Governor Monday Okpebholo’s hype man must be the funniest around. But, sometimes, he says something that strikes a chord. In one of his hypes, he referred to the governor as “the man wey God bring to change the face of leadership in Edo state.” He may be right. And, given the leadership traits that the governor has so far exhibited in managing crisis in his administration, one can easily say that the hype man has been prophetic.
Leadership is also about style. Style defines the man. French naturalist, George-Louis Leclerc, first coined the words ‘style is the man himself’ (Le style, c’est l’homme meme) in his 1753 ‘Discourse on style’ (Discours sur le style). Though, originally, the phrase was applied to writing style, it is here now being extrapolated to express leadership and the innate beliefs of a leader. In application, ‘style is the man,’ suggests that a person’s manner and attitude are indicative of their essence, and that a leaders style can become a signature of his, or, her personality. Simply put, ‘style is the man’ says that a leader’s overall style, including his/her mannerisms, reveal his/her true character.
When ‘style is the man’ is applied as a leadership trait, it means that a leader’s unique style, including how they communicate, make decisions, inspire others to follow, is a direct manifestation of their inner qualities, values and personality. A confident and decisive leader may exhibit a bold, assertive style which projects strength and clarity of actions, reflecting self-assurance. On the other hand, a compassionate and empathic leader may adopt an inclusive, supportive style that mirrors his focus on relationships and understanding. It is, therefore, the alignment of the innate traits and outward style that shapes how leaders influence and motivate their teams. Therefore, ‘style is the man,’ says that effective leadership is not just about what a leader does, but how he/she does it. It is about their distinctive style which becomes the embodiment of their character, making it a defining trait in how they lead.
This is my reading of Gov. Okpebholo’s leadership of Edo state thus far. The governor strikes me as someone who looks very well before he leaps. He has exemplified this in some of the decisions he has had to make, in the expression of his leadership of the state, to manage the relationship between him and those who assist him to deliver on his vision for the state.
In recent times, there have been cases where the governor expressly ordered the suspension of some aides for being caught on the wrong side of the law. Note, he suspended and not sacked. He had also recalled those who came clean after proper investigation. This is with connection to actions that embarrassed the state government. In taking such actions, Okpebholo puts a distinctive stamp on his government. It is a stamp which says that his government will not be a hiding ground for those who offend the laws of the country. This is instructive especially given that Nigeria’s leadership experiment is replete with details of situations where aides and those appointed by the government to exercise power on behalf of the state, abuse the powers of their appointments and hide under the executive veil to escape justice. This is a reality that negates the fact of the rule of law and equality before the law. The outcome is that many Nigerians have lost either their lives of means of livelihoods to state actors who are never punished.
We have seen market women and men cry over the excesses of state actors who are never held accountable. We have seen families wrecked over the fact of not getting justice for the annihilation of a member by a state operative who gets covered by the executive. We have seen state actors become causes of road mishaps that claim lives but never get questioned. However, we now see a governor suspend state actors who cause the death of a toddler. We now see a governor also suspend an appointee for flouting the law against the abuse of the naira, and even allowing the appointee to face the legal consequences of his action.
These are definitive actions that go a long way to establish the leadership style that Okpebholo brings to the governance in Edo. His style suggests that as governor, he is not ready to burden himself with the extra baggage of protecting those who take advantage of their appointments by the state to abuse the law. This is something new to governance in Nigeria where state actors hide under the governor to abuse the rights of others, and creating bad public reputation for both the state and the governor. Perhaps, the management of the reputation of leaders ought to begin with these leaders clearly washing their hands off crimes committed by state actors in their names. The aide who was caught spraying naira in a club, was not appointed by the state government to do so. His job did not include spraying naira in a club. Those, whose actions led to the death of a toddler, were certainly not appointed to deprive any citizen of his/her life.
Therefore, Governor Okpebholo scores a huge point here. He has set out early enough to define the style of his leadership of Edo state. Through this style, he has pointed the torch to the path his associates and appointees must follow. Through this also, he has stated clearly that his government must not suffer indignation because of the activities of appointees who see in government appointment a cover for crimes against the state. This will stand out as his own way of de-escalating brigandage and fear in a state where government officials are, routinely and regularly, accused of arming and maintaining cult gangs used for nefarious activities and covered with government cloak. Interestingly, the governor has clearly shown that his style does not accommodate such behaviour. If Okpebholo sustains this style, he may well be on the way to prove his hype man right when he called him “the man wey God bring to change the face of leadership in Edo State.”