Okowa and the burden of leadership

By Innocent Ojefia

Damocles was one of the courtiers of Dionysius, a king of Sicily. He always flattered the king, saying. “How grand it must be to be a great king like you!” One day, Dionysius said to him, “You shall be a king for one day… The next morning, the king sent for him. He asked him to take his seat on the throne. Damocles’ heart was in a flutter. He thought he would be the happiest man in the world.

Just then, there was a commotion on one side. Damocles looked up. He stood aghast when he saw a sword above his head. It hung by a thread like horse hair. Damocles turned pale. What if the sword fell on him! It would be the end of his precious life. His joy came to a sudden end. The sword hanging over his head was terrifying enough to take life out of him. He envied the nobles and courtiers. How happy and carefree they looked! How glad he would be to change places with them.

Now it was dinner time. Damocles was offered the choicest dishes but he had no appetite for anything. The king took pity on him. He allowed him to leave the throne. He warned him never to say again that the king is the happiest mortal alive. Damocles heaved a sigh of relief. He begged the king’s forgiveness. The king thus taught Damocles a useful lesson. He learnt that —’Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’.

A crown is symbolic of leadership. Leadership bears responsibility. Persons with great responsibility, carry a heavy burden to lead their people. Thus, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Leadership is not easy. It comes with a great burden of responsibility and many challenges.

I remember the story of a supervisory councillor who queried his local government chairman as to why the local government council should be broke. The chairman had announced at exco meeting that the council was broke. The supervisory councillor couldn’t believe it, he always felt that government can never be broke. It is certain that most of the opposition elements in the state assume same, that government must at all time be resourceful. Out of mischief, they seem not to understand the financial situation of the country. The figures of revenues and expenditures in the state are clear and are there for anyone to see.   The number of staff in the state public service and the wage bill is open knowledge.

No responsible leader sits idle and watch his people go through pains. Hence the sheer lack of knowledge sometimes deliberately exhibited by the opposition is most vexatious. They are either not aware of the current economic recession or they are deliberately demonstrating mischief. Rather than see decline in the fulfillment of government financial obligations as the result of scantiness of funds arising from the economic downturn in the country, they ignorantly and with outright deceitfulness and mischief personalize the situation by placing culpability on the governor.

There is no doubt that things are rough and difficult for the ordinary citizens and the Governor feels the pains of the people. As a responsible leader, he is doing everything within his power to ameliorate the difficulties on the people of the state but there are limits to that, because the economic recession is a national problem.

On the other hand, there is also the over flogged issue of appointment to only persons of Ika descent, which is a blatant falsehood and misinformation. Right from the first few appointments the Governor made, the accusations of Ikanization started without any attempt at looking at the overall spread across the state. A cursory look through the list of appointees by local government of origin does not indicate any visible advantage towards the two Ika local government areas.

Accusations of nepotism against head of governments at all levels is not new. Junaid Mohammed once referred to President Buhari’s government as the most nepotistic in the history of the country. Even the Ag. President Prof Yemi Osinbajo was recently accused of nepotism and favoritism by one Dr. Shettima Yerima, supported by Abubakar Tsav, among others. Right from the administration of Olorogun Félix Ibru, Chief James Ibori and Dr. Uduaghan, such accusations are commonplace, especially by those outside government.

Governor Okowa possesses the two major traits of leadership success: discipline and commitment. The main reason why most government policies and programmes fail in this country is because of lack of discipline and commitment. Discipline is an important ingredient in the successful implementation of public policies and programmes. Discipline has a lot to do with respect for time lines.

He also possesses strong values; honesty and integrity. He is someone who strives to make situations better, encouraging and taking genuine interest in others. A creative risk-taker. In the over two years of Governor Okowa’s leadership, Delta State has witnessed a total turn-around from the recent past in the way and manner government activities are carried out.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” … leaves us with the lesson whose implications extend well beyond Delta State. Socio-political disconnects are everywhere but rational, patriotic and well-meaning persons should be able to draw the lines. They should carry the proverbial wine and water – and be in the best position to tell the difference in weight.

*Ojefia, a blogger and public affairs analyst, is based in Asaba, Delta State.

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