leadership development, with particular emphasis on identifying the root causes of leadership failures and developing sustainable methods for correcting them.
The conference comes against the backdrop of Obasanjo’s repeated criticism of poor leadership in Nigeria and across Africa. In previous interventions, he has similarly argued that Africa’s major development deficit is leadership rather than a lack of resources.