Asiwaju And The Burden Of Leadership

By Mobolaji Sanusi

“Leadership involves the heavy burden of responsibility, and the fear of getting it wrong can paralyze a leader.” — John C. Maxwell

William Shakespeare is a globally renowned playwright and poet, considered the greatest dramatist of all time. To date, his works are cherished worldwide. He has to his credit many enduring literary works with quotable quotes. In his Henry IV, Part 2 (Act 3, Scene 1), emanates a stanza’s inimitable concluding poetic quote: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

This quote was spoken by King Henry IV as he struggled with insomnia due to the burdens of leadership resting heavily on his shoulders during the renaissance age and time. And ever since, it has become a global refrain, spoken and written to depict the exhilarating demand of office on leadership.

From the foregoing however is why any time the picture or thought of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, crosses my eyes and mind, I usually get enmeshed in thinking about whether Asiwaju is still truly enjoying being the president of this country at this cantankerous period of its history. My thinking is that despite the fact that the president had ab initio declared publicly that he should not be pitied because he deliberately asked and fought for the exalted position.

Several reasons abound for one’s sincere concern for the president. The myriads of inherited problems and the unending search for solutions to these protracted problems that have remained intractable. The problems have remained endemic, largely because of human behavioral proclivity for corruption and disdain for rule of law while when things go wrong, we are quickly reminded that the buck stops on the leadership’s table. For example, when most of the governors of states and chairmen of local councils across the country are expending their billions of monthly federal allocations on frivolities, or condoning insecurity in their jurisdictions, the public assumption is that the president should be held responsible.

The politics of governance in this country and in other countries, unavoidably, put the president and his ruling party in the spotlight. This is because as stated in Shakespeare’s play, uneasy truly lies the head that wears the crown; even when sometimes the head deserves plaudits in certain spheres of governance/management. Could it be that the president is not doing anything right or visible enough for the eyes to see? I ask with fairness: What about his exploits in the realm of road infrastructure? The statistics in this regard are quite enticing but could probably have been diminished by the challenging demands in other spheres of governance where this administration is found wanting.

Without attempting to be the mouthpiece of the Tinubu-administration, it won’t be hypocritical to point out a wide range of verifiable roads infrastructure attended to by the president which cannot be easily ignored. This is even though several others including the Lagos-Sango-Abeokuta highway have been begging for federal government’s attention for years. Despite this, it’s only fair to take cognizance of the president’s efforts in the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway; the Sokoto-Badagry expressway that was conceived and abandoned over forty-five years ago by the National Party of Nigeria-controlled President Shehu Shagari government but now revived by the Tinubu administration. Other roads being accorded attention by this administration include the Kaduna-Abuja road, Kaduna-Zaria-Kano roads, Onitsha-Enugu roads, the East-West road, the Ibadan-Ilesa road, and the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin Expressway, which have also been revived by the president. Despite the president’s efforts in attending to road infrastructure, many of his critics still accuse him of sundry malfeasance, including the removal of fuel subsidy, naira devaluation, foreign borrowings, insecurity, and the constant electricity he promised Nigerians that is yet to be achieved. The president is indeed in trouble and most Nigerians are not sparing him by demanding a better deal under his leadership.

But isn’t all this enough to cause Nigeria’s president insomnia like Shakespearean King Henry IV? To address the pain associated with the president’s reforms without justifying it, provided it is properly managed by himself and his team of appointees, is a reference to one of my favorite quotes with anonymous attribution where it states: “Impact doesn’t come without sacrifice. Growth doesn’t come without wounds.” This column is not in any way trying to deludingly defend the president because he has men who are paid to do that. But where pertinent as a commentator, one needs to be objectively realistic without ignoring the avoidable painful sacrifices that Nigerians are going through while those in government continue to live in affluence.

The flaks being heaped on the president from the socio-economic fronts are enormous which gives room for rumination over how the president has been coping. Now that the electioneering season beckons, this must have further added to his avalanche of problems seeking his presidential attention. The intrigues and huge pressure of party politics and candidates’ selections for the 2027 general elections remain something the president should be thoughtful about. Even if yours sincerely do not know of any other states, the unbearable pressure of who becomes governor in the southwest states where elections will be held in Y2027, is already being heaped on the shoulders of the president. It is not that this is something new to the president, it is just that when the burden of presidential duties is added to this, it automatically becomes more burdensome for the president. Yet, he can’t afford to make or support wrong choices in his own political backyard, as doing this may have serious political consequences, as God willing, he moves into his second and final term in office as president of Nigeria.

In his engagements this electioneering season, Asiwaju needs to be more careful so as not to empower the wrong persons. He cannot afford to get it wrong at this critical period as he approaches his final reelection tenure to complete his eight years in office. He needs to ensure that those who win around him are genuinely sincere people who would not easily turn against him tomorrow. He needs to avoid emotive sentiments and be more realistic and empirical in making critical decisions, moving forward. When he wins his second term, it is not improbable that less than three years into that tenure, most of those milling around him and his family will start seeing him as a lame duck president, looking elsewhere to further butter their bread.

God willing, 2031 is crucial to determining what the Asiwaju legacy will look like. He must watch out for treacherous associates who have been unduly peddling his name and influence to secure positions. History is replete with such leadership companies from time immemorial. But he needs to be more mindful of his survival now than ever before. He should not drop his guard for anyone because Julius Caesar was assassinated by trusted allies like Brutus and Roman senators who broke a bond of deep trust to “save the republic” from his rising power. Also, Stalin orchestrated the isolation, exile, and eventual assassination of Leon Trotsky, his fellow Bolshevik leader following Lenin’s death. Hitler betrayed Stalin when he violated the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact by launching Operation Barbarossa and consequently leading a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union. In Africa, close allies of Patrice Lumumba handed him over to his murderers. The same applies to Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, whose bosom friend, Blaise Campaore masterminded his assassination. There are so many Brutus, Campaore, and Stalin amongst those deceitfully celebrating Asiwaju today. He must be extremely careful now as not all songs of praise are praiseworthy.

My prayer: May Asiwaju not be consumed by the burden of presidential office and the sycophantic muttering of the coterie of pretenders that are around and far away from him. Eternal vigilance and divine guidance are nonnegotiable ingredients that he must imbibe at this period of his leadership of the southwest as his ancestral homeland, and Nigeria in general.

•Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS. (sms/whatsapp-07011117777).