(Continued from last Monday)

A leader must possess three crucial qualities to chart the path towards graetness. These are intelligence, instinct and authority. Instinct strikes deeply into the order of things.

Only instinct can give the practical, particular and concrete feel of existence. It cuts through the complexities of the situation and seizes upon the essentials. Intellect intervenes to elaborate, shape and refine the intuitive insight. A leader who is able to strike the right balance between intellect and instInct bring forth decisions having the mark of prescience, sure-footedness on the way to lead, the hallmark of great leadership.

A leader must not only decide on what should be done he must also possess the ability to persuade others and get them to do it. As he is expected to inspire confidence in those who serve under him, he must also assert his authority. Authority derives from prestige which is largely a matter of feeling, suggestion and impression. It rests, in the main, on the possession of an elementary gift, a natural attitude that defies analysis. It is a rare gift. This granted, it then means that all references to leadership training are meaningless.

Certain men have the quality of exuding authority as though it is impossible to say presicely what it is. The fluidity of their expression, the ease with which their message is conveyed, comes naturally, This is what is approximated to mean charisma, though the essential nuance is left uncaptured.

To this inequitable quality, a leader must add three concrete ones; Mystery, Character and Grandeur. Prestige comes with mystery. A leader should rise above the ordinary.

Though humble, he is not the common rabble rouser who plays to the gallery because he wants to be heard. He measures his words and gestures. He carries himself with a studied gait. A leader must tolerate expressions of individuality in form of dissentting or complementary views. The leader with character brings order to the collective efforts” CHARLES DE GAULE”, The Edge of the World.

To enable a leader realise his set goals, ambition and objectives, he needs the service of a crop dedicated young men and women with vision and a high sense of imagination, not discounting the invaluable experience of the veterans in all relevant fields of human endeavours. He must lead a team that is articulate and full of initiative. A team that is apolitical, that does not owe its allegiance to anybody howsoever highly placed or influential, except the leader. A team that is free from all notions of ethnicity or tribal leaning in all its ramifications. A team that  is new, full of vigour and capable of creating a new sense of direction, making a clean braek from the past.

Henry Kissinger puts this most succinctly:
“The difference between great and ordinary leaders is rarely formal intellect but insight. The great leader understands the essence of the problem; the ordinary leader grasps only the symptoms. The great man focuses on the relationship of events to each other, the ordinary leader sees only a series of seemingly disconnected events. The great man has a vision of the future that enables him to place obstacles into perspective; the ordinary leader turns pebbles in the road into boulders”.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, a former President of the United States, opines thus:
“the future lies with those wise political leaders who realise that the great public is interested more in Government than in politics.”

The prosperity, strength and influence which a nation possesses depend on the following factors:
1.    A large population which is enlightened, disciplined, nationalistic and loyal enough to make any requisite sacrifice, be it of money, time or even life to the cause of the fatherland.
2.    The possession of Natural resources in considerable measure for the benefit of the nation and humanity at large.
3.    A large pool of master minds and experts in every walk of life who, out of sense of mission to the nation and humanity, are detern1ined to ensure maximum results in their respective callillgs.

Nigeria is greatly endowed with all the above resources which have not been fully utilised for the progress and rapid development of the country. Every successive government has failed to identify the problem of the country. Consequently, finding solutions to these myriad of problems is still a mirage.

We must all admit that the country is lacking in some, if not all, the essential factors listed above. The problem of ignorance is palpable. Our people still wallow in abject poverty.

The imperative of having a strong and effective pool of public opinions to deter irresponsibility and rascality in public life is yet to evolve. A sense of civic responsibility and the resolve to defend and promote our national heritage must be consciously cultivated. The basically consumptive but inherently destructive attitude engendered and actively encouraged by directionless government must be discouraged.

What the state requires is an effective, honest and dedicated manager of resources. This ingredient must top the list of the agenda of the state if it is desirous of making any remarkable progress and achieve a renewal.

Other components include a dedicated work force and critical followership. This will create a political system that works and instil in the minds of the people a culture of altruism.

The country’s problems centre around lack of productivity, a complete absence of motivation and wrong socialization of the citizenry. Successive governments have not been found wanting in the formulation of policies. Implementation has, however, been a major challenge because of the extraneous interests harboured by functionaries other than the ones geared towards good governance. There has been a henomenal transformation in the lives of our rulers in utter contradistinction to the penurious exsistence of the populace. No genuine leader will feel comfortable with this situation.

Our recent experience clearly shows that we are still far from achieving greatness. What is of utmost importance and urgency now is the process which will throw up the desired representatives of the people.Unles the much anticipated electoral reformsbecome reality, we will contnue to grope in the dark. Natural resouces buried in the bowels of the earth are useless if the people lack the technical know-how to explore ana exploit them for optimum benefits. Paying lip-service to the development and knowing that it is possible in our environment is also not helpful. Knowledge is important but its application is most desirable.    It is urgent and imperative that we plan on a bolder scale. Consequently, we must avail ourselves of the services and advice of all the talents which abound in the country. It is the amount of patriotism, unstinted effort and wisdom which we apply to the exploitation of our vast resources, and of the just and equitable distribution, of the results of such exploitation, that will determine the measure of our achievement, greatness and happiness as a people.    I cannot thank the Guild of Veteran Journalists enough for affording me this opportunity to interact with the leaders of an important profession whose impact in social engineering cannot be over-emphasised. We must praise your courage and uncommon sacrifice in elevating the profession to an enviable pedestal which now makes it attractive to some of the best minds in the land. The fact that young men and women of uncommon intellect now introduce themselves in important gatherings as journalists and feel proud, is a measure of your success. You can now sit back and relish reminiscences.

This is in no way suggesting that your wealth of experience is still not useful. Speaking frankly, I believe this is the time your reasoned and measured voices must be heard. You have seen it all. Those who strut the landscape with ill-gotten wealth were made by your pen. You know the mmore than the rest of us. The timeto talk to irresponsible power is now.

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, President of the Nigerian Bar Association, delivered this lecture at a forum organised by the League of Veteran Journalists, Oyo State branch, in Ibadan, recently.