Leading by example

Leading by example

In a period of transition, when the old rules have ruled out of order and the new rules have not yet caught on, clear examples of leadership offer the best guidance for behaviour and decision making. This is the reason why the sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohammed and his closest associates became so crucial a support for the holy book Al-Quran. Reports of these sayings and actions are transferred from generation to generation and the science of linkage isnad ensures that each link in the chain is thoroughly authenticated before being certified as sound. How do we who live in the present learn from this tradition? I can only transmit the example of leadership-by-example that I heard about and witnessed in the last few days. In a world where politicians and those close to them are never seen except as purely negative characters, it is difficult to stick ones neck out and say "Yes, I did see a person related to a politician act honourably in such and such circumstances." But this is a risk that one must take from time to time.

Mrs. Stella Obasanjo arrived in Cape Town early last week to christen a search and rescue boat/ship built in a Cape Town ship-building yard at the invitation of the builders of the ship. In her entourage were some wives of executive governors from some various states including Ondo State, members of the ministries in charge of marine matters and national safety. On the evening of the christening of the ship, there was a dinner hosted by the South African and Dutch builders of the ship. I sat between the head of the Cape Town shipyard and his Dutch collaborator. Driven by a passion for traveling and a fascination with all forms of transportation, I told them both of my deliberate actions of flying to Athens in the late 1960s and early 1970s in order to catch a Russian ship that plied the Greek port of Pireas and the Egyptian port of Alexander. From Alexander it was quite cheap to take an air-conditioned train to Cairo and to my overseer at the American University in Cairo. The two gentlemen immediately invited me to visit the ship before it leaves for Nigeria. It must have been at this point that the issue of the name of the ship came up. What was the name of the ship? Afterall, it had been christened that morning. The two of them exchanged looks and tried to smile! It was not easy and I was interested to hear their story. And they told the story in the nature of all shared narratives repeating one another, jumping forwards and backwards and finishing by feeling that the damage was not more than could be dealt with! Damage? What Damage? It could have been worse! What could have been worse?

The builders of the ship had given the name Stella O as the name of the ship. The radio signaling and the insurance papers with Lloyds of London had been prepared in this name. In the nature of all previous First Ladies of military dictators there would be no problem, as far as the builders of the boat were concerned. Well, they were mistaken. Mrs. Stella Obasanjo was quick, clear and uncompromising. She would not let the ship be named after her. First of all, this issue was never cleared with her before she came to do the honours of christening the ship. Secondly, if she were to choose a name, would she have chosen Stella O as her name and the particular one to be perpetuated in history until the next First Lady came along?

When commentators insist that European and other negotiating partners of African political and economic actors deliberately corrupt these actors nobody pays much attention to the comments. Why did the ship builders assume that Mrs. Stella Obasanjo would accept to have a Nigerian ship named after her? Is it because they have named other ships after such personalities before and nobody objected? Why did they not think that it was only a matter of courtesy to ask someone if she did or did not wish to have a ship named after her? Years ago, it was fun to write a television script in which a man after whom a street had been named in his hometown, took a tour of the street and told the local government council to keep their street and he would keep his name! There is honouring and there is honouring!

This is not the place to narrate the process which finally produced a new name which means "Peace" in one Nigerian language. That is part of the history of the Nigerian marine services, if there is something such as that.

Neither is it possible for me to speculate, beyond the combined story of the incident as told by the two chairmen of the two companies involved in the building of the ship, what made Mrs. Stella Obasanjo refuse to have the ship named after her. That also belongs to the history of our new democracy.

The questions that are perhaps more relevant and need to be asked have to do with the meaning of this small incident. One question has to do with the fact that sometime ago in Nigeria, there was a decision of government taken to the effect that nothing would be named after any living person. If you want something named after you, just die first. This rule must have been thrown out of the window under Sani Abacha. There is urgent need to re-state this decision. Or, if it has to be re-considered, then it should be debated anew in the talking houses of the federation.

Another question that can be asked has to do with the need to have an orderly process for naming whatever needs to be named possessions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as is the case in most organised countries of the world. It could be decided, for instance that ships would be named after the rivers of the country, aircraft would be named after the birds of the country, public buildings would be named after the mountains of the country and so on and so forth.

It is obvious that the Nigerian search and rescue vessel is going to have to be re-processed for its radio signal and re-registered for its insurance.