WE’VE GOT A ROLE MODEL, THOUGH POSTHUMOUSLY.

We are a people consistently in search of heroes/heroines. It is to this end that one must pay tribute to Dr Stella Adadevoh; not only did she redefine the concept of selfless service, she also gave leadership a new meaning. If not for her uncommon courage, which culminated in her giving up her life, we […]

We are a people consistently in search of heroes/heroines. It is to this end that one must pay tribute to Dr Stella Adadevoh; not only did she redefine the concept of selfless service, she also gave leadership a new meaning.

If not for her uncommon courage, which culminated in her giving up her life, we would have been in a serious and an almost out-of-control disaster, with the rage the Ebola virus disease is known to possess.

Here is a woman, who along with her team, stood in harm’s way after she found out Mr. Sawyer was infected with the EVD, and instead of panicking and going berserk, she was composed enough to restrict her own movement and further confine Mr. Sawyer and others and even go ahead to contact the responsible government authorities. What a rare show of courage in our clime. All this for greater good of society, and indeed, humanity.

This does not in anyway, diminish the contribution of her team and all courageous medical personnel fighting the EVD and those who lost their lives in the process. I have chosen her case to make a call for a paradigm shift of a generation I represent.

The lesson from Dr. Adadevoh to people of all generations and especially my own generation – seen mostly as the tech savvy generation (those born in the 1980’s) – is that, leadership and service to humanity does not necessarily have to be in an elective or appointive position in government. In everything and everywhere we find ourselves; be it in a mechanic workshop, motor park, bank, civil service, entertainment, commerce, etc., we must put service above personal gains. Our country is in dire need of selfless service and our much touted next generation have got to show a difference as exemplified by Dr. Adadevoh. She has generated a debate, a challenge if u like, and the onus is on us to surpass her sacrifices for our children and those unborn, the end of which will be a better and more prosperous country.

To me and many others like me, she is the hero/heroine of the decade, and of course of her generation. Rest on ma.

-Andrew Gbue, an economist wrote in from Abuja.