" A leader takes people where they want to
go. A great leader takes people where
they don’t necessarily want to go, but
ought to be". - Rosalynn Carter
It is trite and
well established by great minds of ages that the
loudest problem of humanity is that of
leadership despite the technological, scientific,
and economic advancements in the global
context. Among such great minds was Confucius.
Confucius (551-479 BC) was a moral philosopher
who lived in an age when China was
characterized by great socio- political unrest
and crass corruption. The mighty Chou dynasty
(1122- 256 BC) had degenerated into a system
of loosely bound feudal states that were engaged
in continuous and interminable warfare, much to
the distress of the common people who
remained at the mercy of the aristocracy. The
great wise one postulated that it is " the way of
the leader", his traits, disposition and good
conscience that can liberate the people from any
socio- political quagmire. Confucianism and its
ideal essence of the way of the leader have
persisted and laid an ethical basis for political,
socio-economic culture of modern-day China.
And like in Confucius' time, quality leadership in
climes like ours has continued to deteriorate
faster than potatoes in an airtight bag. Those
age-long, fundamental and hallowed traits in
leaders have become so rare, scarce and in most
cases completely extinct. Little wonder why, it
evokes a sense of unutterable joy when one
identifies these traits in a 21st century, modern
day Nigerian politician.
My inspiration to deliver this
intellectual offering stems from the exemplary
leadership qualities of Mr Emmanuel in managing
the peculiar, unusually large and dynamic
finance machinery in Nigeria and beyond. His credentials are already public knowledge and there for all to appreciate. His present day contributions are also quite commendable.
The Godswill Akpabio administration as everyone
knows is a robust, upwardly mobile and
performance driven government. An
administration that has put in stellar
performance to inscribe indelible imprimaturs in
the hitterto dour Akwa Ibom landscape. An
administration that has fumigated the stench
odour of infrastructural rot and decay that
endured in the state prior to the coming of the
uncommon transformer. An administration with
an unflinching commitment to deliver on
electoral promises and even do more. And to fit
into the fast lane, anger- inspired approach to
governance, one must possess lots of
characteristics. Top on the list is humility.
Mr Emmanuel as a loyal servant in the Akpabio
administration has displayed rare humility in first accepting the appointment to become SSG without blinking, as risky as the idea sounds. And on the job, early testimonies have emerged of his calm and open disposition to learn and lead. The doors to his office and home have remained
open to lofty ideas, brilliant concepts,
suggestions and criticisms from every angle of
the populace. Everyone who has come in contact
with him has had cause to testify to his listening
disposition and penchant to offer help and
assistance with an infectious smile. He exerts a
rare sense of dedication, commitment and even
benevolence aimed at crystallizing the principal
policy goals of the Dr. Godswill Akpabio.
Mr Udom Emmanuel is a study in servant
leadership. And like Zig Ziggler says “The
ultimate measure of a man is not the number of
servants that he has but the number of people
that he serves”. His seeming unpopularity before his appointment may not be unconnected with it. He has always quietly assisted people within his capacity and often times, these acts do not attract much publicity. And to crown his humble stance,
with all sense of modesty, he situates the drive
and the passion that undergirds the obvious
changes altering the finance landscape as the work of God almighty and those of “HIS BOSS” and
believes whatever success that has been
recorded so far in the course of his career is attributable to the support of his superiors and co-workers and in the case of SSG, to Governor Akpabio, the principal
purveyor of the vision to revamp the system.
Another remarkable trait of Udom Emmanuel is his
strenght of character. Like his boss, Chief
Godswill Akpabio, CON, he remains unweavered
and resolute in the face of pressure, cheap
blackmail and falsehood from the foes of
government and elements who are immuned to
accepting good things. He knows this terrain could be rough and unfriendly. His uncommon maturity
in approaching issues is remarkable and this has
attracted a firm trust from the people to the
Akpabio administration.
General Norman
Schwarzkopf, the army general in charge of the
Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s, thought so
much of character that he said: “Leadership is a
combination of strategy and character. If you
must be without one, be without strategy.”
Because he was a Marine sergeant in the 1960s,
this assertion amazes me since generals spend
much of their time dealing with strategy.
General Schwarzkopf, above all understands that
the troops have to trust their leaders. And in Udom Emmanuel and Chief Akpabio's
administration, the people have trusted.
Udom Emmanuel's drive to succeed speaks volumes of his desire to make it happen in whatever he sets his eyes on, his gargantuan and towering achievements construct a
sharp contrast with his early background of
birth in the then rural Ukanafun Local
Government Area where the father was
teaching and a secondary school education at
Community Secondary School, Ikot Akpan
Eshiet in Onna Local Government Area. It,
however, attest to the fact that with discipline
and hard-work, one can be a success story
irrespective of one’s place of birth and early
life. The University of Lagos Accounting
graduate started his working career with Price
Water House before joining Diamond Bank Plc.
But his career as a corporate strategist
blossomed with Zenith Bank, where he through
dint of hardwork navigated his way to the top
echelon of the bank as an executive director.
He has served in the said capacity since 2006. That is a man success knows by name.
I have been specially
impressed by these fruits of leadership and am
left without a choice than to conclude that if
Udom Emmanuel could deliver excellently in this
capacity, then he could do more if entrusted
with higher responsibilities. He is a savvy ,
purpose-driven, value-maximizing, and
thoroughbred professional whose driving force
hinges on the fundamental need to make a
difference.
His strides has had to wield no magic
wand other than his commitment to excellence
which derives its finer stuff from hard work,
dedication, and recourse to endless prayers. This
is what Nigeria needs at times like this. Courage,
Tenacity, and Patience. Having the courage to
stand alone, the tenacity to not succumb to
pressure, and the patience to keep fighting until
you win the day--and sometimes being able to
do all three at the same time--is something you
will have to develop if you want to be a true and
successful leader.
Competent leadership is the
first and most important thing any nation that
wants to start the process of reconstruction
must get right. There is no single route to
rebuilding a nation and every route a nation
elects will ultimately succeed as long as the
nation gets its leadership right. We must realize
as a country that, as the saying goes, “A skunk
stinks from the head down,”. We must get it
right with leadership. And the only way to
identify such leadership is to locate persons like Udom Emmanuel who have done well in their
little corners.
Follow Finbarr on Twitter @aniekemefinbarr
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