Nigeria is in need of a Leader, who is a seasoned entrepreneur, not a Magician that many are craving for. I read a lot of comments and write-ups which shows that many Nigerian are expecting the President Elect General Muhammadu Buhari to perform magic and transform Nigeria into a developed nation overnight.
It is time we wake up from the land of slumber. It is time we discard fantasies and embrace reality. Unless we do that, we will continue to suffer in the hands of opportunist and con-artists who promise us that we will suddenly be transported from our present state of economic woes to the land of promise!
It is time Nigerian request that our nation be run like a business where the stakeholders holds the leader accountable. The citizens are to be blamed for all the years of looting we have experienced in the past. Since we want fairy tales of the magicians and expect result from a simple wave of the magic-wand, we shouldn’t complain that we get screen-saver results instead of the result we desire!
Entrepreneur vs Magician
What differentiate a magician from an entrepreneur? The answer is simple. An entrepreneur promises all stake holders, shareholders, customers, suppliers, workers a better future. He doesn’t do that by just making promises based on his fantasy, rather he makes propositions based on available resources and then promises all the stakeholder realistic result based on their commitment to the vision! A magician on the other hand make promises base on his slight of hand. He generate results that gives momentary pleasure or excitement, but cannot be held accountable for whatever happened thereafter. Nobody holds a magician accountable!
The Entrepreneur
It is unfortunate to note that many Nigerians are expecting someone somewhere to perform magic while we all go to sleep. That is never going to happen. No matter how good the incoming government is, our collective effort is required to move Nigeria forward.
Just as no business can survive without the stakeholders contributing their quota, so it is that Nigeria cannot grow while the citizens are neglecting to contribute their own quota to the success of our beloved nation.
- It is our responsibility to be interested in the goals of the incoming government. We must be interested in the details, not just sweet talks. We must desire to know if the goals are S.M.A.R.T or just fairy tales. For example: What is the goal for power generation and distribution?
- It is our responsibility to be interested in the plan of the incoming government. For example: How is the present power problem going to be solved. How long will it take? What will be achieved in the last quarter of 2015?
- It is our responsibility to listen and ask question on how the incoming government intend to achieve its set goals. We should be willing to hear the truth and nothing but the truth no matter how bitter it tastes!
- It is our responsibility to give the government time to carry out the actions and then judge the result with the promises made. For example: The actual goal achieved should be judged against the promised goal. We should ask the government to account for the variance and judge the result as being acceptable or not acceptable.
- It is our responsibility to hold every arm of government accountable! We should no longer allow leaders to make empty promises which cannot be measured. We should no longer allow leaders to lie to us without bearing the punishment for lying in public. We should stop celebrating liars, thieves and con-artists.
All these won’t happen overnight. So it is our responsibility to wait patiently as needed repairs and changes are implemented irrespective of how painful that may be. Shouting, criticizing, protesting and throwing tantrums based on sentiments have never done us any good. Employing the same methods that never worked in time past will only portray us as fools. If truly we desire change, let it start from you and I. Let’s change our attitude and stop expecting a magician to solve our problems. Long live Nigeria.
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Tags: Entrepreneur, Nigerian
Great points that everyone need to understand. It is easier to destroy than to build. Entrepreneurs are building and adding solutions to the customers need and we should not expect things to happen over night. If a new leader take the CEO sit, do not expect him to run from zero to hero overnight.
Ibrahim´s last blog post ..How to Teach Children about Money
Great point Ibrahim. Our problem in Africa is beautifully summarize with the phrase you used. “Expect him to run from zero to hero overnight”. We will begin to move forward as a people when we become more realistic and spend less time expecting magic performance from our leaders. Because our expectations are often un-realistic, it is easy for con-artists to promise us the impossible and we accept it as genuine pre-election promises. It is pathetic that over the years we seem not to have learnt our lessons yet. I wish my fellow Nigerians will give the new government a chance and use realistic measures to judge her performance in office. Cheers.