By Prof Nathan Protus Uzorma(The Reformer and Mayor of Imo youth).
The present day society is in need of a leader who has the capacity to face the challenges hitherto confronting us. Such leaders are born and not made. Hand-made leaders usually end up becoming slaves to materialism and do not know how to make use of human resources. But those who are born leaders are great souls who are saddled with responsibilities bestowed on them by nature to do good without being reminded.
The above is attested to by Theodore Roosevelt thus, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they carry it out.” Yes, a good leader has two important characteristics, one is that he is on a serious voyaged to an important destination; two is the fact that he has the dexterity to persuade other people (followers) to go with him. As he does this, he takes little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.
Having done several courses on leadership principles, I have come to the profound knowledge that a leader must see the vision, state the mission and set the tone. When he (the leader) catches the vision, states the mission and set the tone, he ends up getting others to want to do something he is convinced should be done.
In Imo state for instance, what we have today is a boss and not a leader. Yes, Gov. Rochas Okorocha is a boss and not a leader, the disparity between the both is more than the eyes can see. Leaders need to cultivate two things, a righteous heart and a rhinoceros skin. With the righteous heart, he/she leads with love and deep passion as well as the fear of God. Righteous heart makes a leader abhors deceitful smile and makes him accept criticism which in turn enables him to make amend where necessary. Righteous heart makes a leader to opt for character. In the words of General Norman, “Leadership consists of character and strategy; if you can’t have both, opt for character.”
Today in Imo state, our governor Chief Rochas Okorocha lacks both character and strategy which informs why things are going the way they are presently. I do know that a man of character and strategy must not be a boss but a leader. On the other hand, rhinoceros skin in leadership however, enables the leader to face every difficulty and surmount them with tough skin like that of rhinoceros.
Still on the issue of a leader and a boss, I wish to state here that what we have now in Imo state is a boss and not a leader. The boss according to H. Gordon Selfridge “Drives his men, the leader coaches them, the boss depends on authority, the leader on goodwill. The boss says ‘I’, the leader says ‘we’. The boss fixes the blame for the break down; the leader fixes the break down. The boss knows how it is done, the leader shows how. The boss says ‘go’, the leader says ‘let’s go’!”
In the true philosophy of leadership, no one will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it. This is where Gov. Rochas Okorocha becomes the boss. A good leader keeps records and plans to move forward. Today in Imo state and in the forth coming election, we have a good number of bosses that are lined up in the guber race, all posing to be leaders. Are they all leaders? My answer is simple, no, they are not.
Last week I published an article that generated controversy. I have received many calls from well meaning Nigerians and some great personalities in Imo state too. Their enquiries were, “why are you writing in support of Dr. Julius Kpaduwa? I responded by informing them that I did not destroy Dr. Kpaduwa through my writing rather I simply asked a question, “Ohakim and Araraume we know, who is Dr. Julius Kpaduwa?” The Response I got motivated me to write more in order to consolidate my claims. I have not seen Dr. Julius Kpaduwa before; he may also be surprise that I am doing this too. Yes, he may be amazed but those who know me quite well know that as a philosopher and social critic, I can pick up any personality, analyze him with the aim to educating the society.
Dr. Julius Kpaduwa may not be a money bag but he has the qualities of a leader and not a boss. Frederick the Great sent a messenger to one of his generals; “I sent you against the enemy with sixty thousand men.” When the troops were counted they numbered only fifty thousand. The general sent a letter of protest and complaint, insisting there must be a mistake. “No” replied Frederick, “There is no mistake. I counted you for ten thousand men.” In the medical field and in leadership skill, Dr. Julius Kpaduwa should be counted for ten thousand men because he has distinguished himself and as a result has the mental and academic power to lead this big entity called Imo state. Is this great son of Imo a mistake that PDP leadership should avoid?
Will it be a mistake to hand over the party ticket to him? Is Owelle Rochas Okorocha praying for PDP to make the mistake of giving the party ticket to anyone that cannot move a political ant? The answer to the above question could be likened to a man who applied for a job at a prison as a warden? When he was asked “Can you handle this job? This is a tough bunch here.” He responded, “No problem if they misbehave, out they go.” Yes, someone may smile at this point but the fact still remains that a warden who wants to open the prison for prisoners to escape simply because they have misbehaved, is an animal indeed. Allowing Gov. Rochas to escape by giving him a weak candidate will keep Imo state in another four years of deplorable state, God forbid!
This article is aimed at imploring the leadership of PDP to first of all check those with leadership qualities before being in a hurry to make a wrong person their flag bearer. Imo is now in need of a total change in every sector of her economy and for this change to be conspicuous and prominent; the party flag bearer must be a man of good will, one with character and leadership skills. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi “An educated person without character is dangerous to the society.” The party leadership should put into consideration the qualities that constitute success in any political decision they are to take. And like Aristotle would advice, “What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.”
In a recent study carried out by a team of Psychologists at the University of California, they discovered that people with the following qualities don’t make good leaders, aggressive against people who do not agree with, or who do not do as they want them to. Someone who is apprehensive that others are scheming against him. Fatalistic in thinking that most workers aren’t to be trusted; intolerant of democratic leaders. Inflexible, believing that there must be no deviation from the course they have set. Impulsive, preferring action to thinking it over before acting prejudiced against certain social groups, firms, religions, or nations. Deep research from a psychological perspective shows that individual with the above propensities, should not be trusted with leadership position. Does Dr. Julius Kpaduwa falls in the above category? If we have discovered through our personal research that he is a leader and not a boss, does he not qualify to lead? Anyone who thinks that Kpaduwa is a mistake does not know the magic in Imo politics.
Has PDP carried out responsible research on the nature and qualities of the man they intend making their flag bearer? Can we afford to gamble the second time? Are we ready to risk another four or eight years in pain? Imo people should think!
By Prof Nathan Protus Uzorma. The Reformer and Mayor of Imo youth.