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By Vivian Onyebukwa
Mark Idiahi is a social enterprise developer, a leadership mentor and a speaker on topics related to leadership, governance, growth and collaborative development. A certified Chartered Strategic Manager from the Chartered Institute of Strategic Managers and Leaders (CISML), USA, he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate and Public Administrators of Nigeria. Idiahi is the convener of one of the leadership conferences and awards in Nigeria titled, “Future Leadership Conference/ Award”.
In this interview, he spoke on issues of misrepresentation about Africa by foreign countries, and the leadership problems experienced in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
You always talk about African renaissance. What do you think is the problem with Africa?
The problem with Africa is just one- it’s leadership. That’s why we are talking about leadership. We are so blessed. I’ve travelled to some countries. There was a friend of mine, a white man, we were having this conversation in a train, and he said to me that, why do most Africans come to Europe? He’s asking me because he sees that some of them are just one salary away from losing their houses. Like, if I don’t get this next pay, chances are I will lose my house.
Why the desperation to move only for you to have your life on the edge over there? Why the brain drain? Why do the best of us want to leave the country? Have you thought of it? Why do many people who are so versatile, they have the best of ideas, they want to just go there, take up menial job? Number one, if you ask them, they will tell you, first and foremost, for the security of life. In other words, they place premium on the sanctity of human life above all the other trappings of success. It means that if I can wake up and I’m safe, go to my workplace, come back and know I’m safe, my life is not being pushed up by what you call happenstance, as it were, over here. That’s one of the reasons. But I tell you, if we are going to be able to do something about that drastically, we then need to look into our leadership. The change that we seek has to be something that comes from us because we have all it takes as a continent, as a country, to bring about a transformation. And it begins by us deciding who becomes the leader, because we’ve had a situation where the very worst of us most times really, we are caught between these two, which is the devil and the deep blue sea. And what is that? The conundrum where we are having to choose between the two worst of us. So what happens in most cases is that the very best of us don’t want to come out because they feel that politics is dirty. So if it is dirty, why do I have to get involved in it? I’ve always begun to debunk that. Politics is not dirty. It is people that bring their dirtiness into politics. So the very best of us must begin to aspire to lead. Aspire for leadership positions because it is only by being in those strategic leadership positions that you can influence policy. Policy that can bring about great renaissance, great transformation, and all of that in Nigeria and in Africa.
Would you say that all these motivated you to come up with the Future Leadership Conference/ Award.
Behind the whole thing is me trying to unload the memory of my late brother. A lot of people don’t know this side of the story. Many years ago, precisely about 15 years ago, he embarked on a journey to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. But unfortunately, he didn’t get to make it. Also, I remember the last thing he said to me before he left. He looked at me and said, “Never give up”. By then, I had started fantasising about the idea of coming up with an initiative that would foster change, especially for young people. So he was my prime target because he used to be a bad boy. I convinced my mum to allow him to come to Lagos to stay with me and she obliged. So when he came to me, I realised that preaching to him was not going to do it. So I began to let my life speak to him. So before he travelled, he had totally transformed, but there was something I couldn’t take away from him. I just couldn’t successfully do that.
What was that?
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It was this morbid curiosity that he had. I couldn’t keep that from him. He wanted to travel. He had to subject himself to an intense hardship and trauma, which was what he did. Basically, he took his life in his own hands and he left. So I figured that for every young person out there who I can interact with through this platform, I could be able to influence their decision. I’m not against travelling, relocation, or migration. But I feel that if you have to move, it has to be done in such a way that you don’t necessarily have to put your life on the line because some people might have to move. Some people might have to remain here. So we do this answering the call, on the one hand, to reach out to every young person, every young Nigerian, every young African to look within and discover themselves and live a life of purpose. On the flip side, at some point, I also became very worried with what the mainstream media was doing with the news about Africa. For instance, you would see that they would describe a whole continent as enormously blessed. Then Africa, as a dark continent, and nobody was doing anything about that. So this whole concept, this initiative, is to tell the African story the way it should be told. I decided that it’s about time we told our story as well as a guest, waiting for the mainstream media to tell our story. We feel that there’s so much that is happening in Africa. All that we need to do is to beam light on it. Shine spotlights on the brands and individuals that are doing amazing works around Africa, and celebrate them. Because to me, these are true heroes whose songs need to be sung and sung aloud.
What do you think the federal government should do about this ‘Japa’ syndrome?
The government should create the enabling environment for ideas to strive. In fact, the one responsibility of government is to create an enabling environment for businesses to strive. And that they do by tackling insecurity, ensuring that the right policies are inaugurated that can support businesses. So that is one thing I feel that the government can do to create an enabling environment for businesses.
What can you tell the youths considering the situation of things in the country?
Don’t give up. I know it may seem bleak and you may be on the fence right now. You feel that there’s no way out. But I want to tell you that you need to look within. Survival is a big thing. I understand that when you’re on the edge of survival, you want to throw caution to the wind because you want to survive. But, don’t break the rules. Don’t compromise on values because when it’s all said and done, your association will predict your future. In other words, it has to be who you are that will determine what you have.
Tell us about the African Future Leadership Magazine
It was established in order to promote excellence in leadership and enhance Africa’s leadership capacity and capabilities. The magazine would help retell African stories and beam light on Africa’s unequal potential. The vision of the publication is to be the undisputed medium on the continent’s leadership realities and growth, which are paramount. Over the years, the African continent has been described as a dark continent and nothing could be more wrong. During my childhood, I fantasised about birthing a unique medium of expression that will reshape the perception about Africa.
I was fanatically obsessed with the workings of a media house. I read newspapers, listened to news programmes on the radio and watched the news on television with so much admiration for players in the industry. They were indeed my role models because they commanded the respect of everyone. However, I had no idea where this obsession with the media would lead me to. As the continent of Africa battles for global relevance and economic meltdowns in history, access to the internet in Nigeria has coincidentally improved and everyone is hungry for reliable and trusted news. We saw a gap in the African media market, and knew it was the best time for us to bring this dream to fruition.
Black man has ruled America. I do not believe that Africa is the dark continent of the world. From entertainment to sports, even in science and education, we have Africans breaking records. So, why would they tell me that something is wrong with the black man?
