The Leadership Calling

“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth….Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through the idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10: 5-7 & 16-18. KJV.

That is the story of Nigeria! The New International Version Bible says “…Fools are put in many high positions…Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-for strength and not for drunkenness.” We do not understand that leadership is a calling and have elevated many who lack the nobility to serve and to lead into positions they are scarcely prepared for. For some time now I have reflected on this tragedy of our nation. There are some positions which are fundamental to a nation’s future-its leaders, teachers, doctors and healthcare workers, priests and judges. The more I reflected on these positions and their critical role in a nation’s destiny, the more it was clear to me that all of these positions are positions to which men are called.

The problem in Nigeria is that we have despised virtually all of them and elevated people into them with neither inner desire nor anointing for these offices. So many are promoted into priestly positions as routine postings and appointments; graduates who can’t get other positions become teachers a position they positively hate and visit their grievance and anger on their unfortunate students who embody our future; our medical workers are poorly treated and are always on strike, evidence that when they are not on strike, they do the work with disdain and unhappiness; and corruption has crept or perhaps strolled boldly into the honourable sanctuaries of justice. The price we pay for these evils under the sun of our nation is the state our nation is in today!

Of course the greatest error is in terms of those we have allowed to become leaders over us. Or in fact that might well be the foundational error i.e. perhaps the reason we are building dysfunctional education, administrative, judicial, medical and religious systems is because we have allowed misfits become our leaders. Our leaders have been servants, soldiers, customs officers, police officers, dishonourable men and women, cheats and fraudsters, thieves, street fighters and thugs. Essentially a coalition of all the wrong people lead while honourable people occupy lowly positions. When we see a gentleman who seeks leadership and/or who leads with consideration and humanness, we begin to despise him. Like the woman who prefers the man who ill treats her to one who respects and honours her, we are masochists who assume that only brigands and “chieftains” are good enough for leadership in Nigeria.

Unfortunately leadership is a calling and when servants rule, there is woe in the land, and the nation decays. When God would choose a first king for the Jews, he sent Samuel specifically to Saul and asked him to anoint him king over Israel. When God would replace Saul with David, he sent Samuel this time to the house of Jesse and told him to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In Nigeria, worse than looking at the intimidating features of the chieftains we like as leaders, we look carefully at the size of their wallet and how free they are with its contents. In effect the more corrupt you are, or are perceived to be, the more your appeal in the politics of twenty-first century Nigeria!

As we step into 2011, we need to re-consider the qualifications for leadership in this country. We do not want scoundrels and men that lack integrity as our leaders. Why can’t that principled and honest school teacher be the local government councillor? Why can’t we encourage the kind doctor who established a hospital in the community and oftentimes treats poor people free-of-charge to be the local government chairman? Why can’t that virtuous lady who serves as usher in the church or mosque be a member of the House of Assembly? Why can’t the local Bar or Medical Association Chair or the Company Accountant be a federal legislator? What is wrong with the Dean or Professor in the University becoming a Senator? Why must we assume that these types are not “rough” enough to be leaders? Why can’t an intellectual or university lecturer be a President? Why must the servants ride on horses while noble men walk as servants?