Leadership and Diplomacy as Effective Tools for Advancing the Principles of Good Governance and Sustainable Economic Development: A Comparative Examination of Nigeria and Rwanda
Authors: Nwafor Lloyd Chukwuemeka , Chima Geoffrey Ijomah David 
Published: November 2023

Objective: This paper aims to analyze the effect of leadership and diplomacy on the good governance and sustainable economic development of Nigeria and Rwanda. The study will focus on the various leadership strategies and capacity-building diplomacy, social welfare diplomacy, and poverty alleviation diplomacy that contribute to good governance and sustainable economic development in these countries. The findings of this research will help to understand the role of leadership and diplomacy in achieving good governance and sustainable economic development in developing countries like Nigeria and Rwanda.

Theoretical Framework: The Transformational Leadership Theory proposed by James MacGregor Burns (1978) and Bernard M. Bass (1985) promotes the adoption of a sustainability mindset, prioritizing sustainability considerations over immediate needs and the Contingency Theory of Leadership by Austrian psychologist Fred E. Fiedler (1960) that focuses on identifying specific environmental variables that can determine the most appropriate leadership strategy for a given situation support this article.

Method: The research strategy employed in this study was a descriptive survey with 114 (57 from Nigeria and 57 from Rwanda) drawn from ministries of Foreign Affairs using a purposeful and simple random selection approach. The sample size was determined using Slovin's method, n= N/ (1 + Ne2) with N=68 and an acceptable margin of error of e=0.05 for each sample group. Questionnaires were used for data collection, and a CVR value of (1), indicating a high level of validity for the instrument, was acquired through the application of Lawshe’s method, while the homogeneity of the instrument was determined by employing the Kudar-Richardson procedure (KR-21) with r-coefficient score of .79, confirmed the dependability of the questionnaire. The data gathered was analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation and paired sample t-tests with a significance level set at p < .05 were used for statistical significance.

Findings: The study's findings suggest that the participants from Rwanda had a greater appreciation for the importance of leadership strategies and diplomatic approaches in advancing good governance, sustainable economic development, capacity building, social welfare, and poverty reduction than their Nigerian counterparts. The statistical analysis demonstrated that this disparity was statistically significant at a confidence level of p < .05. Thus, it can be inferred that the effectiveness of leadership and diplomatic approaches depends on the specific country context. Ultimately, these results underscore the critical role of effective leadership and diplomacy in achieving good governance and sustainable economic development.

Conclusion: It is imperative to acknowledge that a substantial portion of the programs encompassing the three dimensions of good governance and sustainable economic development has been duly executed. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the sustainability of these programs is often compromised due to several factors such as corruption, insecurity, institutional deterioration, and negative public perception.