FEMI TAIWO ON MONDAY: Taking Achebe’s Challenge

Michael Oluwafemi Taiwo PhD

Achebe divides opinion. He is either a traitor or a patriot depending on who you talk to. But that is what great men have in common: they are necessarily controversial. What is indisputable, however, is that for five decades his literary works paint a vivid – if gory – picture of the Nigerian state.

We like to hide our dirty linen and Achebe almost made it his life’s goal to publish what is wrong with us and that didn’t settle well on half of us while the other half of us believe that only by admitting what (or where) we are now can we truly see what (or where)we need to be and have the drive to change. [As an aside, I did not take Achebe all that seriously until an American friend of mine told me he read his works in high school as part of the required reading in his Literature class.]

This piece is not a critique of his work or life. The blogosphere is awash with them. This is about attempting a solution to one of Achebe’s posers. In his 1983 book,Trouble with Nigeria, Achebe famously wrote “the problem with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.

There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.” Spot on. Achebe could have been talking about any country and his quote would still hold. Indeed, man seems to have lost the ability to solve problems on a large scale. We look tragically incapable of governing ourselves because real leaders are sadly few. This is why we need to multiply the number of good leaders around.

How do we increase the quantity and quality of leaders we have? The jury is out about whether leaders are born or made. Are some people by nurture leaders or does naturecreate them? The answer is probably somewhere in between but what is clear is that everyone’s leadership skill can be greatly enhanced by application of effort. I have two proposals on how one can go about being the type of leader the society desperately needs. First, I will let Kung-fu-tse (more commonly known as Confucius), born in 552 B.C., speak:

The illustrious ancients, when they wished to make clear and to propagate the highestvirtues in the world, put their states in proper order. Before putting their states in proper order, they regulated their families. Before regulating their families, they cultivated their own selves. Before cultivating their own selves, they perfected their souls. Before perfecting their souls, they tried to be sincere in their thoughts. Before trying to be sincere in their thoughts, they extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such investigation of knowledge lay in the investigation of things, and seeing them as they really were. When things were thus investigated, knowledge became complete. When knowledge was complete, their thoughts became sincere. When their thoughts were sincere, their souls became perfect. When their souls were perfect, their own selves became cultivated. When their selves were cultivated, their families became regulated. When their families became regulated, their states came to be put into proper order. When their states were in proper order, then the whole world became peaceful and happy.

Ignorant persons are occupying public offices and that is the malaise of our country. That State is fortunate who has philosopher-kings, as Plato would say, as rulers. If you are interested in being a leader in any sphere, you should endeavor to “extend your knowledge to the utmost.” What does that look like? The first step is self-examination. An unexamined life, after all, is not worth living (Socrates).

Ask yourself: what are my motives? Do I love enough? Do I care enough? Who am I? What do I want to be remembered for? These are just a few questions to get started. If the process is thorough, you’ll be rudely surprised to see that what needs immediate fixing isn’t the world without but the world within. Gandhi is correct: Be the change you want to see in the world.

*To be continued…