By Princewill Odidi
Obiano of Anambra state can we’ll be described as a Governor ready to lead. You have not succeeded as a leader until your successor succeeds. Peter Obi laid a solid foundation, and today Obiano has established that Peter Obi was a success.
Nelson Mandela served one term, built the structures of democracy, repositioned the ruling party and created a structure to produce real leadership, handed over to his deputy Mbeki, who was ready to lead.
States in Nigeria that are currently facing economic challenges, check carefully, those states have leadership challenges. You do not need money to succeed as a Governor, what you need are credible sound partners who can think outside the box and create wealth for the state. Inability of any leader to pull together a resourceful team, is the first sign of failure.
The fact that some states have established sustained continuity like lagos and Anambra is a clear indication that some godfathers groom leaders to take over from them, while some spend their time grooming followers who never get mature to lead but basque in the comfort of remaining followers.
In a recent conversation with one my university colleagues Mike Balonwu, who served as Anambra State Speaker, he pointed out that the relationship between Peter Obi when he was Governor and Obiano was not a master-boy relationship, it was a relationship of peers and colleagues built on mutual respect. Peter Obi handed over to someone he psychologically related to as a man not a boy. This is a lesson for African democracy.
This also applied to Tinubu. During his days as Lagos Governor, his commissioners had powers to take independent decisions, they could even award contracts independent of the Governor.
The outcome of grooming leaders instead of grooming followers and praise singers is what we are seeing today in some states.
Fashola ended up a resourceful Governor who continued where Tinubu stopped, and Ambode continued where Fashola stopped, and one of his Commissioners is today the Vice President in the person of Yemi Osinbajo.
Again, as I said earlier, you do not succeed as a leader until your successors succeed.
A true leaders dream is to build people who would aspire higher them in the course of their travails. The consequence of building followers instead of leaders is that, for followers, once the support base is withdrawn, either they return to the streets or they switch allegiance.
Hope our leaders can learn from history which remains our greatest teacher. Build leaders of tomorrow, not followers to sing your praise while you live. It’s not late, we can still get it right.
