The Igala nation is located generally in the middle-belt region of Nigeria. It can be observed that this ethnic nationality unarguably constitutes the largest group of people in Kogi State today. The paper is subdivided into: Abstract; Introduction; History and the organisation of Igala people in Nigeria; Leadership challenge as the bane of her underdevelopment, and the opportunities of development for Igala kingdom in Nigeria. Consequent upon her potentialities, it has been found that Igala nationality requires a responsible leadership which should lead to the acceptance of its lost glory and the need to be repositioned for greatness. It concludes that because Igala people have not been able to develop any process of leadership emergence through a crucible to determine their preparedness and worth, the land is suffering from bad state of critical infrastructure, massive unemployment, widespread poverty owing to “half/percentage-Salary syndrome” and political thuggery in the administrative/local politics. The paper majorly recommended an investment in human capital development, and the preservation/modification of Igala traditional and cultural heritage as strategies to effectively compete in the economic and socio-political development of the Nigerian economy.
Keywords:Igala Nationality, Leadership, Development, Self-centredness, Politics.