East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2008 Leadership in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Study of the Perceptions of its Impact on the Acquired Leadership Skills of Expatriate Nigerian Postgraduates. Gerald Anietie Ignatius Akata East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, and the Educational Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Akata, Gerald Anietie Ignatius, "Leadership in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Study of the Perceptions of its Impact on the Acquired Leadership Skills of Expatriate Nigerian Postgraduates." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1898. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1898 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Leadership in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Study of the Perceptions of Its Impact on the Acquired Leadership Skills of Expatriate Nigerian Postgraduates A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education by Gerald I. Akata May 2008 Dr. Terrence Tollefson, Chair Dr. Jasmine Renner Dr. Kathryn Franklin Dr. Jon Webb Dr. Henry Antkiewicz Keywords: Leadership, Educational Leadership Theories, Contingency and Situational Leadership Theories, Transformational and Transactional Leadership Theories, Educational Leaders, West Africa, Nigeria, Niger Delta Region, Acquired Leadership Skills, Expatriate, Postgraduates, Impact, and Barrier ABSTRACT Leadership in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Study of the Perceptions of Its Impact on the Acquired Leadership Skills of Expatriate Nigerian Postgraduates by Gerald I. Akata The primary trouble befalling Nigeria and its Niger Delta has been described as a failure of leadership. At various periods during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Nigeria endured a bloody civil war and years of repressive military rule. Violence in the Niger Delta region, widespread brain drain, and frequent strikes that disrupted academic calendars at universities had serious ramifications for the region’s educational system. This study explores former students’ perceptions of perceived leadership qualities seen in educational leaders at universities in the Niger Delta and how those qualities impact the acquired leadership skills of expatriate Nigerian postgraduates. Participants were Nigerian postgraduates living in Africa, Europe, and North America. Twenty-three men and 4 women took part in the study. Purposeful snowballing sampling procedures was used to select the sample. A mixed method design was used to collect data through structured electronic-mail surveys, and data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis procedures. Fifteen areas of influence emerged from expatriates’ perceptions of these educational leaders. Areas of influence were categorized into 4 major constructs: Leading qualities, Perceived produced impacts, Perceived barriers, and Responses. Expatriates perceived few negative leading qualities but perceived too many real negative impacts that posed barriers to their acquired leadership skills. They are aware that these perceived barriers could be social, economic, environmental, and ethnic. These perceived impacts and barriers have generated fear in respondents. Anger appeared to be postgraduates’ most common response to negative 2 leadership qualities of educational leaders, while restlessness, associated with desire for effective leadership in the region appeared to be a common attitude among respondents. Because educational leadership has tremendous impact on the lives of the country’s postgraduates, and in light of increasing reports of “brain drain’ from the region, Nigeria’s educational leadership should be researched from every possible angle. A new theoretical model of perceptions of leadership qualities should be the focus of future research as Nigerian expatriates examine their own leadership qualities and, eventually, put them to use. 3 DEDICATION We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 4th Edition, 1992, p. 75. This study is passionately dedicated to the people of Ika Local Government area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. They have not chosen to be victims of poor leadership at three consecutive times, in 1995, 2002, and 2005. However, they have chosen to be victors with their positive attitudes in their given set of leadership circumstances. Those awful experiences at the hands of various leaders lasted only for a little while. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS At every stage of this research process, my appreciation for academic research was strengthened. I am grateful to God for His guidance throughout the period of my studies in the United States. I thank my parents, Ette Ignatius and Mma Francisca A. U. Akata, and my family for their love all through the years. I am thankful to Bishop Camillus A. Etokudoh and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz for their support and prayers. I am deeply grateful to my doctoral committee chairperson, Dr. Terrence Tollefson, and the members of my dissertation committee, Drs. Jasmine Renner, Kathryn Franklin, Jon Webb, and Henry Antkiewicz for their generosity and professional guidance in bringing this work to fruition. I am thankful to Dr. Judith Wakim of the School of Nursing in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for reading this dissertation manuscript and offering wonderful ideas for revision. I thank Mrs. Mary Alice Basconi, Dr. Andrew Novobilski, and Rev. Matthew S. Ibok for their time to read through the whole project. I am grateful to my former adviser, Dr. Nancy Dishner, and the faculty and staff of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis for their academic contributions to my educational process. To the 27 expatriate Nigerian postgraduates who took part in the electronic survey: Thank you for remembering so much, for giving your time to participate, and for words that teach lessons in leadership, meaning, and advocacy. To you, Dr. Martha Pointer, thank you for offering permission to your administrative assistant, Sarah Wilson, to type my dissertation and for paying for it. Thank you, Sarah, for typing and formatting the dissertation to meet APA, ETSU Graduate School, and ELPA program specifications. Thanks to Dr. Peter Ekeh for granting permission to use the maps of Nigeria and the Niger Delta region. 5 My gratitude to friends who supported me: Dr. Isidore A. Udoh, Dr. Evelyn Roach, Rev. Dr. Imo Obot, Rev. Dr. Canice P. Ekpo, Rev. William Gahagan, Rev. Cosmas Archibong, Rev. Anthony C. Ekanem Msp, Rev. Gerard Finucane, Rev. Patrick Brownell, Rev. James Pollard, Chief Theodore L. Bleck-Doran, Dr. & Mrs. Frank & Joyce Anne Colella, Dr. Chrysanthus Obotakata, Mr. Peter Ekerette Umoh, and Mr. Cornelius Udoh. I thank Msgr. S. T. Umoh, Rev. C. C. Nkonduok, the parishioners of Saint Mary’s Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, and Saint Augustine’s Church in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, for their support and kindness throughout my doctoral studies at East Tennessee State University. 6 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ 12 LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 14 Background of the Problem ...................................................................................... 14 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 17 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 20 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................... 21 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................... 22 Statement of the Researcher’s Perspective ................................................................ 22 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................. 23 Limitations to Internal and External