Alh Ododo Ahmed Usman: The Governor Kogi State Needs
Kogi State needs a governor with a passion for a cause that is larger than they are, someone with a dream and a vision that will better the state.
Obviously, without passion, a leader will not make the necessary courageous and difficult decisions and carry them into action. This is not to imply that all decisions are of this nature. But you can be sure, some of them will be. The leader without a passion for a cause will duck.
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Leadership implies values. Alh Ododo Ahmed Usman is a holder of value. A leader must have values that are life-giving to society. It is the only kind of leadership we need in Kogi state right now.
So often we think of people skills or caring about people as being ‘warm and fuzzy’. I think a leader can be of varying ‘warmth and fuzziness’, but a leader has to respect others. You can’t lead without it. Respect means also that one can deal with diversity – a critical need for a leader in today’s world – probably always has been, although diversity may have been more subtle in the homogenous societies of the past.
From his mission statement, it is crystal clear that Alh Ododo Ahmed Usman is a man of vision. This is a bit different than passion, but in other ways it isn’t separable. If one doesn’t care about a subject, an issue, a system, then one won’t spend the time thinking about how it could or should be different. Yet, one could have strong feelings about something and not good ideas, particularly if one didn’t spend a good deal of time studying the topic. Thus a leader has to have some ideas about change, about how the future could be different. Vision then is based on two components that leaders also need: creativity and intellectual drive.
Talking about creativity, one has to try to think out of the box to have good visions and to come up with effective strategies that will help advance the vision. I’d also add here the need for a sense of humor. It’s a creative skill that is in great need by leaders. We should read the funnies more!
On intellectual drive and Knowledge, Ododo is a student. In general it is hard for a leader to be around enough other leaders to pick this up just through discussion, so I think a leader has to be a reader and a learner. Furthermore, I can’t see someone leading in a field they know nothing about.
Ododo Ahmed Usman is a combination of confidence and humility. He has a great vision and good ideas for change, and even passion for it, if one isn’t confident, then action will not occur. Without action, there is no change.
Yet, paradoxically, a leader needs to have humility. No matter how creative and bright one is, often the best ideas and thinking are going to come from someone else. A leader needs to be able to identify that, have good people around who have these ideas. This takes humility, or at least lack of egocentricity. Ododo is focused on the ends and doesn’t see himself always as the conduit or creator of the strategy to get to that end.
Kogi state needs a communicator as governor. Ododo have the capacity to speak or write in a way to convince others that they should follow along, join the team, get on board. All the above gets to the old adage that a leader knows how to do the right thing and a manager knows how to do things right. Ododo is both a leader and a manager, too. I don’t think these skills and abilities can be separated out very easily.
The governor that kogi state needs is someone who can see what needs to be done and help the team plan and organize the getting it done.
Management is getting things done through people. While a leader or other visionary person may be very influential, a leader means to me, someone who is taking action, trying to get others to do something they want to see done.
Having the ability to act in an interpersonally competent manner, yet he has the techniques of good listening, honest and open communication, delegating, conflict resolution skills, etc., to actually get work done and keep everyone together.
If I were to sum it all up, I’d say that Alh Ododo Ahmed Usman have a purpose that is larger than him and the balanced personality and skills to put that purpose into action.
Tosin Tafu
Coordinator, Better Kogi Initiative 4 Ododo.
Betterkogiinitiative@gmail.com
