Dr. Dennis O’Grady tells us in “Bottom Line – Personal” that change has a
bad reputation in our society. But it isn’t all bad — not by any means. In
fact, change is necessary in life — to keep us moving… to keep us
growing… to keep us interested…. Imagine life without change. It would
be static… boring… dull. And Max Planck tells us in “The Philosophy of
Physics” (1936) that an important scientific innovation rarely makes its
way rapidly winning over and converting its opponents; it rarely happens
that Saul becomes Paul. What does happen is that its opponents gradually
die out and that the growing generation is familiarized with the idea from
the beginning.
With the news that Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers who is also the
Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) was able to thwart a coup that
was plotted against him by persons from certain quarters in the NGF, is an
indication that Amaechi should look beyond the mere foiled coup and watch
that there are people who do not want to make their threats open to remove
him as the NGF’s chairman, but are silently on revenge mission for only
reasons best known to them.
It could be recalled that in September last year, when the NGF said that it
was about to find a lasting solution to the country’s security challenges
and unanimously agreed on what to do, the suggestion gradually widened as
the Northern governors opposed to the decentralisation of the Nigerian
Police Force. We learnt then that in a communiqué reportedly signed by the
Northern governors on this issue of state police exposed the height of
betrayal of persons to the position of the Amaechi as the chair of the NGF.
The NGF sang with discordant voices at that stage, with the authentic
refusal of the Northern Governors for the creation of state police.
I contributed a piece on that issue and warned that Amaechi should read the
handwriting on the wall in the NGF’s house and know that it would be very
hard to reduce the pains and inflammation the state “Nigeria” is causing
us, because some people hardly would agree on what Dr. Dennis O’Grady had
told us in “Bottom Line – Personal” that change has a bad reputation in our
society. But it isn’t all bad — not by any means. In fact, change is
necessary in life — to keep us moving… to keep us growing… to keep us
interested…. Imagine life without change. It would be static… boring…
dull.
Nigeria is one, but different Nigerians. I told him that he is the chair of
the NGF does not mean that he is loved by all in the NGF. I said that how
else would we not agree on this if the Northern governors had the
effrontery to thwart a decision the NGF agreed upon and perhaps was nailed
by the NGF’s chair, which was always the norm in every meeting. I asked if
the renegades would not be expunged from the meeting. But Amaechi in his
charismatic self told the world after, that the NGF was intact – there were
no qualms to quake about the discordant voices.
As we have also read in the news that Amaechi was seeking for a second term
in the NGF’s fold, it is a good development owing to his fundamental
rights. But the idea to scheme him out by some forces believed to be
outside the NGF’s fold, hinging their point that NGF does not allow a
chairman to run for a second term in office, is the ugliest side of the
group’s politics, instead they would tell us that there were people who are
not happy with the height Amaechi has attained in the politics of the
country.
In leadership, you do not expect the leader to be championing the cause of
others other than those he or she was elected to head or spearhead. In my
estimation, I think Amaechi has done well in this area. Initially, the NGF
was not all this known, except as Amaechi becomes its Chair. He has shown
how a servant-leader can credibly perform. Amaechi became a servant first
in the NGF, which compelled the anti-Amaechi to first see him as its leader
and later want him booted out. Why?
Amaechi has shown in the NGF what was written in the Christian Bible,
precisely in the book of Matthew 20:25-26: Jesus called them together and
said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. But
those seeking for Amaechi’s removal remind me of what was contained in the
book of Philippians 2:3-5: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of
you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests
of others. Your attitude should be the same…
If Amaechi had become a stooge of the presidency in his position, Nigerians
would have condemned him. Now, he is not against the presidency, but
working with the dictates of the NGF, detractors are at his jugular, as if
there had been any personal agenda of his other than that of the NGF in
adding voice to the dictates of the Executive. I can’t remember anywhere
that Amaechi is leading in the NGF by hitting people’s head; rather, he has
been coalescing his counterparts around a shared vision.
It is time the anti-Amaechi forces in and outside the NGF should beware.
You can’t weaken truth by killing the truth-bearer. It is grateful that
some members in the NGF saw the reason Amaechi should continue and eschewed
those forces that wanted to impose a chairman on the Forum. It is however
noteworthy of Amaechi who had shown in the NGF what Richard Petty and John
Cacioppo instruct in the book, “Attitudes & Persuasion” that the nature and
structure of belief systems is important from the perspective of an
informational theorist because beliefs are thought to provide the cognitive
foundation of an attitude. In order to change an attitude, then, it is
presumably necessary to modify the information on which that attitude
rests. It is generally necessary, therefore, to change a person’s beliefs,
eliminate old beliefs or introduce new beliefs.
Amaechi has brought about transformation and reformation in the Nigeria
Governors Forum, and this could be why those who suffer from the Old Order
and Beliefs do not want him. However, Dr. Dennis O’Grady had told us in
“Bottom Line – Personal” that change has a bad reputation in our society.
But it isn’t all bad — not by any means. In fact, change is necessary in
life — to keep us moving … to keep us growing … to keep us
interested…. Imagine life without change. It would be static… boring…
dull.
