Loading...
At fourteen years old my father told me that any community led by a blind or a one eyed man is completely gone. When this one word hit me. I asked my father why a community will allow a blind or one eyed man to lead them. He told me that when you grow up you will fully understand the meaning of that idiom. I never got an answer to that question until now.
Lets assume our communities, villages, organisations both cultural and non cultural to be a system. Every system must have an engine house or a foundation. In our communities and villages and organisations today, our leaders are the engine house or the foundation. They are the highest decision making body and whatever they do or say affects everyone in that village or town from top to bottom.
Let assume that you were sick and you went to the hospital to be operated on by Dr. Ijele Abb and one of the nurses came and whispered to you that this surgeon that wants to operate on you right now someone wrote her Bachelor of surgery examination for her. What will you do? Would you like surgery to proceed? Certainly the answer is a capital NO. Another scenario, what if you employed a driver to drive your children to school every morning. He started work that morning and all your children were inside the car and suddenly someone called and informed you that the person you employed as a driver had never driven a car before. What will you do?
In our personal and individual life, we tend to be very careful and selective on who we employ, who we engage to provide services for us. We make sure that we pick the best qualified person for that particular task. But when it comes to our town and village leadership we fail on many occasions to use those same metrics to choose someone that will help us make decisions. I think the reason behind this is because many of us do not fully comprehend the core meaning of leadership.
Leadership means decision making and representation. It can be assumed to be a contract. When you contract someone to lead a village or a town or an organisation in Obi Mbieri you are contracting that person to make decisions for that village, that town or that organisation. Whatever decision that person makes affects everyone in that particular group.
Quality and effective performance of town and village leaders are essential for sustainable development, peace, and unity at the grassroots level. Apart from the decision – making role, town, village and organisation leaders serve as the closest link between the people and government, making their leadership role critical to everyday life. I have been in one community meeting where a leader presented to that community how she represented them in an organisation. Later it was discovered that what she told that community was not exactly how she represented that community.
So decision making and representation is the primary and core function for every town, village and organisation leaders in Obi Mbieri. If you are a leader reading this blog post right now can you score yourself. What is your scorecard? Be honest and sincere about it, what is your scorecard? Are you delivering your duties as contracted and entrusted by your town, village or organisation? When we score ourselves we get an honest score.
Quality leadership ensures proper planning and execution of town and village projects such as roads, schools, health centers, water supply, and electrification. Effective leaders mobilize resources and attract government and NGO support. As a leader what is your scorecard on town and village projects. Are you executing them as entrusted without inflating the resources?
Strong town and village leaders promote harmony among families, kindreds, and villages. They handle disputes fairly, prevent violence, and encourage dialogue, thereby maintaining peace and social stability. For town and village development to thrive, there should be peace, unity and harmony. This is also the cornerstone for security and trust. As town or village leaders do your welcome criticisms, those people that do not agree with your opinion how do you see them? Enemy or foe? Do you despise them and see their criticisms as a challenge to your authority? In conflict resolution, how do you handle that?. With an open mind or side taking? Do you belong to an opinion cult or are you neutral and use wisdom to discern what is right or wrong. Score yourself.
Good leadership demands honesty in managing community funds and resources. Transparent leaders build trust and encourage community members to participate actively in development initiatives. Town and village fund management and resource allocation is very crucial for every town and village development. As a town or village leader do you key into the notion that there is no money in the purse. From year to year there is no money in the purse. Any town or village that spends all her money without savings is doomed already to fall. Do you commit to present your people the town or village audited financial statement?. Do you also commit to the people appointed independent auditors to confirm and reconcile the financial document your office presented to the people? Are you financially honest and transparent? Score yourself.
Effective leaders represent the true interests of their people to government agencies, traditional councils, and external organizations. They ensure the town’s voice is heard and respected. They uphold traditions, customs, and moral values. Their character and conduct set examples for younger generations and preserve cultural identity
All the town PGs in Obi Mbieri, all the village heads in Obi Mbieri, all the village Chairman in Obi Mbieri, all the cultural group leaders in Obi Mbieri, all the Nze na Ozo people in Obi Mbieri. Are you truly representing the true interest of the Obi Mbieri people? Are you truly upholding the traditions, customs and the moral values of Obi Mbieri people? What kind of example are you setting for the younger generations and how are you preserving Obi Mbieri cultural heritage? Be honest and score yourself.
Let us remember that leaders who perform well focus on long-term benefits rather than personal gain. Their vision and integrity leave lasting legacies that improve living standards and future opportunities
To the Obi Mbieri people, when choosing your town, village and organisation leaders at any level, do so and vote as if you are contracting a surgeon to perform an operation on your own body.
Share this content:
