Opinion
Opinion: Interrogating President Muhammadu Buhari’s Oversized Integrity
By Raymond Nkannebe
It has become a pastime of sorts for the APC crowd to inundate anybody who wants to listen, how the so called Integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari is the best thing to have happened to post-colonial Nigeria. They do this with a certain air of arrogance elevating Buhari to something of a Saint without a single foible.
As the 2019 general elections draw near, the craze has reached even new proportions, and the latest scheme (but which is bound to fail), is to make “personal integrity” ( or the lack of it), a defining factor in the forthcoming elections as against the score card of the administration and it’s impact on the welfare of the generality of Nigerians. The target, understandably of this defeatist campaign strategy is candidate Atiku Abubakar, who have forced a disquiet in the camp of the ruling APC on account of his towering popularity which looks certain to guarantee his victory by the 16th of February, 2019 so as to Get Nigeria Working Again. The modus operandi of the strategy is simple: emphasize Buhari’s so called integrity, and contrast same with Atiku’s.
At the official launch of the APC Presidential campaign in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state last Friday, this chorus of integrity was chanted with reckless abandon by the numerous party members who mounted the rostrum reiterating the vaunted integrity of candidate Buhari, and why that is a quality enough to earn him a hard-sought re-election. From the Director General of the Campaign Organization-Rotimi Amaechi to Adams Oshiomole amongst others, the so-called Integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari was adumbrated notwithstanding the fact that many of them sounded like a broken record.
Controversial party chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole in an interview with The Daily Sun Newspapers some three weeks ago put it in black and white thus, “I believe the president will be re-elected on the basis of his personal integrity”. Even the president himself seem to be playing the part. At a religious function in Kano a fortnight ago, he told his audience to elect only candidates with credibility and integrity in 2019. Making a veiled reference to his overrated integrity.
When the spokesman of the Buhari Campaign Organization, Mr. Festus Keyamo played host to a political programme on Channels TV the other day, he was also seen singing this swan song. Ditto Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina and the numerous other image makers of this president. With the manner in which they go about it, it gives away the impression of a well rehearsed plot behind the scene namely, to present president Muhammadu Buhari to Nigerians once again, as the only chief priest before whom divination to the ifa Oracle is possible, as they did in the run up to the 2015 polls.
The reason for this however is not hard to seek. There is nothing the government of the day has to show for its stewardship three and a half years after it promised Nigerians a Change that has proven to be a mirage. Whereas it campaigned at the time on the three pillars of Fighting Corruption, Improving the Economy and Enhancing our National Security, a one-off look at these heads of campaign thrust shows that we have only progressed in retrogression under its watch. And the facts out there bear us out that they need no demonstration in this intervention.
Having come to this realisation, the only alternative is to latch on to the time worn “mai gaskiya” narrative, and re-present him as the last of the ‘saints’ without who the survival of Nigeria will be forgotten. Hence why Nigerians are inundated every other day with rhetorics around an overpriced integrity that is not supported by verifiable facts. I shall return to this soon.
Now, it is not that this writer discounts “integrity” as an integral quality of leadership. No serious person should be heard advancing such proposition. Indeed ancient scientist and Greek philosopher, Aristotle underscored the importance of same in leadership when he intsructively observed, “because rulers have power, they’ll be tempted to use it for personal gain. It is important that politicians withstand this temptation, and that requires integrity”. He concluded by delimiting it’s fundamentals thus, “integrity is about having the right ethical values that become visible in a pattern of behaviour”. Our own professor Chunua Achebe (May he rest well), weighed in on the matter in latter years, and defined the truest test of integrity as the blunt refusal to compromise, writing on the subject in his pamphletter, The Trouble with Nigeria.
A common denominator to be seen in the quality of integrity as laid down by the two great men, is that it is not a feat attained by undue repetition informed by prejudice of political party megaphones. On the contrary it is a serious character-trait whose visibility must flesh out from a consistent pattern of behaviour to paraphrase Aristotle. A deeper insight into the matter would also reveal that it is not synonyms with ascetism, or the ability to hold extreme religious views. Quite to the contrary it is the quality of being honest and having strong moral values.
But how has president Muhammadu Buhari fared in his much vaunted claim to being the very paragon of integrity? A closer look at the behavioural pattern of the Daura born septuagenerian since he found himself as a democratically elected president, shows that he is anything but a man of high integrity as the APC crowd tries to force down our throats. There is nothing in the behavioural pattern of this president three and a half years since after he took on the “Babar Riga”, that suggests he has a distaste for suspicious, nay “improper behaviour”. Up until today, even the most ardent APC supporter cannot point to a peculiar and distinctive conduct of this president that supports these outlandish claims to integrity. Unlike as was seen in the leadership choices of say, Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara who typifies integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim to integrity have been more of an exercise in cosmeticism. And the indications are there for all to see.
First of, any keen observer would notice that this president has observed in the breach the sort of lifestyle he promised to lead if elected into power pre-2015. From maintaining the number of jets in the presidential fleet, to traveling abroad to treat headache and sore throat, and what not, president Muhammadu Buhari has proven to be a turn coat, whose word is not his bond. A character trait which should not be seen in a man that lays so much claim to having integrity. But that is not all.
If compromise as pointed out by Achebe is the yardstick for measuring integrity, then president Muhammadu Buhari should not be decorated as a man of integrity by Keyamo and friends. This is because we have seen him condone corrupt behaviour right under his nose, and even received into his party, persons who are flagged for corruption by the anti-graft agency, EFCC. In this connection, the particular case of the former SGF, Babachir Lawal sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. While he was reluctantly shoved aside for the infamous grass cutting scandal, he remains until today un-prosecuted and was even rumoured to have single-handedly nominated his successor. In the wake of the scandal rocking the Kano State governor, who promised to deliver some 2 million votes towards his re-election, President Muhammadu Buhari told a stunned world, that Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was the best thing to have happened to governance. Long before this time, he had absolved late General Sani Abacha of any financial impropriety. Referring to him as a good man. But up until today, continues to purportedly recover the Abacha loots from every corner of the world.
Through and through, he has been a typical party man condoning the rot from within his party and calling out those outside his party. As at today, at least three of his appointees are alleged to have been involved in a certificate forgery scandal. Yet this Mr. “integrity” has not summoned the balls to ask them to take a walk from his government pending when they are able to clear their names with the appropriate authorities. Here, we speak of Mr. Okoi- Obono Obla and the minister of communications, Abdur-raheem Adebayo Shittu. If the former minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun resigned, it is widely believed that it was on her honour and not informed by signals from the presidential quarters.
In the context of financial prudence and management, president Muhammadu Buhari’s “integrity” have also been caught flat footed. Beyond the fact that no one has told Nigerians how much was expended in the campaign that brought PMB to power in 2015, the much talked about recovered Abacha loot, have been enmeshed in secrecy that it is only rational to conclude that they have been re-looted as pointed out by critics. Ditto the recoveries made by the EFCC and other anti graft agencies.
Even inside PMB’s “Oza Room”, we have heard tales from his wife of a certain cabal that runs the show from behind the scene. Buhari’s closest attempt at debunking same was to ask his detractors to point out the cabals. Describing his wife’s remonstrations as “her business”. Such an easy and simplistic obfuscation of the real issue. But we know that it will be fool hardy for anybody to dismiss Aisha’s consistent criticisms with a wave of the hand given the position she occupies in Buhari’s life.
While chewing with that, consider the sudden and alarming rate at which old friends, relatives and acquaintances of this president have risen into stupendous wealth since he came to power! Of course we have the fire eating Buba Galadima to thank for this earth shaking revelations. At a Channels TV program last week, the veteran politician (and an old acquaintance of Buhari), called out the president specifically and put his much vaunted “integrity” in the ‘dock’ before eventually passing a vote of “Zero Integrity” on him on account of how he has corruptly enriched his old friends and associates who are today living in eye popping mansions scattered in and about Daura-GRA.
While it may be contested that these are mere allegations, the fact that the Presidency have not officially reacted to Galadima’s allegations suggests their truism. Nobody knows if Buhari’s handlers are afraid of being sent to the “market square” as Alhaji Buba Galadima threatened at that program.
One could go on and on to chronicle the different behavioural pattern of this president that robs him of any claim to integrity. Upon a further look, one notices that this has been so since in his days as the military head of state. And the particular episode of the 53 notorious suit cases, and General Muhammadu Buhari’s role in same bear us out here. If one might also add, the unresolved case of $2.8 billion allegedly looted while he served as petroleum minister in 1977 further casts a doubt on this vaunted integrity.
If President Muhammadu Buhari has anything, it is a cult following in his North Western political base pre-2015. A followership which it must be mentioned, was not anchored on any proven integrity, but on ideological/religious sentiments.
Assuming, but without conceding however that this president has the wealth of integrity that have been arrogated to him, it is submitted that integrity as a leadership quality is not of itself, determinative of performance. Nations become great not on the dry bones of a leader’s integrity, but their ability to make core decisions and choices that impact the overall well-being of the state. What is more, while it is good for a leader to have personal integrity, there are no guarantees that members of his administration will also be of equal integrity. Hence the need for leadership not to be based on the moral credentials of one man, but through the building and sustenance of strong institutions that will deliver, independent of the driver of the process. In essence therefore, nations do not need SAINTS. They need PERFORMERS to grow and become developed. Adams Oshiomole was therefore in the wrong when he professed that Buhari’s “personal integrity” is enough to earn him another slice of the pie. If indeed Buhari has integrity, it is however not in doubt that he has failed to transform same into any meaningful developmental impact on Nigeria and Nigerians.
Which brings us finally to the forthcoming elections. Assuming Buhari has all the integrity as credited to him, we have seen the limits of what could be achieved with that: the annexation of towns and communities in Borno state by Boko Haram; the overbloated debt profile of the nation running into a staggering 22 Trillion Naira; the high rate of unemployment that has reached an all-time-high of 23%; double digit inflation at the rate of 18.8%; the shut down of our tertiary institutions for upwards of two months due to strike action by academic staff; the threatened shut down of the economy by the organised labour; the mindless killings from Zamfara to Benue, Plateau and elsewhere; a wobbling stock market and an economy headed for the rocks from the analysis of financial experts.
With this score card, no leader should merit a second bite at the cherry. Including President Muhammadu Buhari. His so called integrity is a fraud, a wool over the eyes to further hoodwink Nigerians to repeat the mistake of 2015. This is more so when the facts out there suggests that this over priced “integrity” cannot withstand any serious stricture as Alhaji Buba Galadima demonstrated the other day.
Raymond Nkannebe is a legal practitioner and public affairs commentator based in Lagos. Comments and reactions to raymondnkannebe@gmail.com.
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“True leadership in security is not measured by the strength of weapons or the reach of intelligence, but by the courage to protect the vulnerable, the wisdom to unite the divided, and the integrity to build systems that endure beyond fear — transforming the trials of today into the foundations of a safer, more just tomorrow.” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD
Leadership in security matters is among the most demanding responsibilities any head of state or government can bear. It requires balancing the protection of lives and property with respect for human rights, navigating complex political pressures, managing limited resources, and responding to both visible and invisible threats. In many nations, especially in Africa, the trials of leadership in this domain reveal deep structural, historical, and human challenges. Yet, they also offer profound opportunities for authentic leadership to emerge — leadership that is ethical, strategic, inclusive, and people-centred. This write-up examines these trials through the lenses of Nigeria, broader Africa, and the wider world, before proposing comprehensive, viable, and sustainable solutions that can safeguard lives, properties, businesses, and national stability without compromising democratic values or human dignity.
The Nigerian Experience: Leadership Under Fire
Nigeria presents one of the most complex case studies of leadership trials in security. As Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, it faces multiple, overlapping threats: Boko-Haram insurgency in the Northeast, banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest, farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt, separatist agitations in the Southeast, and urban crime in major cities, which cut across the entirety.
Successive Nigerian leaders have grappled with these challenges under intense public scrutiny. The Buhari administration (2015–2023) prioritised military offensives against Boko-Haram, achieving territorial gains, but struggling with asymmetric warfare, intelligence gaps, and humanitarian consequences. The current Tinubu administration has emphasised a “whole-of-government” approach, combining kinetic operations with socio-economic interventions. However, persistent challenges such as corruption in security procurement, poor coordination between agencies, inadequate funding for intelligence, and the politicisation of security appointments continue to undermine effectiveness.
The trials here are multifaceted: limited political will in some quarters, ethnic and religious dimensions that complicate responses, inadequate technological infrastructure for modern policing, and the sheer scale of the country’s geography and population. Leadership in Nigeria’s security space has often been reactive rather than proactive, with short-term military solutions sometimes overshadowing long-term governance and development strategies.
Broader African Context: Patterns and Variations
Across Africa, leadership trials in security share common threads but manifest differently. In the Sahel region (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger), military coups have complicated counter-terrorism efforts, with new juntas struggling to balance sovereignty concerns with the need for international support. In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia’s leadership faced the devastating Tigray conflict, highlighting how internal political disputes can rapidly escalate into humanitarian catastrophes.
The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to battle armed groups in the East, where weak state presence, illegal mineral exploitation, and regional interference create a vicious cycle. South Sudan and Somalia illustrate the immense difficulty of building security institutions from near-zero capacity after prolonged conflict.
What unites these cases is the tension between sovereignty and effectiveness, limited state capacity, and the challenge of addressing both immediate security threats and underlying drivers such as poverty, youth unemployment, and governance deficits. Leadership that succeeds tends to combine military resolve with political inclusion and development-focused interventions. Failures often stem from over-reliance on force, exclusionary politics, or inability to coordinate national and regional responses.
Global Perspectives: Universal Lessons
Globally, leadership trials in security are equally evident. The United States has faced challenges in balancing domestic security with civil liberties, particularly in the post-9/11 era. Colombia’s long struggle against FARC and drug cartels showed how sustained leadership, institutional reform, and international partnerships can eventually yield results. Sri Lanka’s post-civil war experience highlights both the possibilities of reconciliation and the dangers of majoritarian policies that alienate minorities.
These global cases reinforce a key lesson: authentic security leadership is never purely military. It requires integrating intelligence, law enforcement, justice, development, and diplomacy. Leaders who ignore any of these elements often achieve temporary calm at the cost of long-term instability.
The Hallmarks of Authentic Leadership in Security
Authentic leadership in security matters is defined by several non-negotiable traits:
- Strategic Foresight: Anticipating threats through robust intelligence and early warning systems.
- Ethical Balance: Protecting citizens without violating their rights.
- Inclusive Approach: Ensuring security policies do not disproportionately target specific ethnic or religious groups.
- Institutional Building: Investing in professional, well-equipped, and accountable security agencies.
- Transparency and Accountability: Regular public reporting and independent oversight.
- Regional and International Cooperation: Recognising that no nation can secure itself in isolation.
Comprehensive Solutions and the Way Forward
To overcome these trials, the following integrated solutions are recommended:
For Nigeria: Building a Cohesive National Security Architecture
- Creation of a National Security and Development Council: This high-level body should bring together security agencies, economic ministries, state governors, traditional rulers, and civil society to align security strategies with socio-economic interventions. Regular town hall meetings should be institutionalised to incorporate grassroots perspectives.
- Community-Oriented Policing and Intelligence Reform: Strengthen community policing by recruiting and training local officers who understand cultural dynamics. Establish neighbourhood watch systems with legal backing and technology support (CCTV, drones, and data analytics) to improve early warning and response.
- Youth Empowerment and Deradicalisation Programmes: Launch a National Youth Security and Prosperity Initiative targeting at-risk youths with vocational training, entrepreneurship grants, mentorship, and psychological support. Partner with faith-based organisations and traditional leaders for culturally sensitive deradicalisation efforts.
- Security Sector Reform and Professionalisation: Increase funding for training, welfare, and modern equipment while introducing performance-based promotions and independent oversight boards to reduce corruption and improve accountability.
- Judicial and Legislative Strengthening: Fast-track security-related cases through specialised courts and ensure adequate funding for the justice system to reduce impunity.
For Africa: Continental and Regional Solutions
- Strengthening the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA): The African Union should fully operationalise the African Standby Force with dedicated funding and rapid deployment protocols. Regular joint exercises with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) will improve interoperability.
- Establishment of an African Security Academy: A continental institution to train a new generation of ethical, professional security leaders in modern intelligence, counter-terrorism, cyber security, and human rights-compliant operations.
- Harmonised Migration and Border Management Framework: Develop clear, humane policies that facilitate legal labour mobility while strengthening border controls against criminal networks. Joint border posts and shared intelligence platforms between ECOWAS, SADC, and IGAD would reduce irregular migration pressures.
- Economic Integration as Security Strategy: Accelerate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation with special focus on youth employment, women’s economic empowerment, and cross-border value chains. Shared prosperity reduces the desperation that fuels conflict and migration.
Global and Systemic Solutions
- Responsible International Partnerships: Global partners should shift from short-term military aid to long-term capacity building in governance, justice, and economic development. Support should be conditioned on transparency and human rights compliance.
- Diaspora Engagement Frameworks: African governments should create structured programmes to harness the skills, capital, and networks of the diaspora for national development and peacebuilding.
- Global Norms on Arms Control and Conflict Financing: Strengthen international cooperation to curb the flow of small arms and illegal minerals that fuel African conflicts.
Building a United Africa Mindset: Cultural and Educational Transformation
Sustainable security requires changing how citizens think. A genuine United Africa mindset can be cultivated through:
- Pan-African Education Curriculum: Teach shared African history, Ubuntu philosophy, and success stories of regional cooperation from primary school onwards.
- Youth and Cultural Exchange Programmes: Expand scholarships, sports tournaments, arts festivals, and technology bootcamps that connect young Africans across borders.
- Media and Storytelling Initiatives: Support content creators who highlight positive intra-African collaboration and shared identity.
- Citizen Diplomacy Platforms: Encourage town twinning, joint community development projects, and people-to-people initiatives between different African nations.
Conclusion: Leadership as the Bridge to Enduring Security
The trials of leadership in security matters reveal both the fragility and resilience of states. In Nigeria, Africa, and the wider world, the challenges are immense, but they are not insurmountable. Authentic leadership — courageous, ethical, inclusive, strategic, and people-centred — remains the most reliable bridge between threat and safety, between division and unity, between fragility and resilience.
The way forward demands a fundamental shift: from reactive security to proactive peace-building, from militarised responses to holistic development, and from narrow national interests to enlightened regional solidarity. When leaders embrace this higher calling, they do not merely manage crises — they transform societies.
Africa, and indeed the world, does not need perfect leaders. It needs honest, committed, and visionary ones who understand that the ultimate measure of security leadership is not the number of weapons acquired, but the number of lives protected, dignities restored, and futures secured. The time for such leadership is now.
Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a globally recognized scholar-practitioner and thought leader at the nexus of security, governance, and strategic leadership. His mission is dedicated to advancing ethical governance, strategic human capital development, resilient nation building, and global peace. He can be reached via: tolulopeadegoke01@gmail.com, globalstageimpacts@gmail.com
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
A race, in a literary sense, is a contest between two or more persons competing for a prize. A race can be a sprint, relay, marathon, middle-distance, long-distance, and hurdles. When it comes to running a race, every single step is important because a wrong move can affect the entire outcome. Can you imagine where an athlete has a faulty start or enters the lane of another athlete. That athlete will be disqualified. Can you also imagine a case where an athlete misses the baton; it will definitely affect their chances of winning the race.
Beyond the race on the tracks, there’s also a larger race on the field of life. This race is not interested in whether one is an athlete or not. It is open to everyone living. Consequently, everyone must run his race with his mates and contemporaries, and here’s why.
In the journey of life, everyone is entitled to running their individual races. Nobody will run another’s race for them; the best anyone can do for another is assist in providing an enabling environment for the race. For instance, our parents, mentors, siblings, relatives, benefactors, churches, government, among others have all contributed in one way or another to shape our journey. They did it so that we won’t be found wanting when we step out to the tracks to compete with mates.
Let’s face it, our parents, siblings, relatives may have supported us with resources in training us in schools. Our mentors, benefactors, government, churches, etc. may have provided an enabling environment and by putting the necessary structures for us excel. The government can formulate policies that will enable progressive minds to thrive. All these acts are structured to give us an edge in life.
One may be wondering why this illustration important; well, the simple reason is because we must run our race at the right time, otherwise, we’ll be left behind. My beloved mother Lolo Agnes Ukazu, will always say, when your mates are running, run with them. That statement might sound ordinary, but it is very deep. One may be wondering what it means, well, it simply means, it’s always good to do the right thing at the right time. For instance, there’s a right time for one to go to school, get married, have kids, invest and give it back to society. When one misses a stage, it might be hard to get back on track. So, when one’s mate is going to school, please, if you have the time and resources, join them and go to school, marry, have children, invest, etc. because at the end of the day, everything will align together if done properly.
My late mother will always say, when one is born, the person won’t enter his/her mother’s womb again. The next task for the person is to run their race by fighting their war, and this entails running their race by taking ownership of their life. When your mates leave you behind, it might be difficult to catch up with them. May God help you if they have gone far.
It’s sad to see uniformed minds who always think their messiah or destiny helper will come from heaven. They fail to understand that “Power is never served a la carte“. One will have to struggle to earn it. That’s simply how life works. Anything anyone desires, one will have to roll their sleeves and do the needful. If the universe is kind to you, it will send you destiny helpers, associates, benefactors, mentees, and resourceful people who can assist in birthing your vision.
The universe can also make the government formulate a policy for you. I have since come to the sublime submission that in life, we are the architect of our lives. According to my late dad, Chief Lazarus Ukazu, “any name anyone wants to answer, that person must work hard to earn the name. Again, this is running your race.
Overtime, I have discovered, when you begin a race, people from north and south will align together to assist you in birthing the vision all things being equal. Most of the work I have been celebrated didn’t come because I was smart, even though smartness may have contributed, but the true success was a result of my accomplishment. For instance, as an author, I use my books to create curriculum for my target audience, meet resource people and organization. I didn’t wait for my mentors or anyone to put me in the spotlight. Rather, they saw my work and appreciated the value and problems I was solving, and they extended a hand of fellowship to partner with me.
I didn’t fold my hands and wait for manna from above. No, I rolled my sleeves. I didn’t feel entitled to any favor, I didn’t complain, rather I fixed the problem, and as they say, the rest is history.
To run your race with your mates, timing is critical. You don’t want to have children at old age when you are supposed to be resting. Imagine being in a Parents Teachers Association meeting with children who are supposed to be your kids. Again, when your mates are busy grinding by adding value to their life, please endeavor to do the same because when they get to the top, they’ll find resourceful people who have added to their life. So, imagine a case where one has developed themselves and they still fail, they still stand a better position to attract opportunities because of the bold actions and steps they have taken.
From personal experience, I have seen people who just relax with hope that if a friend succeeds and gets to the top or makes money, they will be remembered, but these uninformed minds don’t know that life doesn’t work that way. As an accomplished author and human capacity development expert, most of the heights I have attained were simple because I collaborated with resourceful minds working the same space or I had people who believed and saw value in my work.
I don’t know what your storyline is, I just want you to know that if you don’t run your race, other people will run it for you. My prayer for you is that you may not be a spectator in a race you are supposed to own.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It’s impossible for any mortal person to claim that he has not at one time or another felt envious. In other words, everyone somehow has wished they have something other people; friends, partners, siblings, colleagues or even family members, have. It is worthy of note that the Creator of heaven and earth designed the universe in such a way that everyone needs to depend on one another for survival. Nobody has it all.
While one person may be gifted in singing, another might be gifted in praying, healing, speaking or writing. Yet another might be gifted in playing soccer, while another might be gifted in sprinting, tennis, swimming, and more.
As a Human Capacity Development expert, I have come to realize that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. The mistake most people make is to chase what is not chasing them instead of focusing on developing themselves.
When you develop yourself, it will be easy for other people to appreciate and support you, but when you focus your energy on being jealous of what other people have, you deprive yourself of attracting blessings and opportunities to your life. As a Life coach, I always tell my tribe, major on your major and work on your weakness.
Envy is not only when one is jealous of what someone has, it also means greed when one is not satisfied with what one has. Isn’t it true that greed makes a rich man poor and contentment makes a rich man poor. It is important to note that you can’t attract what you hate. If you see anyone thriving, please if you can’t support them, please leave them the way you are instead of pulling them down.
One of the best ways to succeed in life is to know oneself. According to Socrates, “man know thyself”. When you understand who you are, you will understand what’s unique about you, and you won’t be concerned about the activities of others. The benefit of self-discovery is priceless. Self-discovery will help you to make the right choice, it will assist you to unleash your potential, and it will ultimately help you to be intentional with your life.
One of the reasons why envy is paramount is that we don’t practice gratitude and appreciation. Most often, we look towards what we lack instead of looking at what we have. There’s an adage that says, it is because the philosopher was too busy to get to the promised land that he forgot there’s a ditch in front of him and he fell inside. That’s the philosophy of envy.
It’s instructive to note that envy is not only deadly, but also “cancerous” because when it envelops someone, it blinds the person not to see the good in others. Envy, if not properly managed, can cause more than damage.
There was a story about two friends- John and Paul. John woke up one morning to a gleaming new model Toyota Camry in Paul’s garage. He went green with envy, and by the next day, he had the same brand of car in his own garage to prove a point. Unknown to John, he didn’t know that Paul’s car was a gift from his wealthy father-in-law. John on the other hand had to exhaust all his savings to buy his own car just to prove whatever point he had in mind.
At the end of the day, Paul was smiling well and living his best life, but John was experiencing financial challenges that threatened his marriage because of his pride and greed to prove a point. The moral of this message is to desist from competing with people, rather compete with oneself by being better than you were yesterday.
One good reason why envy and covetousness are such terrible afflictions is because what is right for others may not be right for you. If your motivation is to have what others have, your decisions will be targeted at the wrong or goal. Your goal must be self-geared and not to keep up with the neighbors.
It’s instructive to note that we are not on earth to impress anyone, except God. Yes, it’s good to impress our boss at work, our friends, family members, mentors, and benefactors, etc., it should be done with moderation. What is important is for one to know the intention behind whatever they are doing. This is because when you try to please man, you’ll fail, but when we try to do the right thing, everything will fall in place. According to Bill Cosby, I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. Moral: Just do you and everyone will be fine because at the end of the day, those that care, don’t matter and those that matter don’t care.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, please avoid envy, run from it and be satisfied with what you have.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
