Africa Must Tailor Leadership To Address Its ‘New Normal’ – Peterside

At the core of Mr Dakuku Peterside’s latest publication titled ‘Leading In A Storm’ is the message – that nearly all of Africa is always in a state of crisis.

Since crisis is our new normal, African leaders, be it in politics, business, public or private organisations must tailor leadership to fit/address our new normal.

Peterside was inspired to write the book on crisis management not only based on his own experiences working in the public sector, but also from conversations he had with leaders across board, who shared a common challenge of grappling with effective leadership in uncertain times, and the fact that African leaders are never prepared for a crisis.

“I once attended a programme at a world-class institute in the US, where the question was asked, “Why is Africa experiencing a leadership crisis?” That question prompted me to conduct a research. The research indicated that African leaders are not prepared for crises.”

His findings, he said, were further supported when he watched leaders fumble during the COVID 19 era.

To address the challenge, Peterside crafted eight principles derived from conversations with 300 professionals who have dealt with high-level crises in varied situations – from public to private, and political to entrepreneurial spaces.

They include – ‘Situational Intelligence’ – Understanding Environment and Anticipating Change. ‘Calm Confidence’ – The Ability to Stay Calm In Extremely Difficult Situation. ‘Sense Making’ – Turning Complexity Into Clarity.  ‘Strategic Decision-making’ – The Art of Making Good Decisions Under Pressure. ‘Effective Communication In Crises’ – Managing Narratives and Expectations, and ‘Strategic Flexibility’ – Adapting In Fast-changing scenarios. There are also the principles of ‘Coordinated Teamwork in Crisis’ – harmonising the strength of collective action, and ‘Facilitated Learning’ – Transforming Every Crisis Into A Learning Opportunity.

“These principles, Peterside said, “gives you a leadership style that is tailored to specifically to the African situation.

“The book drew a lot of case studies on crises management from the African context, compared to other crises management books that draw their case studies from Europe and America.

“Its content specific, such that leaders can draw examples of what worked for others, and what didn’t work.

“It’s like a practical manual that today’s leaders can reference in times of crises, be it political, organisational or institutions.

“Its a handbook on change management and change leadership, a resource change or help pinpoint your leadership,” said Peterside.

‘Leading In A Storm’ is the second publication authored by Peterside, whose first work ‘Strategic Turnaround: A Story of a Government Agency’, which focused on change management in a specific organisation – NIMASA.

With ‘Leading In A Storm’, the author has expanded on his crisis management lessons from a specific setting to a wider environment, having done his research to collate what works in variant situations. It is a testament of his affinity for crisis resolution, and a perspective of crisis as a challenge, and opportunity for change. Hence his next publication, ‘Crafting Your Legacy in Public Service’ – scheduled to release in the last quarter of 2027, that will be derived from interviews with 1000 industry and public sector leaders on how they crafted their legacy.

‘Leading In A Storm’ will be publicly launched in Nigeria in December 2025, and in the United Kingdom (UK), by the end of October 2025.