The story was told in a song by a popular Nigerian musician, of a man, his son and donkey who all set out on journey. The man had set out carrying his luggage, walking with his son and having the donkey stroll alongside; and the view point of passers by that they encountered was that the man was foolish in not riding on the donkey for the journey. So the man upon a thought, climbs the donkey and continues on his path. Alas, other passers by commented on his selfishness in considering only himself and not his son, who was trudging along on foot beside the donkey. After a careful thought of the comments of these others, the man then requests his son to join him atop the donkey and proceeds on his way. Hardly had any meaningful progress been achieved in the journey before a crowd gathered to accuse the man and his son of utter wickedness in jointly riding the donkey. Dont you have a conscience? Do you want to kill the donkey, they alleged? None of the scenario described above is deficient in reason or purpose and all are justified to be advanced or canvassed depending on the individual state of mind at any given time. A one time federal minister, chief Ojo Madueke once tried to instill a culture of undertaking physical exercise in Nigeria by riding his bicycle to or from work. He was vilified and when he had an accident whilst espousing his policy, the what-was-to-be-national project was abandoned. That same idea is in practice by high officials in western economies like England and France to name a few. The ownership and usage of executive jets as laudable a venture becomes detestable a project, when the Nigerian president has a fleet of ten presidential jets, whilst the country he governs has no single commercial plane as a national carrier. So much for his leadership. What you dictate to others to do, is a function of your own mindset or skill set. Leadership entails having a good head on your shoulder; Knowing what is appropriate in a given season; Having a sense and or a clear perception of the right thing to do in any given situation rather than listening to the mob. In essence, leadership entails an individual coming into his own with a purpose to achieve destiny and leave behind a lasting legacy.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:39:02 +0000