Standing to confront bad leadership

By Bayo Ogunmupe

The spate of corruption and stealing in government necessitates the establishment of Aso Villa fellows like the White House fellows in the United States. The White House Fellows is a dozen of experts, a presidential Think Tank which sits weekly to solve raging issues in creative problem solving meetings. It reminds me of Brigadier –General Aminu Kano Maude, former Director of Finance, Army Headquarters who stole all the money allocated to be used to buy arms for the Army to fight Boko Haram. General Maude used the money to buy over 30 petrol filling stations, buildings and shopping malls all over Nigeria. It took over five years for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to trace the loot. The money was over N20 billion. The EFCC was able to recover 29 properties worth N10 billion. The EFCC is still searching for others. When caught while alive, EFCC couldn’t detain or prosecute him because of his links with the Fulani ruling caliphate of Kano emirate. It was only after he died of cancer that the embezzlement was made pubic. Along with the looting presided over by President Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria cannot endure another lily livered leader who will allow his aides to loot Nigeria with impunity. Which is why we must confront and stop the 2022 Committee from foisting another clueless president on the nation. We don’t enjoy confrontation, but it’s impossible to grow without it. Healthy confrontation calls for speaking the truth in love. Just as God confronts each of us in areas where we need to grow, He expects us to do the same for others. Here are some guiding principles to help you criticize others without causing injury. One, talk to them not about them. Talk to them in private where possible, to be delivered graciously but firmly. Two, don’t exaggerate; give specific examples. Don’t hide behind words like, “I believe the Lord had shown me that you’re wrong.” Three, don’t leave them in a stew without clear direction on how to improve or what to do. The best approach is to calmly identify the problem and suggest ways it can be resolved. In the Nigerian political case, we are to get involved in guiding the politicians through the conventions to elect their flag bearers. Your goal isn’t to expose a politician’s weakness but to show the qualities necessary in the in-coming leader. Four, admonish like a good wife who criticizes her husband not to hurt him but to correct him. Be compassionate in criticism; confront rather than condemn. Healthy confrontation calls for your putting the other person’s well-being above your own. “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity,” Proverbs 11:3. Every honest or dishonest word and action either adds to or takes away from character. That’s what the Bible is saying in that quotation. You should therefore strive for integrity in all your dealings with others.