Headline

Friday Sermon: The Burden of Leadership

Published

6 years ago

April 6, 2018

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

The leadership conundrum in Nigeria has been an ever recurring decimal in our march towards self-sustained development. Many authorities have proffered all sorts of hypothesis on this problem but like the proverbial offensive odour of an elephant’s fart, it has refused to go away. Unfortunately, our leaders have failed to adhere to the various in junctions pertaining to leadership in a community. Most of them are people of questionable pedigree, dubious characters and most often people operating on the periphery of crime. Therefore: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:16-20)

Jules Masserman, United States professor of Psychoanalysis, University of Chicago says the leader must fulfil three functions:

1. The leader must provide for the well-being of the lead … The leader, whoever he is, must be interested in your welfare. He must not be ravenous like most of the vampire leaders of the ‘Third World’; such as our present day political and religious leaders; who have turned the masses into their ‘milking cows, to be exploited to satisfy their greed and lust.

2. Leader or would be leader must provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure … a Leader must provide a social order free of self, voracity and ethnicity. Unfortunately, “there is still with us much sorrow and sin, injustice, oppression, wrong and hate. Still does arrogance deaden conscience, rob struggling souls of even the crumbs of pity, and make, of loathsome flesh and crumbling dust, fair-seeming idols for worship. Still does ignorance blow a mighty horn and try to shame true wisdom… Still does greed devour the substance of helpless ones within its power: Nay, more, the fine individual voice is smothered in the raucous din of groups and crowds that madly shout what they call slogans, new, old falsehoods, long discredited! What can we do to make God’s light shine forth through the darkness around us? Prof. Jitendra Dhoj Khand. We are a helpless people, who have refused to make efforts to help ourselves; architects of our own misfortune. Like Cassius lamented to Casca in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar,” And why should Caesar be a tyrant then? Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf, But that he sees the Romans are but sheep. He were no lion were not Romans hinds.”

3. The leader must provide its people with a set of beliefs or national ideology. It is easy to talk of the fellowship of men under a single banner. This has not been possible in our clime as the leaders are bereft of vision and mission; and are not endowed with the spirit of corporate, political or spiritual leadership. They do not have any apparition of a ‘promised land’. Neither are they agitators who are more likely to possess these qualities.

Leadership denotes the ability to move masses of men, the talent to produce ideas, and forge the union of theorist, organizer and leader all in one; a rare phenomenon which we find only in great men of history: Ghandi, Napoleon, Caesar, Lenin, Mao, JFK and Hitler.

The leaders we have are charlatans, false leaders and men of untruth. Like they say: A false man cannot build a brick house! If he does not know and follow truly the properties of mortar, burnt clay and what else he works in, it is no house that he makes, but a rubbish heap. It will not stand the test of time and it will fall straightaway. It is like a forged bank note; they get it passed out of their worthless hands.” Heroes and Hero-worship), p.58. It is sad indeed! And the 21^stCentury is fast going.

Let me end by quoting the conclusions of Olutola Abolurin in his treatise on Religion and Religiosity, when he said: Nigeria therefore is not suffering because of the open show of religiousness, rather there are too many professing religion who do not really have ingrained in them the virtues of the religions they profess and have no intention of seeking the redemptive paths offered by their religions. Religion has become for many the mask to wear to obtain preferment or to lull others into dropping their guards in their personal and business interactions.

The problem we have is the leadership of the society – political, business, civil, and religious. We all claim to be religious but we do not reflect the values of our professed religions in our behavior, in politics or in governance. Indeed for most of us, politics or business is a “do or die” affair and anything goes. And a lot get away with it. Institutions to curb our excesses are corrupted by us. Religious leaders unfortunately also pander to those who are rich or powerful, and in the process, undermine the religious values that should provide the moral anchor for the society. By our actions and inactions as leaders we debase the society and the people become cynical and alienated. We, the leaders in Nigeria, nay Africa, are the problem.

Barka Juma’at and a Happy Weekend.

+2348033110822

Headline

Breaking: Wike Plans to Attend Thursday’s PDP NEC Meeting

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NECeeting on Thursday is not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

Political stakeholders have concluded that the outcome of Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan.

Headline

Bribery, Corruption: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2024

Eric

The All Progressives Congress ward in Ganduje, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The party ward legal adviser, Halliru Gwanzo, announced the suspension while addressing newsmen in Kano State on Monday.

Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje levelled by the Kano State Government as the reason for the suspension.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Chief Press Secretary to the APC National Chairman, Mr Edwin Olufo, failed as his mobile phone was unreachable.

Headline

Akpabio Commits to Collaboration with Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno

Published

7 days ago

April 12, 2024

Admin

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stated his commitment to working closely with Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Umo Eno to ensure the delivery of democratic benefits to the people of Akwa Ibom State.

Akpabio stated this in his country home, Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, while briefing his constituents on the journey so far as their representative in the red chamber.

He assured the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District of his commitment to their welfare in appreciation of their total support for him, President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election.

The Highpoint of the constituency briefing was the distribution of over 10,000 bags of rice and other essentials for his constituents from the wards, to the local governments.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, quoted Akpabio as saying, “I am here once again, to thank you for standing by me, our President and the party, before, during and even after last year’s elections. I have come to say thank you and also bring Renewed Hope to you all.

“As the President is doing his own, the Senate President is also doing his bit and being complemented by the state governor, Akwa Ibom would be the better for it. We have finished elections and politics, we are now into governance. The governor of the state must touch you, because he is the governor of all the people in the state irrespective of political affiliation.

” As I am touching you now from the political angle, I will also touch the state without any political party affiliation. Most of the projects we are putting in place would be used by people resident in the state. Relax, things are getting better.”

The former Governor of the state, assured his constituents that his current position as the Senate President would be used for the development of the state in collaboration with the President and the Akwa Ibom State Governor.

Hear him: This Senate President is not the one that would be fighting the state government. I will collaborate with , I will collaborate with , to make the state better for us all. We cannot be out of government for a long time. You have to go to a government that carries you along”

Akpabio promised to work for his constituents and Nigeria with all his strength, noting that, “as the President of the Senate, I am for the Southern region and the entire country. I may not come here regularly to tell you what I have been doing for you, but you will be feeling the impact on way or the other. Our unemployed youths would be gainfully employed. I will construct a mini stadium in all the local governments in the district, for our youths to develop their sporting potentials. ”