Thinking Like A Leader - 31-07-2018 by Olajumoke Adenowo

The world cup is over, but the lessons are not over. You may have noticed following Voice of Change, over the last seven years that I am very Pan-African, I believe not only in Nigeria, I was born a Nigerian, so I must believe in Nigeria. Someone once said ‘a patriot is one who believes that your country is blessed for having you born into it.’ I do believe in Nigeria, I love my country very fiercely, which is why I started Voice of Change seven years ago, funded it with my own funds, so I could talk about leadership, patriotism, and how we can make a greater country and indeed a continent for ourselves. It hurts me because I travel all over Africa to see when we are not fulfilling our potential. It’s not all of us, Botswana is trying, and Rwanda is picking up. Some people mean business, but what then is the difference? The matter has come to a point where people are crying for us, if we can’t cry for ourselves.

Lessons learnt from the world cup finals. When president Macron was congratulating and shaking the French team, he shook more black hands than white. The world is a global village, I have nothing against white or black, I am not a racist, I was exposed to all races as a toddler, and therefore I don’t have a racist bone in my body. What bothers me is though I’ve known since I was a toddler, that all people are equal, I don’t see all countries where all people are domiciled performing equally. I see boatloads of one type of race, trying to make it across dangerous waters, to get to another terrain, where another race is in charge.

What then is the problem? How does a continent with the most natural resources on earth, be one of the most backward continents? Or be the most backward continent? It boils down to this, leadership. I am of the strong opinion that we get the leadership we deserve. Somebody would say to me ‘no we don’t’ why? Because before we are even given a presidential or a governorship candidate, the parties have decided someone or the other. We don’t need to be in a party, how many of us make our heard, and letting the parties understand that there are some candidates that if you choose you are going to lose.

Finally the world cup is over and the fever is over! I come out of the world cup with serious lessons that I have learnt and I hope that I can share with you. What does the world cup have to do with Nigerian airports? The potential of blacks? Leadership and vision?

The potential of black people is not in doubt. African countries have what it takes to win the world cup, why haven’t we ever won? When it is our offspring and scions, actually playing the football and winning the world cup. Potential is something, and we have it.

The lessons we learn from the finals of the world cup is that, we as a race, we as Africans, as Nigerians, Ghanaians, Senegalese, Ivoirian’s, possess the raw potential needed to take this continent to the zenith of achievement. We have the people, it’s our people playing the world cup, it’s our people at NASA, at general electric, and it’s our people everywhere making things work in the Diaspora all over the world. Why not here in Africa? - Because we lack the leadership. It is not just raw power strength, the ability to run, pick up or head a ball that puts the team where it should be in the ranking of teams, it is leadership. A coach that develops the skill in you, someone who coordinates everything to make sure each strong player, plays with the others to make a harmonious goal. Leadership, vision, coaching, motivation, that is what we lack.

The world cup season makes us begin to think about sports and how sports are such a unifying factor. When Nigeria does well everybody is happy. You hug your enemy without knowing. I was in Ghana a while ago, and all of Accra and indeed the whole of Ghana were in uproar over a scandal with the GFA, the body responsible for football. There were allegations of match fixing and the chairman had to step down, and the country was angry, why? Someone said ‘grown men have heart attacks over these matches, not knowing they were already fixed, and there was no point praying or yelling. What point is it when the match is already thrown and fixed?

Football is major, sports is major, it does not change lives, doesn’t solve world peace issues, or curb world poverty, then what does it do for us? It makes us all feel patriotic, it makes us all root for the same thing. They make you proud to belong to the same nation that these ones that are doing so well belong to. Football makes us proud. Our leaders should make us proud. We should not be proud of them regardless of whatever they do, they should do things that would make us proud the way we are also proud of our footballers.

There are so many lessons to be learnt from football that unifies all of us. The problem with Nigeria is not that we are not united; it is these things that divide us. The fact that we believe deep within us, that the path to leadership is not fair, that not the best get into leadership. That those who get into leadership sometimes do not deliver the results we expect. That they do not represent all of us and are not making us proud, therefore we don’t root for them.

When we believe that the best of us have gone to represent Nigeria and they would make us proud, give us the results that we desire, by solving the problems of the nation, all of a sudden we would see that Nigerians are actually a united and not a divided people.

The world cup season makes us begin to think about sports and how sports are such a unifying factor. When Nigeria does well everybody is happy. You hug your enemy without knowing. I was in Ghana a while ago, and all of Accra and indeed the whole of Ghana were in uproar over a scandal with the GFA, the body responsible for football. There were allegations of match fixing and the chairman had to step down, and the country was angry, why? Someone said ‘grown men have heart attacks over these matches, not knowing they were already fixed, and there was no point praying or yelling. What point is it when the match is already thrown and fixed?

Football is major, sports is major, it does not change lives, doesn’t solve world peace issues, or curb world poverty, then what does it do for us? It makes us all feel patriotic, it makes us all root for the same thing. They make you proud to belong to the same nation that these ones that are doing so well belong to. Football makes us proud. Our leaders should make us proud. We should not be proud of them regardless of whatever they do, they should do things that would make us proud the way we are also proud of our footballers.

There are so many lessons to be learnt from football that unifies all of us. The problem with Nigeria is not that we are not united; it is these things that divide us. The fact that we believe deep within us, that the path to leadership is not fair, that not the best get into leadership. That those who get into leadership sometimes do not deliver the results we expect. That they do not represent all of us and are not making us proud, therefore we don’t root for them.

When we believe that the best of us have gone to represent Nigeria and they would make us proud, give us the results that we desire, by solving the problems of the nation, all of a sudden we would see that Nigerians are actually a united and not a divided people.

In the Argentina match, I think we were being cheated, as I saw the VR and it was clear that the ball moved from the head to the hand of their player, but somehow the referee thought he could still rule and said it’s not a handball, and I believe, it’s because he weighed the options “should I upset Nigeria, or should I upset Argentina?” and he decided he can upset us anytime, and did so. That is what I believe went on and I believe either we face it or not, it is back again to leadership. What did he believe was going to be the consequences of his decision?

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The time has come that, even if your father’s party foists a candidate on you that you do not believe in you reject it. We cannot vote parties; we should vote people we really believe are competent. We need to send a strong signal that no matter how powerful the party is, your candidate had better be powerful if you want to taste that office you are fielding the candidate for. This should be a different election come 2019, let us vote competence and capability.

Once in four years we have the right in Nigeria to bring in a peaceful change, don’t be left behind, 2015 not only did I vote, I protected my vote, we counted the votes together, by torchlight. Join every well meaning patriotic Nigerian to make sure we start the process that will bring in 2019 the leaders that will usher in a Nigeria we can be proud of, a Nigeria that will nurture our children, and protect generations of Nigerians to come.

In the Argentina match, I think we were being cheated, as I saw the VR and it was clear that the ball moved from the head to the hand of their player, but somehow the referee thought he could still rule and said it’s not a handball, and I believe, it’s because he weighed the options “should I upset Nigeria, or should I upset Argentina?” and he decided he can upset us anytime, and did so. That is what I believe went on and I believe either we face it or not, it is back again to leadership. What did he believe was going to be the consequences of his decision?

.

.

.

The time has come that, even if your father’s party foists a candidate on you that you do not believe in you reject it. We cannot vote parties; we should vote people we really believe are competent. We need to send a strong signal that no matter how powerful the party is, your candidate had better be powerful if you want to taste that office you are fielding the candidate for. This should be a different election come 2019, let us vote competence and capability.

Once in four years we have the right in Nigeria to bring in a peaceful change, don’t be left behind, 2015 not only did I vote, I protected my vote, we counted the votes together, by torchlight. Join every well meaning patriotic Nigerian to make sure we start the process that will bring in 2019 the leaders that will usher in a Nigeria we can be proud of, a Nigeria that will nurture our children, and protect generations of Nigerians to come.

Why does sport especially football affect us so much?

As always I get to wondering how sports is such a unifying factor, for not just my country, but other countries of the world, all of a sudden mortal enemies forget that they are mortal enemies, and they unite behind one flag. What is it about sports especially in a country like Nigeria where we argue about so many things and seem to be divided about so many things? What is it about sports that unify us? I was outside my base when Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0, and the whole place erupted in rapturous joy, and nobody wanted to know what side of the country Musa was from, there was no federal character, that they thought ‘you cheered him up because he came from your area” I do not think anybody knows or cares where he comes from. They just cared that he had won for Nigeria.

As a sport I would rather examine football than athletics, because in athletics its one person sprinting and we’re all rooting for one person. Football best represents what leadership is in many nations. A team of people, who are playing for the others, each one is not as strong as the other; each one does not have the same skill set the other has. Rather like a cabinet, of ministers, led by a president, so we understand that it takes a team to achieve success. Why does football unify us so much? ‘Common visions, common goals’, we believe that they have skill, we believe that these people have something to offer and we respect them inherently.

There are definitely lessons to be learnt from this sport that are applicable to the national community, state, every aspect of leadership. We thank the Super Eagles for making us proud. Congratulations to us, congratulations to the Super Eagles.

Why does sport especially football affect us so much?

As always I get to wondering how sports is such a unifying factor, for not just my country, but other countries of the world, all of a sudden mortal enemies forget that they are mortal enemies, and they unite behind one flag. What is it about sports especially in a country like Nigeria where we argue about so many things and seem to be divided about so many things? What is it about sports that unify us? I was outside my base when Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0, and the whole place erupted in rapturous joy, and nobody wanted to know what side of the country Musa was from, there was no federal character, that they thought ‘you cheered him up because he came from your area” I do not think anybody knows or cares where he comes from. They just cared that he had won for Nigeria.

As a sport I would rather examine football than athletics, because in athletics its one person sprinting and we’re all rooting for one person. Football best represents what leadership is in many nations. A team of people, who are playing for the others, each one is not as strong as the other; each one does not have the same skill set the other has. Rather like a cabinet, of ministers, led by a president, so we understand that it takes a team to achieve success. Why does football unify us so much? ‘Common visions, common goals’, we believe that they have skill, we believe that these people have something to offer and we respect them inherently.

There are definitely lessons to be learnt from this sport that are applicable to the national community, state, every aspect of leadership. We thank the Super Eagles for making us proud. Congratulations to us, congratulations to the Super Eagles.

We discuss leadership on voice of change because we were all born to be leaders. We may not feel like we were born to be leaders, we may not feel like the seed of leadership is in us at all, but everyone of us is a leader in one sphere of life or another , or at one time in life or another.

You look at yourself and wonder, me, a leader? Who is a leader?

A leader is someone who can mobilize people, resources, material resources, financial resources, goodwill, favor towards achieving a stated objective. So you see that even if you just organize traffic at a point, at that point you are being a leader. So many people that you have obeyed in traffic, you never even ask “who asked him to get on the road and begin to direct traffic?” but you obey without question. Why? He put himself forward at that time and volunteered his services to make sure chaos was averted. He stepped forward at that time, that was his time of leadership.

When a leader externalizes failure and points a finger at uncontrollable external factor, what he’s saying to the public and their perception of the public, of his organization and of himself, is that, I have no control over these forces that created failure. Immediately you think that if you have no control then you might not have any control next week, next year, and in times to come. But when a leader owns the failure, and says our own internal processes caused the failure, the first thing is you believe. He’s honest, that you believe he would admit this fault he is a man of integrity, if anything major should happen, he would let us know. This woman, this man is up to the task.