Vacancy! 21st Century Leaders required.

All over the world everything Obama is now celebrated and interesting. I vaguely remember being laughed off many dinner parties and drinking arguments amongst Nigerians in at least two continents or four different countries on account of my belief that the then Senator Obama will become President. I remember the derision that met with my pronouncements starting with a post here as far back as 2004/2005. The cynicism with which the possibility of an Obama Presidency was viewed in the sitting rooms of the Lagos Cognisenti was quite painful and dismissive. If however you have been a Nigerian idealistic Nationalist as I have been all my life you live with derision and disdain as a matter of course. Now they shamelessly shout hosanna Obama.

The point of that little tirade is to bring this back to some core set of issues for us in Nigeria about what the President Elect actually represent. Many locate victory and possibility in his ethnicity, his Charisma, his vision and organisation and all of this is part of the truth but very few recognise that he is the first of his generation to rise to this exalted office. A President unburden from the cultural battles of the 1960s, fashioned in the pragmatic 70s, evolved to majority in the Reaganomics of the 80s, inspired by the dotcom of the 90s and now in full service to shape the 21st century. A timely fruition of a Pragmatic radical whose commitment is unwavering but not hobbled by any ideology, a true commitment to by any means necessary.

In Nigeria where I live we have had many leaders who are in the mainstream of the Neo-colonial awakening that has had us in thrall since independence. At the core is are the following assumption that:

- formal education is the only credible problem solving tool and passing exams certifies true learning.
- westernisation is modernization
- development especially through infrastructure as well as industrialization is the main indicator of progress
- to achieve all of the above leaders through government can and if effective will orchestrate transformation leading to all of the above.
-all these will happen with the right leader who will ensure that this is all done within a few months of being elected.

These assumptions are what has led to or have been excuses for coup detat in the country. The orthodoxy of these assumptions is only tempered by the fact that there are two camps; the afromarxists who believe in all of the above but want it done through a centrally managed process and ; the arrangees who use the pursuit of the above to maintain the tradition of patronage and rent seeking. To my mind neither is better but a read of Adegoke Adelabu's Afica in Ebullition is quite insightful and still accurate on these people

We truly lack 21st century thinking not even the 22nd century one that we will truly need for transformation. The job description for what we lack are the following :

We need leaders with the following characteristics:

Curiosity: A true interest in our history and anthropology especially pre-colonial history as we seem to have the pattern of repeating them.

An Idealist sorrounded by competent managers

Complexity and Systems thinking: A basic understanding that we are and reside in a place where things are emerging and interlinked often requires the humility to see clearly what is emerging rather than confuse activity with progress.

Identifying the key questions: The humility to recognise that the challenge is not to find answers but to discover the real questions that we need to collectively answer as a nation.

Help us to discover our priorities

Free the people to do work that matters for the next generation

Execute at moments of clarity like a ruthless warrior

Recognise that we need to jump the stages to a new Africanness that is totally unprecendented

Build the links for the people so that they can interact and cooperate of their own volition

Inspire Nigerians to be Nationalistic not necessarily Patriotic

Elevate our women from the oppression of pre-set roles

Put the pursuit of ideas at the core of National discourse

Define excellence in terms of productivity

Recognise there is no Justice , there is Just us.

At the core of all of this is a core and respect for who we are , who we are from and who we can become.

If you are out there somewhere then it is time to set forth. We cannot afford not to take steps even baby ones. I remember that in 2004 while jogging to Barack Obama's DNC speech my heart told me that this was the future President of the United States how I wish I have the same view of any Nigerian in Public life. To be fair Governor Fashola represents a bridge to this role but I suspect we will not know fully till his second term. He has been bold and resolute, disciplined and focussed which is a rarity amongst our public office holders. He deserves quite a lot of support but we need more than one person and we need a movement. The median age of Nigerians is 17 we need a generation of leaders imbued by the spirit and competencies of this time. They need not be saints but must be obsessed by the need to transform our society in a sustainable way. Nothing less will do.

OMOLUWABI WORKSHOP • GÖTEBORG 19 MAJ 2008
WELCOME TO OMOLUWABI WORKSHOP!
We are living in a world of flux, complex and dynamic. The markets – for labour as
well as for commodities and services - are becoming increasingly global. What is
happening on the other side of the planet is affecting our daily lives. We are truly
experiencing another reality then what we did just a few decades ago.
Is the present “Western” leadership, apt to guide us into a sustainable future?
Or do we need more resilient approaches, better adapted to new circumstances, when
facing present and future challenges?
It would not be surprising if the most innovative leadership approaches will emerge
from parts of the world where leaders must confront and adapt to immense complexity on
a daily basis.
•
The Omoluwabi workshop, run by Adewale Ajadi and Simon McIntyre, is our first
workshop in a planned series, opening up for new perspectives on leadership.
In Africa there is an increased awareness of the need for management and institutional
systems that are more in balance with cultural roots and traditions. A number of new
management systems, such as African Renaissance, Ubuntu and Omoluwabi are
developing.
All have in common, that in their pursuit of new and innovative approaches to
facilitate the development of Africa, they experience a need of returning to the roots of
local traditions.
During centuries the Yoruba people have recognized character as the core of
evolution. While developing the Omoluwabi framework Adewale Ajadi together with his
team at the Equality Foundation, explored how this ancient concept may be used in
leadership practices of the 21st century.
Do the prevailing western leadership models and approaches provide the ultimate
solution for the future? Or is it time to open up for new dimensions?
INFORMATION
When: 19th May, 13.00 – 16.30
Where: Företagarna, Erik Dahlbergsgatan 3, Gothenburg
Registration: latest 12th May to info@sverige2000.se
Cost: 350 SEK ex. VAT. Will be invoiced.
The workshop will be held in English. Welcome!!
Sverige 2000-institutet

Adegoke Adelabu RIP ' Ibadan Leadership of Ideas'

I have never liked Reuben Abati's analysis, they drip with the sanctimonious indulgence of the Nigerian elite. His editorials have generally embodied the intellectual laziness of ignoring complexity and settling for a sweeping personality overreach in terms of analysis. I often do not have the patience nor the interest to finish his editorials. It is with great surprise I read his piece on my beloved Penkelemese and the tears of appreciation dotted my ducts. I am no one if I am not Ibadan, the most eclectic and authentic construct in the layers of identities that shape the Nigerian spirit. It is Ibadan that is and was the bellweather for the country. The first city in the pre-colonial times to be truly multicultural and embody the civic pride that is lacking in any urban landscape in Nigeria today. A shining citadel of possibilities to its founding fathers who essentially built it on an idea and ideal big enough to be an umbrella for strangers from diverse lands and identity so they can engage , innovate, survive and prosper. There is no Ibadan man before him and after him that has fully embodied the potential of a true Omoluwabi like the late Adegoke Adelabu. A learned, erudite and inspirational man of ideas and ideals .

How do you judge a man other than what he does when his back is to the wall in moments of great opportunity or incredible adversity. Penkelemese stood against tribalism and discrimination when it would have been convenient and even more self serving to support the Yoruba first approach of Awolowo's AG. Had Adelabu won the Premiership of the Western Region or even had he lived beyond his brief 43 years we would have had an alternative to the now depressing position where an Ibo man only can be a Governor in the east and Yoruba in the west et al. We would have seen a Nigeria where the Nigerian ideal of any citizen holding political office in any state irrespective of ethnic origin have a powerful inspirational voice. Maybe then the Nigerian experiment in nationhood would not be so fractured and polarised with every crack and fault line puled asunder by rent seeking opportunists .

For me as an Ibadan man whose most romantic childhood moments were Sundays mornings with the smell of 'alapa' or 'ekuru' and my father playing some serious apala music usually Yususf Olatunji. I remember the raised voices in the living room likes of Dr Dejo Raimi, Dr Lekan Are, Dr Adetunji, Chief T Akinyele, Chief Aboderin amongst many other Ibadan intellectuals all discussing the topical issues of their day with my mother running interference. The hushed tones that always accompanied any discussion of Penkelemese, the distinct pride and unqualified respect that his incredibly difficult audience gave this man shaped an hero worship in me. The stories never finish without the loss my family suffered during the riot that followed his death. I was not alive to see what happened but my fathers story always includes the many non-Ibadan indigenesthat he had to rescue from a certain death or loss.

50 years after it this same tradition in authentic character, originality of ideas and the dignity in celebrating the human complexity that Adelabu lived that this page seeks to elevate. It is the very same that the verdict of the Oyo State Election tribunal continues to tarnish. In the end as my people would say " Alagemo ti bi omo e tan, Ahi mo jo di owo omo e" or for those who cannot read Yoruba accented or otherwise it is that the Alagemo masquerade has given birth to its child fully , it is now left to the child to live up to her traditional of exquisite dancing. Akande has given his all, Adegoke has risen to the challenge of his times, Adelabu has given Ibadan his life's narrative of a intellectual warrior with fierce uncontested and uncompromising intellect. It is now our turn to rise to the challenge of these times . Sun re O

Link to `Rueben Abati's piece below

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=230308&ptitle=Adegoke%20Adelabu:%2050%20Years%20After