Imo needs a leader not a politician

No one could have put it better than the best Nobel Laureate we never had, the late Prof. Chinua Achebe, when he said the trouble with Nigeria is squarely that of the failure of leadership. One can easily extrapolate on the wise saying that the problem of Imo State is that of the failure of leadership. And I say this with all sense of responsibility, as a citizen of Imo State following with great interest, the game of politics, as is currently being played in Owerri ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial elections. It is my considered opinion, all things considered, that what Imo state needs at this point, to avoid further slide in its fortune and uncertainty in its future, is a leader and NOT a politician. There is no better time than now, with the on-going party primaries, to forewarn the people of Imo State of the severe consequences of making “another” mistake in 2019.

There are clear and manifest differences between politicians and leaders and I shall hasten to enunciate them here to forewarn the people of Imo State of what grave consequences they risk, if they succumb to the manipulations of politicians. Of the hundreds, who are jostling to occupy Douglas House, quite a few are politicians, professional politicians, who have no business in leadership. Obviously, they are driven by the very same base and banal intentions, which are steeped in opulence and the grandeur of office-and of course, the unlimited and mindless access to state funds. Not many of them can wave a solid track record of past accomplishments in either private or public service to warrant their quest to take control of and manage the resources of an impoverished state like Imo State.

Leaders base their thoughts and actions on a broad vision. They visualize the future and, therefore, take decisions and actions that will ultimately result in the picture they see in their mind, usually big and great. In actual fact, they paint realistic images of their vision by developing a strategic agenda that focuses on few but critical areas that will bring the most and best results for the people. The South-Eastern parts of Nigeria do not look good at all in many respects. We need a leader who will galvanize the entire Igboland into affirmative action to rebuild and recover what now seems a wasteland. Someone with strong ability to organize the other leaders to move the South-East forward economically, first, and then politically, is what we need in Imo.

So, leaders are result-oriented and goal-driven. They can see the future, paint the picture of success based on the goals they have set and the decisions and actions they will take. They are not high on rhetoric, like politicians, who think, talk and make promises like cocks on heat! They are NOT promiscuous, literally and metaphorically, meaning they are not likely to jump from one party to the other or make empty promises just to get ahead or even get by. The goals they set are based on an objective assessment of reality and the needs of the people.

Leaders cannot be thriftless. They are not wasteful or showy. You may consider them thrifty or stingy but that is how wealth, genuine wealth, is created. Leaders, therefore, must be people who have prudently managed their own personal resources so as to lay claim to any ability to manage public funds. Watch out for the politician who spends cash like confetti for he will first recover what he’s invested or repay those who invested in him. Leaders, conversely, minimize their wayward tendencies and avoid cronyism, which encourages and promotes wasteful spending of state resources.

Leadership is service. Hence, those who seek to lead must be people who can serve and are capable of serving. While one doesn’t need to be rich in the hedonistic sense of the word to become a leader, one needs reasonable comfort. This comes from a certain level of self-awareness that governs man’s inclination to materialistic acquisitions. There are people who are perceived very rich just by their comportment, their experience, track record and network and not necessarily their net worth. Imo state, at this point in time, needs a leader whose comportment, body language, is that of modesty, integrity and calm approach to life.

The world is global village and this fact has been accentuated by the advancements in Information Communication and Technology (ICT). It is, therefore, easy to compare what is happening in a state in the US, say Texas, to what is happening in Imo State. So, we need a leader or leaders with “glocal” knowledge and appeal who thoroughly understands the local environment as well as the workings of modern leadership and management as practiced elsewhere. Thanks to mobile telecommunications, we now see almost instantaneously what is happening around the world; how leadership is being used as a blessing to some or a curse to others. Imo State has been no different-and we must be mindful of how the world perceives us.

Leaders are not clannish. Leaders seek the best people to work with them in the pursuit and achievement of their goals. Politicians, especially our types, have demonstrated crass nepotism in choosing whom to work with at the detriment of the job at hand. For instance, some people we all know blatantly appoint their immediate family members and kinsmen to key positions without any qualms about the feelings of the people! Now, don’t get me wrong; no one is saying a leader cannot appoint a competent family member into a key position but making it seem his or her family or hometown is made of geniuses who have all it takes to change the world is, to put it mildly, irresponsible and even ludicrous. Leaders will normally seek out people of diverse orientation and background with proven track-record of accomplishments backed with knowledge and experience in building a high-performing team.

Talking about performance, leaders set targets and apply consequences when those targets and accompanying rules are flouted. With their experience, leaders are able to design job descriptions, agree deliverables and timelines because government business is like every other business. Time is of the essence and the people have expectations. The campaign promises are, therefore, broken down into projects and tasks with time targets and handed over to competent people to manage and report success. This is one area politicians are deficient-and don’t blame them because they do not understand. I was once heartbroken by the story of a crucial government intervention scheme which was established with no clear definition of structure, processes and goals yet people were appointed to key positions ostensibly to settle them for past or future favours!

There is a critical attribute of a good leader, which we must not ignore while choosing whom to hand over the governorship of Imo State to in 2019 and that is the ability to listen. Good leaders listen. They not only listen to their team, they listen to the people including their opponents. As experienced leaders, they understand that thesis and antithesis will often result in synthesis. So, they value feedback and actively seek it in all situations without detriment to their focus on stated objectives. Politicians purport a messianic capability which often is NOT true hence they are high on their own supply and pay heed to no one often with deleterious consequences on governance and government business.

A good leader should attract positive attention in terms of investments. Imo state is generally unexplored. There are immense potentials with unbelievable deposits of Human Resources. A good leader will make the state investment-friendly with good policies and working public infrastructure. While a politician will queue up in Abuja for the monthly allocations, a leader will implement a strategic economic policy which will open up avenues for revenue generation and Direct Investments. Imagine what will happen when Imo citizens embrace a think-home philosophy motivated by a leadership that is focused, open-minded and friendly. Fact is that the teeming population of unemployed youths is a ticking time-bomb which nearly exploded with the latest failed attempt at Biafra.

I can go on and on to enunciate the attributes of a good leader, but one very important one in that Imo State needs a God-fearing leader. I am not talking about someone with fervent pretentious to Godliness but someone who is demonstrably mindful of the commandments of God. A leader, indeed any person, who has no fear for God is not only a danger to himself but is more significantly a risk to the people he leads. He can do whatever he likes and damn the consequences. Imo people must look above and beyond appearances. Showing up at religious events or quoting Bible verses or hobnobbing with religious leaders could actually be a smokescreen, as we have generally come to find with our politicians.

Finally, let me dwell a moment on the principle of consequence management, which has been one of the greatest drawbacks or pitfalls, if you may, of many a leader or leadership, as the case may be. A good leader is one who never shirks his responsibility in holding people to account. A good leader admonishes poor conduct and punishes bad behavior. As we say, when bad behavior is allowed to go on for long, it becomes custom and tradition. A good leader will spot bad people in his government and ensure they bear the consequences of their actions. Reward and punishment is the manifestation of consequence management both in government and elsewhere.

Over the years, we have seen badly behaved people rewarded with higher positions rather than being punished. People who have betrayed the public trust have been given a slap on the wrist, at best, while the people bear the brunt of their bad choices, poor decisions and negative actions. Today, we have a FG that is scared or shy or both of punishing people who are not delivering on their mandates. Imo doesn’t need such a leader. An experienced leader who has run an organization successfully with demonstrable results will act differently knowing the consequences of retaining bad performers.

I have looked around the field and I see many politicians jostling for share of shelf-space and share of voice. Many are professional politicians. Some are political harlots, in the sense that they have traversed the entire field-from one party to the other seeking opportunities. Some of them are clearly in for the money, meaning they are vying for the control of the purse-strings of Imo state. Some are jokers, just wasting everybody’s time and theirs too. Of course, I have also seen many technocrats, serious-minded accomplished leaders some of who have had little or no political experience in the race for Douglas House. It is from among this last group, I am hoping the man or woman to lead Imo in 2019 will emerge. We need someone who would be frank with us. Otherwise, Imo people are in for more trouble. I suppose this applies to every state in Nigeria.

Oparah, a Public Affairs commentator, writes from Lagos.