only the conscious and willing submission of the people, only their recognition, confers hegemony and legitimacy on any mechanism of authority. You may not need money and material aggrandizement to acquire the status of leader, you need to come to the table with an impeccable and unimpeachable moral and ethical capital, built through years of consistency, with the block of the personal example. You will notice that I said block – not blocks. The personal example, so sorely missing in our national life, is the singular route to being a genuine hero, a genuine role model, a genuine leader. When we say that there is a dearth of leadership in Nigeria, when we say that we have produced almost three generations of Nigerians who lack credible role models, when we say that real and genuine heroes of the people are hard to come by in today’s Nigeria, what we are saying is that few are those whose ethical stock and moral capital are sufficient to legitimize them in the eyes of the people. Though tribe and tongue may differ from Otuoke to Sokoto to Enugu to Abeokuta, a genuine personal example can build a nation. Across differences. Across fratricidal fault lines. Beyond our damning differences, we can all willingly embrace the control and authority of an outstanding personal example when we see it. Pius Adebola Adesanmi
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 07:07:40 +0000