AS I return to my serial on ‘The God of Big Things’ this week, I would like to appeal to my compatriots to continue to see hope in Nigeria. Why do I advertise this optimism? After serving last week’s menu on ‘Truth In A Grave’, I encountered so many critical factors that have strengthened my belief that in spite of our daunting challenges, this country, the most populous black nation on earth will fulfill destiny as one of the greatest. And I saw that no judicial pronouncement can change that because it is a door that the God of creation who directs our noble cause, has opened and no politician, no matter how powerful he thinks he or she is can shut that door.
What is more, no judicial pronouncements too can affect the plan of God for our great country. Despite negative pieces of evidence that we continue to see about our leaders at all levels trying to minister to ‘The God of Small Things’ everywhere we go, I would like to believe a report that it is well with Nigeria.
Don’t lose hope that our leaders who should be meeting on how we should seek to invest in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects to set the tone for economic development through education quality are still busy distracting our attention about the whereabouts and authenticity of their educational certificates after election. There is a report in ‘The Guardian’, (Nigeria) the other day that university lecturers too have joined the bandwagon of medical doctors leaving the country because of the poisonous ecosystem everyone is worried about. None of our 469 representatives in the National Assembly alone and 36 state assemblies has drawn attention to this sad revelation that our experienced but disgruntled university teachers too are leaving their country because of possibilities of a systemic collapse.
In the same vein, there has been no serious voice of reason against political shenanigan that has crippled the government of Ondo state. The Governor has been reportedly ill and has been treated in Germany. We heard that he has returned to his office and taken over from the Acting Governor. Since he reportedly returned, no one has sighted him in Akure. Reports confirmed that that the Governor of Ondo State has been running the state from Ibadan. The State Assembly members we should ask to account for the whereabouts of the Governor have been busy on stratagem to impeach the Deputy Governor. At the moment, no one is in charge of government of Ondo state.
Within the three arms of government, only the Speaker is in the State strategising on how to impeach the Deputy Governor. The Governor is recuperating in Ibadan even as no one has seen his actions on video or sound. The Deputy Governor is said to have fled from the state. At the weekend, there was a confirmation that the State’s Chief Judge too has arfully dodged for his dear life as intense pressure on him to constitute a panel of impeachment has been instructive (despite a court injunction). Even as stakeholder petitions continue to pour in to the Ondo State Assembly on the mystery and absurdity of the invisible king whose manipulation, sorry work of his hand is seen, let’s understand one take-away: that distractions by search for purity of certificates of leaders and urgency of impeachment of a deputy governor instead of an ailing governor are all manifestations of serving the ‘God of Small Things’.
Despite all these eccentricities in high places in Nigeria, we should manage our emotion to note that we are getting near the beginning of the end of an era of overrated integrity, fake identity and fake special-purpose vehicles we call political parties. We may not have seen it: there is a cleansing going on and when we get to the end of this dark tunnel, we will see a new Nigeria that will lead the black race. Just like a significant country, a rainbow coalition I want to introduce to us now.
In that nation, United Arab Emirates (UAE), I believe they know how to serve the ‘God of Big Things’, not necessarily through religion but through strong and purposeful leadership. That is what we need at this moment in Africa’s most strategic nation, Nigeria. The excerpts I would like to deconstruct here are inside one of the best books on leadership I have in my bookshelf titled, ‘MY VISION: Challenges in the Race for Excellence’ by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, an Emirati politician and a royal who is the current ruler of Dubai and serves as the Vice President, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates…
In his preface, we should note some insight into what people now hail as the wonders of UAE. In the leader’s autobiography, you will see that economic development isn’t by sudden flight. It is through a series of strategic planning and that discipline of getting things done called execution.
The leader said in the beginning he heard clearly from his creator on leadership that: “None of you will be a true believer, until he wishes for his brother whatever good he wishes for himself.”
He said in his strategic planning therefore: ‘…I wish the same good for my own people as I do for all Arabs. I want them to reach the same advanced levels enjoyed by developed countries. I wish they could take initiatives, excel and make inroads in all fields. This is what we are trying to do in the United Arab Emirates in general and Dubai in particular. Although we are proud of our past achievements, we strive to accomplish greater ones. Yet, we will never feel satisfied until all Arabs prosper, achieve and excel. I feel increasingly sad about the sorry state of affairs of the Arab world. Only a persistent sense of optimism about a brighter future lifts my sadness. I keep telling others and myself that all this despair, pessimism and fear are transient, and like a lonely cloud crossing a clear sky, will soon disappear. What unites Arabs largely surpasses their differences, but although the opposite is true for many other nations, we still see those nations heading towards unity and integration…’
As we continue to pretend about our crisis of coherence in Nigeria in the context of our struggle to regain the paradise we lost in 1966, ‘Federalism’ through military coup, listen to what Al Maktoum wrote:
‘This constant Arab discord is not normal, because under normal circumstances, we would form a single bloc. We will never be able to achieve this trivia dominates our major concerns and negative attitudes keep overwhelming the positive. Today’s Arab crisis is not one of money, men, morale, land or resources, because thank God, these are plentiful and are backed by a large consumer market….’
He adds this and should be of interest to those who seem to be joking with leadership issues in Abuja and our 36 state capitals:
‘The real crisis is rather one of leadership, management and perennial egotism. This is the kind of crisis that is bound to happen when lust for power prevails over granting people the love and care they deserve, and when the interests and destiny of one individual becomes more important than those of a whole nation. This is also what happens when the interests of some groups and cliques benefiting from certain leaders are served instead of those of all the people; in other words, when you put the people at the service of the government, in sharp contrast with the norm….’
He says he is proud of his religion, his country and his nation. He adds that he is just as proud of his leader, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; his late father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum; and his late brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He says he is also proud of his two living brothers, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, his family, the citizens of the UAE and all Arabs, everywhere….’
He then wants us to take away this element in any quest to serve the God of Big Things for the common good:
‘Our distinctive development experience in the UAE is a good example of what can be done when God blesses a country with an unselfish leadership that strives for the good of its people and not its own. Good leadership puts the interests of the community as a whole before those of any specific group. Credibility of leadership can only be established through action and not words. I am referring here to the kind of action that distinguishes a leader who considers his people, his country’s foremost asset, and not one who looks at them as a burden. There is a world of difference between a leadership that is based on love and respect, and one that is based on fear…
,Our vision is sharp, our goals are clear, our resources are huge, our will is strong and we stand tall, ready to face the challenges ahead. Our mission is for Dubai to become an international, pioneering hub of excellence and creativity, and we are already striving to make it the world’s premier trade, tourism and services destination in the twenty-first century. We are confident we can reach this ambitious goal thanks to our dedicated leadership and by providing the necessary infrastructure and environment. But even this is not enough. We also want Dubai to lead in security, safety and dynamic growth, without neglecting that all-important element of trust, which we are keen to maintain throughout the local, regional and international business communities. Dubai will never settle for anything less than first place….’
Don’t go away: in the leadership manual he published in 2012, he shares this with dealers who pretend to be leaders in their countries:
‘All that is needed in order to reach these goals is to show our people the right direction and nurture their potential for innovation, creativity, self-confidence, determination and leadership. Those who lead from the top of the pyramid end up leading only those on top, which is not how an exclusive development exercise should be carried out…Because development is a common and concerted effort and requires common leadership, a true leader should select leaders from the ranks of his own people. Once he selects the right leaders, they will join him in forging ahead to the final destination….’
To be continued…
Oloja is former editor of The Guardian newspaper and his column, Inside Stuff, runs on the back page of the newspaper on Sundays. The column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.