By Sanusi Muhammad
BalaAbdulkadirMuhammed,(KauranBauchi) , Governor-elect of Bauchi state, is a visionary. In many ways that one, the compulsive leader whose title is KauranBauchi, saw tomorrow, and knew that unless he undertook to fight for his people, the future may continue to be bleak. The sorry state of Bauchi state, over the years, in all facets of development, coupled with near perfection of crude dictatorship by past leaders, werefactors that he knew he was going to contend with. Having fought and conquered, at the polls, the incoming Governor will have no excuse than to embark on operation clean up Bauchi.
Bala Mohammed understands the concept of leadership and how leadership is defined in today’s democracy.It is all for the benefitof the people. For ages, people have given a multitude of answers to definitions of leadership and this makes his concept of leadership extremely rich and reliable that Bauchi State is about to benefit from. From my point of view, there is a diversity of definitions on the concept of leadership, depending on the environment. Every definition is influenced by turn of a situation or a change in direction which may require a different type or style.
Bauchi State is in for qualitative leadership. Tney will, Bala, the leader they yearned and voted for.
Peter Drucker once said: “leadership is about getting results” The most spiteful half-truth about leadership is that it is just a matter of charisma and vision – you either have it or you don’t. Leadership is the potential to influence the behavior of others. It can also be described as the capacity to influence a group of people towards the realization of a goal.
Stephen R. Covey, a celebrated author described leadership as more than a position but a proactive intention to affirm the worth and potential of those around us and to unite them as a complementary team in an effort to increase the influence and impact of the organizations and important causes we are part of.
According to Keith Davis, “Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically, it is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals”. Leaders in may societies have formal authorities, but they mostly rely on the informal authority that they exercise on people to influence them. In essence, leaders may have positional authority or none at all, but exercise leadership through their actions. Old conceptual models around leadership are fading and innovative ideas about what it takes to lead are fast rising and about to rise in Bauchi State from May 29, 2019. One can
audaciously take initiative and harness the energy and drive of a team without necessarily the title of a team leader or Group Head as Senator Balaexemplified throughout his gubernatorial campaign that was crowned with success.
His action created a phase of preparation before the position finally came. Essentially, leaders exist at all levels with others leading them to success. In his ways of reasoning, Sen. Bala believes that instead of leadership to be a reserve for the few at the top, it will be better for anyone to lead from anywhere provided there will be positive results.
From the stated, who then is that leader that the people of Bauchi State yearned for over the years of underdevelopment and uncertainty? Definitely, it is Sen. BalaMuhammed who can be described as a person of influence, a person who motivates and guides, whether purposely or reflexively, a group of people to act towards realizing a common goal of developing Bauchi State collectively.
Senator Baba Tela said “the Bauchi State Governor-Elect is a leader to be trusted for his sense of judgment and respect for his expertise, integrity and foresight, hence, he was voted to govern, not because he holds a certain class position but because of his undisputable quality as a leader.
By way of illustration, KauranBauchifor the most part of his life, held no position of authority but that did not affect his sense of patriotism from contributing to the development of Bauchi State”.
Indeed, BalaMohammed,means much to many who know him. He is a man of Integrity. And the ultimate quality of an effective leader is integrity. He stands for effective leadership and in the “do as I do” affair, “do as I say” affair. He believes a good leader must be honest, treat people rightly and justly, and must not exaggerate achievements and milestones. He gives accolades to the deserving, for their contributions. He believes that it is essential for leaders to operate in a circle of openness and honesty, and this extends to both personal and professional levels.
Prof. SaniMalami, an erudite scholarand respected politician said: “Great leadership inspires people to keep their integrity, that they must be brave to tell the truth. It should go without saying that effective leaders hold themselves accountable not just to their superiors but also to their peers and staff.
“Bauchi Governor-Elect treats everyone fairly, regardless of the person’s standing in the society. He is a leader that sees success through sticking to their values and core beliefs and without a sound belief system that could not have been possible. He has the ability to see a problem and believes he is the solution”.
In his contribution, Sen. Abdul Ningi opined that, “So many people are usually willing to talk about problems or can even emphasize, but not many can see the problem or challenge and rise to it as Sen. BalaMuhammed. It therefore takes a leader to truly see a problem as a challenge and wants to drive towards it to benefit all.
“KauranBauchi is an effective leader that has no limits or impossibilities. He has been a good leader that does not go into hiding in the face of overwhelming pressure. Rather, he is inspired by the stumbling block and does not rest until he moves his team above every impediment with an unapologetic aim at the goal set to be attained”.
A close confident of the Governor-Elect, AliyuJungudo described the governor-elect as an effective leader that has an inbuilt confidence enough to ensure that others follow his directives for effective service delivery. He has no hesitant about his decisions and qualities that always encourage his subordinates to follow him with loyalty for better results. He exudes confidence, shows some swagger and assertiveness to gain the respect and loyalty of all for effective performance”.
Vision: Vision is the bedrock of leadership for without vision, leadership loses its essence. The vision has to be clearly and forcefully articulated on every occasion.
Jack Welch says, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion”.
Therefore, as Sen. BalaAbdulkadirMuhammed prepares to lead Bauchi State to greater heights in the task of building an egalitarian state, we all know him to have the ability to understand and manage his emotional response to events as they may unfold. His Intelligence Quotient as a threshold has earned him a bigger leadership role today that can help him to keep and sustain him on the role.
…Sanusi Muhammad Is a journalist based in Bauchi.
