Governance has become a tragic burden in some states in Nigeria due to the wrong choice of successors by the immediate past governors. Since every society or organisation reflects it’s leader, it will be an eggregious error for any leader to opt for an incongruous successor who like an horse spiralled out of control, once having it’s nose on the trough destroy the manger. For a state to witness a sea change in terms of development, it boils down to putting a reform minded person, a supervisor, not a super worker in the forefront. Where a state is lucky to have a performing governor, his ability to spark hope and consciously hand over the baton to an equally efficient successor is highly integral.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning end, hence, continuity In providing good governance is the only thing that can sustain reputation of an old manager of a state affairs and illuminates the personal identity of the successor. Like in the corporate organisations where corporate reputation is hinged on the management of the “conscious cues ” provided by its manager, the overall impression formed by the citizens in a state constitutes the image of its governor.
A big challenge in leadership is the ability to invest vast time and mental energy to identify the rightful person to continue where he stops.
In Oyo state today, we have seen people showing interest and flaunting their credentials to succeed the incumbent governor who has redefined governance system in the state by scoring high which has put his party on edge above others.
The puzzle le that will be running through the mind of the governor at this defining moment bothers on who is tailor made to carry on the good legacieshe is about to leave behind after expiration of his tenure of office. Finding solution to this demands more than logic, it requires a combination of several factors.
Even though the governor must scout for a talented person, he should however borrow from the advice of the elders that says ” talent is never enough, people with talent without strong character hardly stay on”. Bearing that in mind, he still needs to harkback and check who among the players is directly involved in the creative process of getting things done in his administration by directly funneling his own inputs. This is important because people naturally support what they help to create.
It’s also instructive that he needs to examine among those jostling for his seat someone who is not too desperate to wrench his political structure and use it to work against him in the nearest future, this is a strength in leadership that has worked for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
Leaving power to a practical politician, scurrying for attention, rather than a technocract in politics may be ultra vire.
Who among the rest has a marginal utility to excel others is another point. Which of them is endowed with transferable skills to influence others in governance process. He must peck on a higher pedestal and have an added advantage to crack the code, master the risk and have mental resource to plug leakages and stall systemic corruption. This does not come cheaply. It’s always an outcome of years of experience in that particular field.
Money is a tool for moving things in politics, it does not always come without his own deficit. In the days of Chief Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu, he was always reminding his fond brother and the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, why it would be too disastrous for a state to put a man of steep affluence in politics. His oversized ego, Adedibu claimed, would blindfold such a character from performing, he will dawdle away his time on how to keep his wealth afloat.
Humility is also key. Only a man looking for disaster will hand over to an overtly priggish person who will be too hard to be controlled. A leader must be close enough to relate with his team.
The acid test of leadership is the amount of light shone on him by the people who are relentlessly working towards achieving a collective bargaining with him. It’s not only about his abilities, but how well he can motivate others.
Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe is a man who combines intellectual virtue with character. He has been involved in driving the present administration in Oyo state without making any heavy weather of it . He is a polyglot with special skills in different areas which includes shaping government policies, cybersecurity practice, plugging financial leakages , developing economic blueprints and facilitating growth, civil engineering and others.
In several fora, Engineer Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe has promised to be a servant leader who will leave governance in the hands of the people if finally elected. He is a supervisor not a superman. He is so humble that many people hardly believe that with his wealth of experience spanning decades and with his first class educational background in Engineering, Accounting and finance and other fields, he still lead a furtive life.
In respect of the aforementioned, Engineer TEGBE is strikingly the best in the pack to succeed Senator Abiola Ajimobi. No wonder why people are saying “”Give us TEGBE in 2019”
Dr Ayilara O A writes from Iresaadu, Surulere LGA, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
