Mr. President’s new sermon on Change

Leadership essentially entails persons in positions of authority leading the way for others to follow. It entails leaders leading by example, showing the light and pointing the way and walking in it, thus making it easier for the masses to follow suit.

In other words, leadership entails persons in positions of authority walking their talk, being the examples that they want to see in their subjects.

However, this age-long and globally accepted distinctive feature of leadership came close to being twisted courtesy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement, and this is unfortunate.

The President during the launch of National Re-Orientation campaign tagged, “Change Begins with Me” at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, recently, admonished Nigerians to first ask how far they have changed their ways before asking about the change the present All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration promised them.

Nigerians, he added, must ask about what they have done to be part of the change for the greater good of society, before asking question about the promised change.

While appealing to all Nigerians to be part of the campaign, Buhari harped on the need for the citizens to realise that the change they want to see begins with them.

Hear him: “If you have not seen the change in you, you cannot see it in others or even the larger society.

“In other words, before you ask ‘where is the change they promised us’, you must first ask how far have I changed my ways, what have I done to be part of the change for the greater good of society?

The President stated that while the government will drive the ‘Change Begins with Me’ campaign, it must be strongly supported by all concerned individually.

In this regard, Buhari pointedly declared that the private sector is a major stakeholder. He assured that when the campaign succeeds, it will impact heavily on the private sector.

According to him, “A punctual, diligent and hardworking staff can only be of benefit of not just himself or herself or the organisation they work for but to various governments whether at local, state or Federal level”.

The President added that it is safe to say today that honesty, hard work, Godliness have given way to all kinds of manifestations of lawlessness and degeneration in our national life.

“This is why we have among our cardinal objectives ‘change’ which implies the need for a change of attitude and mindset in our everyday life.

“I need not mention the serious effort we have engaged in since the inception of this administration on the fight against corruption in our public life.

“With the progress we have so far made in that regard, we feel the need to ensure that we put in place the necessary sustainable framework for action and measures that will help to entrench and consolidate the progress achieved so far.

“This we believe can best be maintained through attitudinal change, and the change of our mindset in private and public life”, he said.

Buhari pointed out that the campaign that was launched on Thursday was all about the need to see change not merely in terms of the nation’s economic and social progress, but in terms of “our personal behaviour on how we conduct ourselves, engage our neigbhours, friends and generally how we relate with the larger society in a positive and definitive way and manner that promotes our common good and common destiny, change at home, change in the work place, change at traffic junction, change at traffic lights, etc”.

While the need for attitutudinal change among Nigerians as canvassed by President Buhari during the launch of the ‘Change Begins with Me’ campaign, cannot be over-emphasised, many disagree with his assertion that Nigerians must first ask how far they have changed their ways before asking about the change the APC administration promised them.

In the first place, it was the APC and Buhari that promised Nigerians change. When the party and Buhari were criss-crossing the country during the electioneering campaigns in 2015, making all manners of promises, they were not under duress. They made the promises without coercion and Nigerians believed and voted them into office. The onus, therefore, is on the APC and President Buhari to deliver on the promises they made to Nigerians.

It is important that President Buhari and the APC realise that they must lead by example if Nigerians are to follow suit. To demand that Nigerians first ask how far they have changed their ways before asking about the change the present APC-led administration promised them, is clear shirking of responsibility. The APC-led administration must realise that it is only when it delivers on the change it promised Nigerians that it can in clear conscience demand same from Nigerians.

Let’s be clear on this: Any leadership that fails to lead the way, show the example, has no moral authority to demand that subjects do same. Again, any leadership that fails to deliver on its promises should not expect subjects to hold it in high esteem. Any obedience extracted from subjects under such leadersip is out of fear and will never last. When leaders lead by example, followers can’t but toe their path.

(samnzeh2015@gmail.com; 08050220692 SMS only)