LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS

There is nothing special about being an outstanding administrator. There is nothing unique about being a performer. There definitely is no sense in unnecessarily celebrating a person who is doing what he or she has signed up for in public service well. If you are a dedicated and goal-oriented person you will know that the satisfaction you derive from getting things done according to plan is enough.

Unfortunately in these climes where we celebrate even the commissioning of an ordinary borehole project, we seem to forget that PUBLIC FUNDS were spent in executing these same projects. No councillor, LG chairman, governor, senator or minister normally carries out a capital intensive project with personal funds. NGOs do that! Then why do we applaud whenever they do what is expected of them in the first place?

This has been the genesis of some of our problems since Day One. Truth is many of these projects are necessary infrastructure that the government must provide. Yes, we may acknowledge and encourage performing public officials but to now carry on as if somebody has just discovered the cure for cancer is baffling. For several decades now we have been regaled with sights and sounds of the commissioning of many projects more often undertaken with dubious purposes in mind while said projects do not usually last.

Consider this, the brain is a muscle. Like every other vital muscle in the body it needs to be exercised regularly. Failure to do this through different ways would eventually lead to an atrophy of anybody's reasoning capabilities. Our leaders from the grassroots upward must be of impeccable cerebral abilities to effectively chart new courses at regular intervals. When you have players like C. Ronaldo, Mohammed Salah, Messi, Hazard etc in your football team, that is when you can be making noises about winning trophies. You CANNOT win anything worthwhile with individuals exhibiting below average abilities. What I see today is a lot of people who merely go through the motions of governance. No innovation. No drive. No self-challenge. No bias for intelligence awareness. It saddens even my pragmatic side.

Let us learn to challenge, question and understand everything our leaders do. It will make them think, work and perform BETTER! One of the hallmarks of Mr. Babatunde Fashola is that he's always been interested in constructive criticism and feedback. It's not always about singing one's praises. And his performance as Lagos State governor still ranks highly. Same goes for Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker Lagos House of Assembly. A selfless personality and a servant-leader who always put the interest of others before his own. This trait has made him the darling of his constituents in Agege and beyond. Even former adversaries and opponents have been pleasantly taken aback by his philosophical and cheerful approach to life. He is simply not of the do-or-die ilk.

Even Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is usually concerned with how to gather and work with capable and professional eggheads at every opportunity. He knows it would generate viable ideas and improve collective deliverables.

I agree that we have a system here that usually seems to reward mediocrity. Especially when you remember the annoying aspects of the "Federal Character" jingle that seems bent on encouraging sections of the country to keep playing catch-up with the rest even when the supposed beneficiaries act as if they couldn't be bothered.

Things work in Europe, America and other countries of the world because they have systems that PROMOTE excellence and not mediocrity. They have systems that do not encourage corruption or pedestrian achievements. A look at some of the textbooks being used in our schools today will leave you in shock. To say the contents therein are simply outdated would be an understatement. How then can we hope to measure up or even compete with our international peers?

Let me not even dwell on the healthcare sector. Even a dunce is aware that the average public healthcare facilities are usually deathtraps. Inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, lack of modern healthcare equipment etc are some of the factors that you experience on any given day when you visit your neighbourhood health centre. Yet we applaud when a public official who ought to have done tangible and measurable things for our communities merely drill overpriced boreholes for us.

There is a coming threshold whereby the thirst for better representation would make the demand for good roads, better healthcare facilities, improved educational system etc reverberate all over the public space.

For now we can only hope for a better tomorrow. One where every citizen would have a stake and a voice on how best they feel Nigeria can move forward. A great Nigeria would certainly be an asset to all of us. Let's keep our fingers crossed.