How to be good leader – Patrick Lumumba

Renowned human rights activist and Director, Kenya School of Law, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, reeled out on Friday the qualities a good leader must possess to be a role model for the governed.

According to him, a good leader should be capable of delegating without abdicating his or her responsibilities.

Lumumba stated these in his lecture titled, “Ethical leadership: Balancing power and responsibility,” delivered at the national leadership conference, organised by the GOTNI Leadership Centre in Abuja on Friday, where he called on all leaders to be team players so as to realise set goals.

“You must always remember that no matter how good you are, you must be part of the team. If the team is to succeed, the chain is only as strong as its weakest point. And sometimes the leadership is the weakest point because the leadership is nepotistic, myopic and all these may affect an individual who calls himself or herself a leader,” the renowned Kenyan Professor of Law emphasised.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the CEO, GOTNI Leadership Centre, Dr. Linus Okorie, said institutions die and disappear while organisations go into oblivion because of leadership capital deficit within them.

“The question that I am asking this country at this time is, can we find budget for massive leadership development? Can we find institutions that will say to themselves, that, if leadership matters, this is my budget for growing leaders at the highest level and if Nigeria can answer that question, then I can tell you there is progress at the door in a way that is unimaginable”, he said.

A former Senator in the Polish Parliament, John Godson, said for Nigeria to come out of its leadership quagmire, the electorate must change their orientation and make informed choices about who leads the country.

He said, “It is said that we always have the leadership we deserve. During this last election, I had the opportunity of campaigning, going from market to market from street to street and I am of the opinion that we, the people, need to change because it turns out that many times we choose leaders who are able to give us tokens, and many times we do not give a premium to qualified and passionate people, to leaders of integrity.

“So I think, if anything is going to change, it has to start with the electorate. We need voter education, we need national reorientation, and one of the things I have been doing and I want to see happen more is to show people that it is possible.”

The Chairman, Gtext Holdings, Dr. Stephen Akintayo, said Africa was losing touch with the fundamental principle that parents are responsible for teaching leadership, hence, that has become a big challenge.

Akintayo said politicians were not to be solely blamed for the poor leadership in Africa and Nigeria, particularly, as they are a reflection of society.

He said, “Politicians are always a reflection of society. Politicians will take the shape of what society accepts. What has happened with the last election, if you notice, the condescending, arrogant way politicians talk is reducing because many of them were shocked by what happened in the last election.

“So the people are the ones who have the power. When the people sit up when the people demand the best, they will always produce the right kind of leadership that represents what they want.”