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Opinion: Thriving in Trying Times – Pt. 3
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By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Don’t believe in what you are called; it can trap you! don’t trust your titles. You have not done what you could do yet! What they have seen so far is only a fraction of who you are. Don’t allow what you have done prevent what you could do”. – Tolulope A. Adegoke
It is pertinent to note at this juncture that leaders initiate change. Leadership naturally demand change. Nigerians are not the problem, but the leaders. You can only lead people as far as you have gone yourself. If you do not improve, your organization will never improve. I have discovered something about developing countries because I was born in one and still live in one; when you give them a title, they stop learning. Nothing is worse for a Third-World man than giving him a promotion and a title, because he believes he has made it. Call someone a Manager or CEO or Honourable or Reverend or Bishop, they stop learning. And that’s when an organization stops working or growing. When you are given authority or title, you should buy more books, take more courses. Because you are not just leading your own life, you have lives to lead to a higher future and a higher level. This is why true leaders never graduate from the school of life, they are always learning. Dr Myles Monroe (of blessed memory) says “I read four to five books a month, I have been doing that for the past 22years…that means one book per week” because I must be re-educating myself. I am an eternal student.” You are reading this article, right now because you are willing to expand your mind. You cannot grow beyond what you know unless you grow what you know. To lead in trying times, you have to be a reader because readers may end up becoming leaders when they apply what has been learnt in the course of studies. This is why you should never allow anyone to prevent you from studying and growing. Also, never believe that you have made it. Don’t trust your titles. Don’t believe in what they call you, it can trap you. I am a recipient of several awards, but I do not allow them to get into my head, because the greatest enemy of your progress is your last success. Don’t trust what you have achieved. Don’t believe anybody’s accolades, because it is a trap. You have not done what you could do yet. What they have seen so far is only a fraction of who you are. Stop being (a) mediocre! It’s time for you to stop complaining, and start studying. Don’t allow what you have done to prevent what you could do. The act of leadership is taking followers from where they are to a place they have never been. As a true leader, you have to be able to take people to where they have never been. That’s your role. Leadership is not about maintenance, it’s about innovation, exploration (that is, going beyond the box).
Leadership entails an adventure of thriving in creating a future, even in trying times, when all hope seems to be fading off. I strongly believe that many of you (readers) are tired of most of the trying moments confronting you. I sense strongly that you complain so much about it, it may be about your nation, family, continents or low-level leaders or government who tends to be taking you on a journey to no-where. But, if truly you desire a genuine change, you have to be willing to take an adventure into the unknown.
Thriving (could) entails some form of Discomfort.
Leaders will always create discomforts that are worthwhile. Why? Because they are uprooting people from their own familiarity. This is why true leaders seem not to be liked by a majority. They disturb your laziness; they also irritate your comfort. They make people do things that are uncommon, probably those things that these ones have never done before. They make people change their behaviours. In short, they frustrate your comfort-zones but re-shapes our cultures, ethics, norms and values. True leaders thrive the most in trying times because they are ‘disruptors’, they are catalysts! They always act as leverage to taking you from a place you know to a place that you do not know. The major problem with the majority across the world is that they like the familiar. It’s amazing how much we say we want ‘change’, and when it’s time to change we tend to hate it.
The Crisis Increases- it is called Trying Times
Thriving comes with a brand of leadership that naturally creates Change, and this comes with Crisis. We tend to talk about a crisis in the world today, even globally in diverse facets of life. But sincerely, all of that is not true. To me, there is no such thing as a Crisis. It doesn’t exist! A lot of people are doing so well, achieving great feats in the middle of a crisis, simply because they could see beyond the ordeals. Such people, like me, see opportunities! The Mentality Factor is key! Leaders create a crisis so that there can be more opportunities to thrive, they are not victims of them. Simply ask me how?
Leadership is an exercise in the management or the creation of crisis. A true leader says we would construct a six-lane road network. That’s a crisis! Because many people are used to the single lane-road, where they sell and hawk their goods in the middle of its pot-holes. Now, it’s a crisis because the government is trying to make a change happen on such a road network and many people may not be able to sell and hawk their good anymore. But it takes a leader to take such a drastic step for good change to occur within the system. This action creates discomfort for those benefiting from the bad road network. It is a crisis to take people to the level that they have never been, even though it may be a good place. Leaders initiate change…this change tends to change or reshapes the patterns of people’s lives, daily.
The Change Factor
You are a leader only if you initiate change. Managers only maintain things, while leaders change things. This is why a manager and a leader are completely different. Managers focus on systems, while leaders focus on people. Managers focus on the bottom-line, while leaders focus on the arising. Managers focus on what to do, while leaders focus on ‘why’ we are doing it. They think differently. And I strongly believe that you are finding this write-up interesting because it’s time for you to move into leadership. This moment on this write-up was a divine appointment because you are tired of being what you are. Probably you have been faking it for the last few years, telling your folks that you are having a good time. But why is this happening to you? it’s simple. You are bigger than who you really are. You are far stronger than what they say you are. You can do much more than their predictions about you. You are far better than what they said you are. And I am doing this write-up to irritate and infuriate you. You do not change until you are angry. Anger could be a crisis, but it could also be a weapon for a good change. Whatever you tolerate will never be changed by you. This is why ‘what’ you call crisis comes into your life. A crisis comes to take you out of the ordinary and forces to dream bigger! It forces you to be creative and innovative! There is no problem in your life or around you, they are only opportunities to be better and bigger. But you must be ready and determined to walk the work.
You all must come to understand that Change is your best friend! It is the only thing that is guaranteed and has your best interest at heart. Some nations are excelling bigger in this trying period because they are not seeing a crisis in the common senses or language of the ordinary thinkers or seers- these categories of nations are only seeing opportunities! And they all keep maximizing it, whether you like them or not for it! You must also come to understand that a ‘thing’ is exactly what you call it! They say opportunity, while the shallow thinkers say CRISIS!
Come on! You need to align yourself with Creative people. You need to start reading and studying the right books! Being with the wrong people and the bunch of complainers would only keep you stagnated and wanting or wishing for life if you are not careful. I charge you to change your relationships. As a matter of fact, you can never rise above the company you keep. If you are the smartest person in a group, then it’s time to leave such a group. Waking up from mental slumber is one of the greatest make-ups, which fine-tunes our beings into stepping up in the right order and lanes or platforms to thriving at any point in time of our lives.
Thank you for taking out time to relearn and re-educating yourself via this series. I wish you would apply it to real-life issues as they unfold with time.
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (From Zero to HERO) by Tolulope 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.
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the Tinubu administration against militarising the Osun governorship election or using state institutions for partisan gain.
Speaking at the ADC National Youth Leadership Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said the Osun poll “is a test” of Nigeria’s ability to conduct credible elections ahead of 2027.
He said the scale of security deployment ahead of the August 15 election looked more like preparation for war than a democratic exercise.
“Elections are civil engagements, not military operations. Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents,” Atiku said.
He also questioned why the same level of security was not being deployed against terrorists, kidnappers and bandits attacking communities across the country.
Atiku cautioned INEC against “mysterious glitches, unexplained delays or manipulation” and demanded timely delivery of materials, unhindered voting, honest counting and transparent transmission of results.
“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC,” he said.
“The world is watching Osun. Nigerians are watching. History is taking notes. Let the people vote. Let every vote count. And let the will of the people prevail.”
Atiku also raised fresh concerns over the Chicago State University certificate submitted to INEC by President Bola Tinubu.
He alleged discrepancies in the document, noting that one version bears June 22, 1979, while another linked to CSU records bears June 27, 1979, with reported differences in signatures and the description of the degree.
He further questioned why the names and signatures of university officials who assumed office years after 1979 reportedly appear on documents dated 1979 and asked whether they were replacement certificates and who authorised them.
Citing Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution on disqualification for presenting a forged certificate to INEC, Atiku said the exact document submitted to INEC must be authenticated.
“Who produced the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC? When was it produced? Who authorised it? Why does it differ from the other version, and does Chicago State University authenticate the exact document submitted to INEC?” he asked.
“If a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?”
On youth participation, Atiku pledged that at least 30 per cent of legislative candidates under his political programme would be below 40 years, with a significant number below 30.
He charged young Nigerians to “Register. Organise. Lead” and turn frustration into political action.
“Anger is not an organisation. A hashtag is not an organisation,” he said.
“Your time is not tomorrow. Your time is now.”
Osun State Police Command has summoned the lawmaker representing Osun East in the Senate, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, over threat he reportedly issued against members of the Accord Party ahead of the Saturday’s governorship poll in the state.
The spokesperson for the command, Abiodun Ojelabi, during a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday confirmed that the lawmaker has been summoned by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election, Samuel Etaifo.
Ojelabi said, “I can confirm that he (Fadahunsi) has been summoned by the CP. We will make a statement available regarding it.”
The PUNCH reports that the lawmaker and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo Otin Federal Constituency in the 2027 general elections, Francis Eniade, came under fire on Tuesday for issuing a threat against the Accord Party members ahead of the next Saturday’s governorship poll.
In a video that circulated on the social media on Tuesday, Fadahunsi, who spoke in Yoruba language, said that any Accord member sighted in Ilesha, Osun State, before Saturday when the election will hold will be killed.
Sources at the scene where Fadahunsi made the controversial speech, told The PUNCH that the lawmaker spoke at the palace of Owa Obokun of Ijesaland in Ilesa, during a protest organised against an alleged killing of three members of the All Progressives Congress in Ilesa on Tuesday.
Speaking in Yoruba language, Fadahunsi said, “How many people have you seen the APC kill? We are here to tell you that until the day of the election, If we see any Accord member in Ilesa, we will kill them.”
In another viral video also obtained on Tuesday, Eniade, who was also addressing a campaign rally, said no Accord member should come out to vote in Odo Otin Local Government Area on the day of the election.
Eniade, who also spoke in Yoruba language, said “I was only waiting for today before I talked. I swear to God, anyone who is not an APC member should not come out on election day. If you said you won’t listen to us, we have warned you ahead. All the votes in Odo-Otin belong to the APC.
“Tell Egbedun (Osun House of Assembly Speaker) that I don’t have his time. I am his elder brother. Accord Party can’t vote in Odo-Otin. I am the one who said so. To the APC members, go back to your ward and unit and tell them that anybody who is not an APC member should not come out to vote.”
Reacting to Fadahunsi’s threat, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, while addressing journalists in Osogbo, demanded the lawmaker’s arrest, saying his utterances can lead to mass killing.
The governor said he had raised the matter with the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, subsequently demanded Fadahunsi’s investigation and arrest, adding that the IGP confirmed the existence of the video and assured him of immediate action.
“The second issue has to do with the viral video of a serving Senator, Francis Fadahunsi, who today called for the killing of Accord Party leaders, supporters and their families. In the video, the Senator even threatened that where they cannot get Accord Party leaders, they should kill their wives and children.
“This is now beyond politics. This is now a national security threat that requires the attention of Mr President through the Office of the National Security Adviser,” the governor said.
Fadahunsi Responds…
Fadahunsi in a statement personally signed by him said his attention has been drawn to an edited video being circulated by Davido on TikTok and Pelumi Olajengbesi on other social media platforms.
He said, “I made reference to one Rogba, who was killed in Esa-Oke by his co-cultists. The governor had referred to the deceased as his son and was also engaged in a disagreement with a sitting member of the House of Representatives on live television. My statement was very clear: if the killings do not stop, we shall also retaliate.
“All those being killed are Nigerians and, indeed, sons and daughters of the same communities. I stated unequivocally that if our party members are killed again, we will not simply fold our arms and watch. We will defend our people, even if such an incident occurs on election day.
“Unfortunately, Davido and Olajengbesi took less than two minutes from a speech that lasted about 24 minutes and circulated it to achieve cheap political objectives. This is a clear case of deliberate misrepresentation and manipulation.”
The Punch
Afrobeats music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has said he will seek the intervention of United States President, Donald Trump, if anything goes wrong during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.
The singer made the statement during a livestream hosted by content creator Carter Efe, where he discussed his interest in politics and his concerns about the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
Davido said he would consider joining politics when he is convinced that the country’s electoral system is transparent and allows voters to freely choose their leaders.
According to him, he is confident of emerging victorious in an election that is conducted fairly.
He said the lack of transparency remains one of the reasons he has not ventured into politics despite his interest.
“Until there’s transparency, then I can go ahead with politics because nobody can beat me in any election,” he said.
Davido added that he would be confident of winning if Nigerians were allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.
He also expressed concern about the upcoming Osun governorship election, saying he was waiting to see how the exercise would be conducted.
“I want to see what they are going to do in Osun. We are waiting,” he said.
The singer then disclosed that he would reach out to Trump if he became dissatisfied with the electoral process in Osun.
Davido said he would tag and call the US president and, if necessary, take his concerns to the White House.
“I’ll tag Trump, I’ll call Trump, everybody. If they still don’t see anything, I’ll go in front of the White House and say, ‘Help us,’”
“Trump will just say, ‘I think there’s a Nigerian artiste sending me a message. Don’t worry, my message will be delivered.’he said.
He stressed that his threat should not be dismissed as a joke, adding that he expected his concerns to reach the US president.
Davido concluded by calling on those involved in the electoral process to allow the people of Osun State to freely determine their next governor.
“Leave Osun alone oo, leave it,” he said.
