Misreading Leadership
Gold, governance, and the cost of judging too quickly
Leadership problems are rarely simple, and solutions that look wrong from the outside are often the only workable ones from within.
Inspectors visited my school today, and after the inspection, I had a short discussion with one of them. During that conversation, he shared a story from one of their recent inspections. After the inspection on that day, they asked the principal whether he had any problems regarding his work. He said yes and explained the situation.
Recently, some of the students in his school went to do Zinari (gold mining), and within just one session of mining, they struck gold. They made around 13 million. After that, they bought Rubber Rubber (ladies’ bikes) and started riding them to school. When the other students saw this, they stopped coming to school and went to do Zinari as well.
School was suddenly less convincing, and the classroom thinned out.
This is not a problem unique to schools or villages. Leadership at every level suffers from the same misunderstanding.
When Buhari came into power, one of the early complaints people raised was the delay in releasing the ministerial list and making other key appointments. What was rarely explained was why. Lai Mohammed, on State of the Nation with Edmund Obilo, later gave some context. When ministers from the previous government left, they did not leave handover notes or clear procedures to guide those coming after them. After sixteen years in power, they likely did not expect to lose the election. As a result, the new president had to meet individually with forty-six permanent secretaries, one per day, over forty-six days.
They may still have found a way to move faster, but the explanation was not without merit.
The problems leaders face daily range from situations that seem almost unsolvable to those that can be resolved instantly.
As followers, staff, or ordinary citizens affected by decisions, we often reduce complex issues to black and white. Leadership, however, rarely operates in such clean categories.
Even with the volume of problems one faces in public service, civil service, or any other form of leadership, it is still possible to be a good leader. Everyone will not agree with you, and that is fine. A few principles help.
Be a good person.
You should genuinely want the best for people and also for yourself. Without this foundation, every other leadership trait becomes hollow.
Transparency and inclusivity.
When people understand the problem, they may be able to offer solutions, help with implementation, or at least be more patient while a solution is being worked out. Some people will never be convinced, but many will. In the Zinari case, the inspectors worked with the principal, the village chief, and those in charge of the mines. The mines were asked to open at 12, and the school was to close at 12. The aim was not a perfect solution, but to avoid a complete loss.
Compromise.
Schools were meant to close by 1:30 pm, but this was brought forward to 12 pm. Anything beyond that, and the students’ minds would no longer be in school. The compromise reduced learning time, but it preserved learning itself.
Listening.
One of the best leaders I have met was my vice principal, Musa Usman, who later became the acting principal. Before him, we complained often, but it rarely felt like we were heard. With him, it was different. As lodge president, I spoke with him regularly, and he always showed that he listened. One small act mattered to us: the payment of invigilation fees. It was 500 per subject. The amount was not the point. What mattered was that we felt seen and appreciated.
Even then, listening does not always earn trust. You can hear people, act on their concerns, and still be judged harshly. Once an opinion is formed, it often becomes a lens through which every action is interpreted.
One trait I have noticed in Nigerians is that once a first impression is formed, it is very difficult to change. This is not limited to politics. It is everywhere. Once judgement is made, reasoning is often suspended.
From people believing that a former president was replaced by a clone, to people saying, “Is it not his job?” whenever an elected official does something visibly positive, to criticising policies without ever reading them, the pattern is the same.
It would be easy to say people should not let dislike or hatred consume them, but in many cases, they do not even realise it has. As leaders, you should do so much until it becomes undeniable.
Even then, some people will still hate you. Development usually brings discomfort to someone. Leadership is not about being liked. It is about responsibility. Do your best, and then do the rest too.
SIDE NOTE
Education in some parts of Nigeria is so bad that it is quite unbelievable.
When I hear that education is bad, I don’t expect it to mean SS3 students can’t do addition, subtraction, multiplication or division without calculators. Some students still can’t read a line of an English passage, and some students from the “village village” (that was intentional) can’t speak a word of English; worse, some can’t speak Hausa.
I would love it if the government could consider sending the parents back to school; maybe that would help improve the situation. We once had an issue where the name of a particular student was missing from the register; it was later discovered that the name used for registration was different from the one the student was using in class. The father was the one with the wrong name, not the child.
This article has been in my draft since Feb 17, 2025; it did not happen today.
I will be releasing another newsletter soon, focused on democracy and government.
GREETINGS IN HEBREW
Shalom (שָׁלוֹם): Hello / Goodbye / Peace.
Shalom Aleichem (שלום עליכם): Peace be upon you (formal).
GREETINGS IN ARAMAIC
Hello/Peace: Shlama (ܫܠܳܡܐ)
Peace be with you (to a male): Shlomo alukh
Peace be with you (to a female): Shlomo alach
GREETINGS IN ARABIC
As-salamu alaykum (السلام عليكم): “Peace be upon you.” (Formal/General).
Wa alaykum as-salam (وعليكم السلام): “And upon you be peace.” (Standard response).
GOD IN ARAMAIC
Elah/Alaha (אלה/ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ):
And a letter on leadership and the principles that anchor it?
Touché.
Your balanced view and rich exposure on grassroot matters should be televised(you have touched grass!)
We'll love to read more drafts and hopefully see more pictures🌚.
This was a good read.
It made me reflect on how often we judge leaders from the outside without understanding the weight of their decisions. It's sad that we most times misread silence, restraint or process as weakness.
Well-done 👏👍!
We look forward to reading more.