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Opinion: The Trials of Leadership
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Value your fellow man greatly, they are the major ‘tools’ and strong forces that can stand by your side anytime any day to relieve you of the stresses and denounce the foxes, as they shall be the ones to continue your leadership processes and proceeding in the future for the benefits of all as a result of your tremendous impacts on them today. The assignment of leaders is not to raise mere followers, but leaders beyond the eye-sights, through consistent, effective and reflective lifestyle of living ‘what’ you preach; also, never forget to help them with Emotional Intelligence (EI) which is the key factor for leadership inputs and outputs so that they would understand and appreciate the essence of their trials and for the certainties of their triumphs as they follow suit without fail.” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
Character is developed by ‘trials’. Testing is the development of ETHICS. Character is built or developed through pressure, temptation (trials) and resolve. The credibility of leadership is character. The force of leadership is character. The trust of leadership is character. The legitimacy of leadership is character. The integrity of leadership is character. The reason why people still celebrate Nelson Mandela, Koffi Annan among others is because he was tested and trusted. The reason why Nelson Mandela had so much credibility all over the world is because, while he was alive he went through a test of 25years in prison, because of a conviction he had, he was just like a ‘statue’ with this notion:
I cannot bend; I am going to jail just like this;
I believe in what I see, I believe in a dream,
I believe in my convictions, because they are right,
I will not compromise; I will not change!
Nelson Mandela stayed faithful, he went through the test and trials, and people trusted him. In prison, he was the same, he was severely tortured, he was the same, when he had to cut the rocks with chisel, he was the same, and when he came out of prison he was still the same, and was eventually made the President of South Africa just because he was the same. People could trust him.
Even the late Dr. Myles Monroe once said: ‘People often look at me as if I was born the way I look, but I have been through a lot of things, pressures, scars on my back, tribulations, criticisms, attacks, but I decided, I believe what I believe! I stay steady! The world reads my books, I have been invited to over a hundred and fifty-two nations across the world and they wondered: who is this young man, but I have developed my character through tough times.’
Anybody could begin something, a few people finish! How many things have you begun? how many things have you started managing? how many of it have you finished? Where is your character? Are you steady under pressure? Can you be faithful under being disappointed? Can you still believe when no one is with you? When you have character, you are ready to go alone! Everybody is evil, not me! Everybody is corrupt, not me! Everybody is failing, not me!
You have to work by yourself to develop character! Your innate gifts are at the mercy of your character! Your character is more important than your gifts, because without character, you can lose your gifts. That is why God gave Man CHARACTER (His IMAGE) before He gave him DOMINION (Control):
Genesis 1:27-28 (KJV)
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, andsubdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Most people lose their provisions because they lost their character! That is why it is important for you to protect yourself by your character (IMAGE), and that is why character (IMAGE) is God’s utmost priority!
Character is necessary for DOMINION (Control); it guarantees a tamed- freedom. Most people lose their provisions because they lost their character! That is why it is important for you to protect yourself by your character (IMAGE), and that is why character (IMAGE) is God’s utmost priority! Character is necessary for DOMINION (Control); it guarantees a tamed- freedom.
Character breeds decent followers; it builds them into enviable leaders that can ‘MANage’ the natural resources as given them by God, and then, put them into appropriate and decent usage for the good of all mankind. Leadership is simply service to humanity, it is not selfishness, not greed, not abusive…Only character determines and promotes service. Service is followership, help; it is the authentic exhibition of our innate being. Character builds a nation; it builds kingdoms, Empires, family and the world at large. Character tames freedom so as not to abuse absolute power; it promotes sustainable peace and global development that guarantees the handing over of a better world to the coming generation. It is a baton that must be passed on and on forever.
Life is a mysterious gift given to man by God Almighty embedded with so many hidden treasures… its usage is up to man, but only the deeds of men pollute it!
Character therefore should not be mistaken for REPUTATION. Reputation has become much more important in the world today, than character and that is a tragedy because positions or statuses has become more important than disposition. As a matter of fact, we need leaders with character, not leaders with personality! Some people have well-packaged personality but lack character, yet they are the most celebrated in our world today. Many people are well branded as dignified figures vying for leadership positions, unfortunately, ignorant people rush up to them, vote them in, then the economy and political structure of their countries crashes! Instead of voting the man with CHARACTER (i.e the right IMAGE), which compliments leadership to the position of reliable leadership.
Nigeria and other developing nations must at first confront their domestic problems by consolidating their democracy. Democracy is not just the question of holding periodic elections, Important as this is, it means developing a democratic culture underpinned by the rule of law. We must build an egalitarian society with careers opened to talents. It should be possible for any (Nigerian) talent(s) to rise to any position that these talents entitle him or her. We must face the question of the economy squarely. Sixty (60) years after independence, we still operate a dependent economy based on the export of raw materials and industries of import substitution.
We must reverse the process by building industries, particularly agro-based industries in which we have a comparative advantage. Nigeria (my Country) can support huge textile and garment industries based on local production of cotton. This is also an industry which the current regime of the World Trade Organization favours for developing countries. The so-called Tiger economies of South East Asia, China and India virtually dominate the textile and garments industry of the world. We ought to be able to compete with Israel and the United States in providing the world with properly packaged tropical fruits. We should cut our tastes for unnecessary luxury goods and use what we can produce. We need to open our market to investments from the outside world. One hopes present policies in this regards would be determinedly pursued.
The economy is a major factor in earning respect in the international system and we must do everything to develop our economy. There is no strategy for economic development better than those that have been tried and that have worked in the Western liberal democracies. Any attempt to graft economic development on an authoritarian regime will fail. Character is a key factor! We need to take a look at the examples of Botswana (a few years ago) and Rwanda when and where honest and liberal government and proper management of national resources and patrimony have led to development. Character sees people as greatest ASSETS and not properties.
Therefore, it is wise to value your fellow man greatly, they are the major ‘tools’ and strong forces that can stand by your side anytime any day to relieve you of the stresses and denounce the foxes, as they shall be the ones to continue your leadership processes and proceedings in the future for the benefits of all as a result of your tremendous impacts on them. The assignment of leaders is not to raise mere followers, but leaders through greater and effective lifestyle of living ‘what’ you preach, and never forget to help them with emotional intelligence which is the key factor for leadership inputs and outputs so that they would understand and appreciate the essence of their trials and for the certainties of their triumphs as they follow suit without fail.
Thank you all for reading.
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (Awakening The Giant Within You!) byTolulope A. Adegoke. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin.
The West African Examinations Council has revoked the licences of 574 secondary schools in Nigeria.
WAEC announced that the affected schools were found to have committed examination malpractices.
The examination body also stated that the schools will not be allowed to conduct examinations even as the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, commences from Thursday, April 24, 2025.
This was disclosed by the Head of WAEC’s National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, during a press briefing on Thursday at the headquarters of the examination body in Lagos.
Dangut said WAEC had forwarded the list of the affected schools to the Nigerian government.
“This year, we have shared with them a total of 574 schools that have had their recognition withdrawn, and that is also going to be the same for all examining bodies.
“So, these are those that have got their license revoked as far as the examination centre is concerned. So we will not conduct examinations there. We don’t know them as far as conducting examinations,” Dangut said.
For the forthcoming 2025 WASSCE, Dangut stated that 1,973,253 candidates registered for the examination from 23,554 schools.
He added that 979,228 males and 994,025 females would take part in the examination.
The Punch
Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi, has cautioned against calls for self-defence from mauruding bandits and killer herders, warning that such a move could plunge the country into anarchy.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Governor Namadi responded to recent comments by retired General Theophilus Danjuma, who urged Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits and armed attackers, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.
General Danjuma, a former Minister of Defence, had argued that reliance on the government for protection was no longer tenable given the spate of violence and killings in the country.
“It is now very clear that the government alone cannot protect us. We must stand up and defend ourselves, our families, and our lands before these criminals overrun the entire country,” Danjuma said during a public event in Takum, Taraba State, on Saturday.
But Governor Namadi rejected that approach, describing it as a dangerous path.
“He (T.Y. Danjuma) is a very senior security person, and his words deserve respect and analysis,” Namadi said. “But I think if you say citizens should be allowed to defend themselves, you’re causing anarchy. I don’t think we’ve reached that level yet.”
He argued that rather than encourage armed self-defence, the government at all levels must continue to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
“The government is doing its best in terms of security arrangements. If you allow the people to defend themselves, that means you are encouraging a crisis between farmers and herders,” the governor warned.
Namadi cited his administration’s approach to resolving the long-standing farmer-herder clashes in Jigawa State as a better alternative. According to him, when he assumed office, he prioritised non-violent conflict resolution strategies.
“When we came in, we decided to employ a lot of strategies and tactics, including dialogue,” he said. “We engaged traditional rulers, as well as representatives of both farmers and herders. We sat down, reached a consensus, and established standing committees to reconcile all parties.”
He added that these efforts helped halt a decades-long conflict:
“The people now understand that the 25 years spent fighting and killing each other were not worth it. Today, they are able to work, interact, and live together in peace.”
Governor Namadi further noted that Jigawa is currently not among the states facing severe threats such as insurgency or mass killings by bandits. Instead, the primary challenge had been farmer-herder clashes, which his administration has successfully curtailed.
“We thank God that Jigawa State is not affected by insurgency or insecurity for no. The major issue we are dealing with is the herders-farmers clash, and we are addressing it decisively,” he said.
Despite the worsening security in other parts of the country, Governor Namadi insisted that self-defence is not a viable solution and could deepen the crisis:
“So, I think the government is doing its best, both at the federal and state levels. The issue of asking people to defend themselves — I think we have not reached that level yet.
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the North will, in the next six months, take a stand on who to support for the presidency in 2027.
He boasted that no politician can win the presidency in 2027 without the support of the region.
In a video interview he granted in Hausa language, Baba-Ahmed, who appeared alongside a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation and urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections.
He said: “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
According to the former presidential aide, the North has suffered greatly during the Boko Haram insurgency, which affected all groups, Muslims, Christians, Fulani, Baju, and others, highlighting the need for unity.
“Before Buhari became president, Boko Haram was bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. That was a time Northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect Northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he questioned.
He therefore warned against further marginalization of the North, noting that continued disregard for the region would have consequences.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching, elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say “enough is enough ‘. The injustice and sidelining must stop.
Baba-Ahmed urged the northern region to look beyond identity politics, stressing that competence and integrity should guide voter decisions.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
