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As an explorer who has explored the Sahara Desert four times from different directions, twice alone and two times with group of men and women, my heart goes to the families of the five who perished in the Titan saga in an expedition that had marvelled the world. Questions are being asked about the sense behind the expedition, some have called it a senseless and ill prepared adventure that was not worth the lives that went with it considering the stigma of Titanic. The answers to all these questions can be found in an interview I granted CNN in London after my second expedition driving form Lagos to London alone 25 years ago. I said in that interview, “To embark on any expedition, you must be prepared to die” because we must always think of the good things that come out of explorations. Over the centuries, half of most expeditions took almost all the lives of the explorers.
Now to the main title of today’s article, Leadership by example. Recent elections have come and gone and some old and new leaders have emerged, most of them starting to chart new directions. Therefore, the need arises for the leaders and those that are being led and those the leaders are accountable to have a better understanding of the many crises that we face. For that reason, I must once again refer to an article I wrote in this column five years ago, titled “Leadership and Legacy,” and the relevance to today’s situation.
I wrote that:
There is such a fascination with leadership and the legacy a leader leaves; many reasons propel people to attempt to become leaders. Many become obsessed with the mechanics, styles and personalities, however, what is conspicuously absent is the thinking underpinning the politics of leadership. The integrity of nations, be it at the local or international levels is inextricably linked to not only leadership techniques but the reason why people want to be leaders, which begs the question who are leaders and why are they leading? On this, I mulled over one of my trips to Paris, where I delivered a lecture on leadership at the University of Schiller, as part of the 2018 graduation ceremony of the University. The lecture was succeeded by numerous questions and comments but the underlying theme of the many queries was centered o the issue of youthful patriotism and how different the concept is now compared to the era of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and many great leaders who started their fight for a better society in the their youth. There was such great hope for many then that the tomorrow’s leaders would do better since “the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow”.
Many decades later, we are still quoting that famous mantra to ignite hope for a better future in us. The popular quote is one that I have heard often in different settings to either motivate young people to be more responsible for their future or to admonish the older generation for not being inclusive and leaving enough good examples for the youth to emulate. Regardless of why it is being used, if the youth of today are indeed the leaders of tomorrow, can we then rest easy that the future is in safe hands. As I concluded my lecture on leadership in the auditorium filled with soon to be graduates, undergraduates and the university’s faculty leaders, I enjoined every youth present to ask themselves this question: How prepared are we to lead?
You see, there is hardly any human being alive that does not desire to be remembered positively as one who made an impact. In other words, there is hardly anybody on earth who does not wish to leave a legacy, preferably a positive one. However, not many are prepared to pay the price that such feat demands. We forget that legacy, though retrospective, must be built in the present moment with every choice we make, every decision we make and every action we carry out.
Many in the position of leadership seem to have forgotten that legacy isn’t about building monuments to be remembered by, but the impressions we leave in the minds of those we lead based on our achievements, not promises. People remember what but they also remember who. We remember that infrastructures were built across the North from the revenues reaped from the groundnut pyramids. We remember how revenues from cocoa were used to facilitate free, quality education in the West. We also recall that the proceeds from palm oil and coal were used to build landmark infrastructures in the East. Yes, we remember what, but we also remember the men who built them. All over the world, young people are at the center of societal interactions, especially in this age of globalization and modern technology where people are connecting worldwide as never before.
Another popular quote says, “Nothing ventured nothing gained,” Did we learn nothing from the generation that explored the space, the moon and set us on a course to conquer mars? Have we forgotten so quickly the lessons passed on from the generation that triggered the women liberation and civil rights movement? That was the generation willing to risk all for a nation they believed could be.
Do we still have leaders who can inspire change and cause a revolution? Sadly, I don’t see any standing amongst my mates even though they seem unable to relinquish power at the 11th hour. Yet, I also wonder if those they will be relinquishing power to have what it takes to lead right.
My queries take nothing away from the amazing feats that young people have accomplished all over the world and particularly in my beloved country, Nigeria. Despite offhand comments by “he who shall not be named” about Nigerian youths being uneducated, unwilling to work and dependent on revenue from oil to survive, we keep seeing many young people counter such claims continually with their innovations and hard work. Thus borrowing from the words of a man I admire, President John F. Kennedy, I implore our Nigerian youths, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Being patriotic towards the nation is everyone’s responsibility, for without us, there is no nation and without a nation, we will be lost – strangers in another man’s land. The youth forms a significant part of the nation and being patriotic should be one of the major responsibilities of the people. Today, we enjoy freedom in heritage; this freedom came as a result of the activities that happened during the struggle for freedom and the amount of bloodshed that took place, so that we, as a country, can enjoy relative peace. Instead of becoming the failures of past generations, I think it’s time we accept the fact that we need to shoulder the responsibility of becoming the redeeming generation for many reasons.
One of such reasons is that the youth of today will inherit the nation tomorrow; thus, if the youth do not become involved in making our nation better, they may not receive a nation worth inheriting. Another reason is, the nation built by today’s youth will be the nation they will pass along to their own children, and if today’s youth wish for their children to have a better Nigeria, the youth of today must protect and defend the nation by supporting our country’s greatness and working to make it even better.
A journey of a thousand miles, they say, begins with a first step. So, as leaders of tomorrow, how prepared are you to break barriers and enter new frontiers? Preparation will be a first step in the long journey that is leadership.
