Become A Leader

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. (Pro.14:34, NKJV)

Our country's greatest need right now is obviously leadership. Like Dr. John Maxwell will always say “everything rises and falls on leadership”. We need leadership at all levels of our national life and all tiers of government. We need leaders in our business terrain. We need leaders in our schools. We need leaders in our churches. We need leaders in our homes.

There is a tendency for us however to think that the subject of leadership is for those that are up there or only politicians, but I want you to realize that this discourse is about you and I. We are not talking about someone else's responsibilities or failures. We are talking about the expectations for you and I, because we are all leaders in our own rights, at one point or the other.

Everybody is a leader. You have leadership potentials locked up inside you and you can exert a measure of influence, to some degree, wherever God might have placed you. The change can be sparked by one who is willing to make it happen. Most times multitudes are not needed to bring about the necessary social change - the multitudes are mostly won over by the resilience of one who is willing and ready for change. The destruction of moral values and societal structures in this part of the world are traceable to bad leadership. When we look at the history of this nation, dating back to the 60's, we realize that this nation has just never been able to go farther than its leaders have gone. A body cannot move faster than its head. The values and principles of a nation depend largely on the leader. This holds true also for a family. If something goes wrong with the person who is meant to be the head of the home; something goes wrong with the family. Business organizations are no exception to this truth.

Leadership can be defined as the ability of one person to influence many people to achieve worthwhile goals. The key word is influence. When you discover the power in leadership, you will want to be a leader because leadership multiplies your effectiveness and puts your success on the geometric level. The essence of leadership could be best captured in the words of D.L. Moody, “I would rather put ten men to work than do the work of ten men”. The cheapest way to multiply your life is to become a leader and to be able to raise other leaders after yourself. Your effectiveness in life will never rise beyond your leadership ability. When God wants to carry out a change in a society He does not use institutions, He uses persons. All He needs is a leader who can mobilize other people to create the needed change.

Generally, when you talk about leadership, all that comes to people's minds is the old belief that only a few people are born to rule, others are born to be followers. Some people have said leaders are born and not made based on some philosopher's view points. It is unfortunate that leadership, before now, had been built on that premise. In some parts of our country, there is a belief that some people are born to rule and others are born to follow. But the truth is that everybody is born to lead. There are people who are not making any attempt to lead because they do not believe they have the potentials to lead.

Have you ever influenced anybody to making a decision? Have you persuaded anyone to join you on a cause or an assignment? Then you are a leader. Leadership guru, John Maxwell said “if no one is following you, you are on a walk, but when you have someone following you, then you are a leader”.

The implication of this is that we all lead at some point of our life. So, we are leaders!

Whether you are aware of this or not, you have been placed here to solve problems for this nation because uncommon leaders solve uncommon problems, and become an inspiration to others in the process. You did not plan to be born at the time you were born. Now that you are here, there are challenges we are facing in this nation that you can do something about in your own little way. You were born to solve a problem and in the bid to solve these problems you become an inspiration to some other people. You have all it takes to take this nation to the next level and make her a pride among the comity of nations.

In becoming a leader you need a guiding vision. You need the ability to see ahead to know where we have to go. You need a clear picture of the future. This is one of the critical qualities that separates a true leader from everyone else. Every leader all through history has had this attribute work for them. You have to be able to see a better future for yourself, for your family, for your organization, and for this nation. Anyone who cannot clearly articulate the vision of a better future is not worth following. Our future is in our picture. Dream of a new Nigeria.

Secondly, you need a definite purpose. This is the stuff leadership is made of. Leaders are crusaders. Crusaders are people who are willing to lay down their lives for a cause. Understand that if you do not stand for something; you will fall for anything. The greatest leaders of all time are those who broke beyond selfishness to do things that affected many people. If you expend all your spiritual, physical and material resources on yourself alone, you have made your life cheap. On the long run, it is what you do for others that counts. Stand up for what is right wherever you are. Footprints on the sands of time are not made by sitting down. Do something this week that can make Nigeria better.

Thirdly, you need a recreated mind. The reason Prof. Dora Akunyili is having a lot of problem with the re-branding thing is because the solution to the ills in Nigeria is beyond human theories and models - there is a need for all of us to return to our Creator and understand that there is something much more important than this transient existence that we have . The solution is not re-branding but recreation - our minds need to be renewed into a new way of thinking. Life is too short, and no matter how long you live you will die one day and be face-to-face with God in judgment.

If our minds are recreated corruption will be a forgotten story in Nigeria and the political leaders will know they were elected to serve and not be served.

I still believe in the vision called Nigeria, and I strongly believe it will work. A day is coming when the Green Passport will be the most sought-after passports ever. A day is coming when Nigeria will become an envy for the nations of the world. A day is coming when corruption will be history in our nation.

Nigeria will Succeed!