Dear Leader,
I trust this meets you in pursuit of growth.
There is a realisation about Africa that continues to trouble me.
If you attend conferences, listen to respected voices, or simply pay attention to conversations in our communities, one message appears repeatedly: Africa’s greatest challenge is not a lack of resources, but a deficit of leadership. Many respected leaders have echoed this view, including Olusegun Obasanjo in recent public remarks.
We all agree that we have a leadership crisis.
But this raises an important question.
If we all agree that leadership is the problem, why do so few people invest in developing it?
Why do leadership conferences often struggle with attendance?
Why are leadership academies not filled with young people eager to learn?
Why are there so few structured leadership development initiatives across our cities?
Let me make the question more personal.
When was the last time you deliberately enrolled in a leadership course or programme?
You see, when we talk about leadership, we associate it with presidents, governors, or elected officials. Most of us don’t really see ourselves as leaders, that is why we don’t invest as much in our leadership development. We rarely see ourselves as leaders, because how you see yourself determines how much investment you make in yourself. The way you see yourself determines the level of investment you make in your growth.
Many people on the street want change, as long as it doesn’t change them. We want things to be better as long as we are not the one that would make them better. We just want the finished product, we don’t want to participate in the process that produces them. We don’t want to upset things or get radical.
However, leadership is about 3 uncomfortable things.
- Leadership means discomfort: Anyone who hopes to lead effectively must be willing to live outside their comfort zone. Growth rarely happens in comfortable places.
- Leadership means dissatisfaction: Dissatisfaction is a tool to move us to greater things and higher ground. You can’t make progress if you are not dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction pushes individuals and societies to pursue higher standards and greater possibilities.
- Leadership means disruption. True leaders rarely exist to preserve the status quo. Progress often demands challenging existing systems, questioning old assumptions, and introducing new ideas.
These realities explain why many people speak about leadership but avoid the work of developing it. The status quo is comfortable. Leadership is demanding. And only a few people willingly choose the difficult path.
You received this message because I believe you are capable of being among those few.
Step into the discomfort of leadership. That is where transformation begins and where your contribution is most needed.
I am rooting for you.
Your Companion,
Great