Psychology of Narcissism in Nigeria Political Leadership: The proposed reforms

Abstract

The quality of leadership and governance affects the performance of the government, national development and public trust in democracy. Nigeria is beset with a number of challenges, including corruption, abuse of executive power, inadequate accountability, nepotism, and weak institutional governance, which have sparked concerns about the role of personality attributes of political leaders. Recently, a trait of the psyche that has caught the interest of many researchers is that of narcissism, especially narcissistic aspects linked with exaggerated self-relevance, need for admiration, absence of empathy, and an inclination to favor one's personal concerns over the welfare of the public. Narcissistic qualities can be associated with confidence and charismatic leadership but can also be detrimental to democratic functioning, institutional accountability and effective policy implementation.The study looks at the relationship between narcissism as an attribute of political leadership and governance challenges in Nigeria with a multidisciplinary approach of health psychology, political psychology and legal analysis. The study examines the pertinent psychological theories, constitutional provisions, legal provisions, judicial rulings and institutional structures that govern political accountability in Nigeria. It also looks at how well current laws and governance structures are functioning to prevent behaviours from leadership that lead to undermining of democratic institutions. The doctrinal legal research methodology is used to examine the interplay of personality, law and public administration, with a comprehensive analysis of the psychological and governance literature.The results show that Nigeria's existing legal and institutional structure largely focuses on tackling corruption and misuse of power rather than on preventing actions of leaders that are related to narcissistic tendencies. The study suggests a range of comprehensive reforms such as constitutional and legislative changes, institutional independence, Executive policy reforms, the implementation of ethics and leadership development programmes and research on political psychology and governance. These recommendations seek to enhance democratic accountability, enhance public leadership and enhance sustainable governance in Nigeria.