The governor who spoke at the 5th Christopher Kolade symposium on “Development Agenda: Leadership” in Lagos disagreed that Mr. Moneybag wins the primaries simply because he has money. According to him, the more likely reason why professionals lose out is that Mr. Professional is not involved in Politics.
“But Mr. Moneybag is down there using his own tools to get people to work. So when he is at Ward meeting, people want to refresh so he can provide refreshment for them. Mr. Professional doesn’t come to tell them about the very deep and philosophical ideas and life-changing plans that he has for them. On Election Day, it is Mr. Moneybag that we know. Mr. Moneybag will, therefore, win not necessarily because he has the money but because he is involved”, he said.
Citing Mrs. Hilary Clinton as example of political involvement, Fashola, who said as a Democrat, Mrs. Clinton had missed the Party Convention only once in 44 years, declared, “So, those of you who are looking for leaders, they are here. But if you don’t get involved in the political space, the Constitution says you cannot get into an elective office unless you belong to a political party. So, if you want to make a very hot meal and you don’t like the kitchen, it is not going to happen”.
He said there was no clear cut definition for leadership but there are some things that have resonated as best practice cross the ages, words like vision, courage integrity and all that adding, “What I do know is that those who ultimately lead are really servants of the people, that a call to leadership is a call to service”.
In his contributions Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila said leadership was not the problem but followership because, according to him, “Leadership emerges from followership”.
Speaking in behalf of Speaker House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, he said leadership in the country has been marred by ethnicity and sectionalism asking, “In the complex society that we operate, when we say a leader, whose leader do we mean?; probably an ethnic leader. In a country where we say it is the turn of this group to produce the President, what it means is that we are narrowing the choices of 160 million people to the population of that group”.
He described the Nigerian Dream as Life more abundant for the people of Nigeria adding that followership must play a more active role, a more dominant role in the leadership of the country. We must be more forceful in an active way in order to direct our leader to the right way to go”, he said.
Representative of the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC and CEO of the Bank, Mr. Ademola Shogunle said contrary to what sometimes obtain in the Public Sector, there are consequences for breaking the law in the Corporate world. He however disagreed with the notion that one could not be mentored unless within the influence of a mentor saying there was “mentorship by remote”.
Also present at the occasion were Chairman of Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), Dr. Christopher Kolade, Director Governing Board of NLI, Alhaji Bashir Ibrahim, CEO of NLI, Mr. Yinka Oyinlola and former President of Civil Liberties Organisation, Mrs. Ayo Obe who moderated the event, as well as other distinguished guests and members of the Public and Private Sectors.
