Who is the shepherd leader in Nigerian politics?

In the erudite and scholarly investigation and research that pervade the 250-page book of analyses and submissions, Ololo contends that “In shepherd leadership, the leader allows God to go before him as well as bears the burden of leadership”.Citing King David in Psalm 23:4, he prompts; “Yea though I walk through the valley of the […]

In the erudite and scholarly investigation and research that pervade the 250-page book of analyses and submissions, Ololo contends that “In shepherd leadership, the leader allows God to go before him as well as bears the burden of leadership”.
Citing King David in Psalm 23:4, he prompts; “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me”.
Ololo, who also has the twin book, The Quest for Distinction in his kitty, insists, “It is the conscious, complimentary application of the rod and staff that gives comfort to those who are led”.
“Shepherds”, he asserts, “do not surround themselves in their sphere of leadership with other shepherds of equal status. They do not dine at the finest of tables. They do not waste their productive time by sharing the company of other elites, frolicking and partying. Shepherds are so concerned about their flock that they do not waste their executive time on sycophants and praise singers. Shepherds do not engage in vendetta. Following the inclusion principle, they see both the protagonists and antagonists as part of the flock”.
Conversely shepherd leadership bestows goodness on the people, the leadership work being a vocation or calling, not an all comers affair and certainly not a call to self-aggrandizement, “it is a call to service and to followership transformation”.
According to the author, leadership not founded on the shepherd leadership principle may only induce robbery and thievery, and may soon incur dissidence and violence from the followership.
“Leadership obtained by subtle means portends failure, blame-trading and identity crises. It does no one any good”.
Dwelling on what he calls “Leadership By Wisdom of the Spur”, Ololo leads us to view , Leadership By Wisdom of the Spur as one that springs from in-depth spiritual thinking and has spiritual backing, while providing an answer to the situation, the spontaneity, of which is made possible by Divine Essence, and so cannot be beclouded.
“When Saul was disenfranchised of his divine leadership, the evil spirit sent from the Lord possessed and tormented him”.
Drawing an understanding from this incident, it would appear safe to infer that so many of the leaders who are not specially endowed for leadership position are possessed and tormented and can only be skilled at tormenting their followers. This is why there is so much distrust of the leaders in the world.
“Shepherd leaders do not enjoy leading without consulting the Higher Being. They consider themselves first as servants of God and second as servants of their followers. Humility is their hallmark.
Appraising the six leadership styles in the context of shepherd leadership as enunciated By Daniel Goleman, the author, psychologist and science journalist, namely Affiliative leadership, Visionary leadership, Coach-Oriented leadership, Commanding leadership, Democratic leadership and Pace-setters leadership styles, Ololo is particularly emphatic.
“They are based on Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence provides strategy and tactics for the effective management of human relationships. Wisdom can therefore be reasoned to be an offshoot of emotional intelligence”.
Agreeing with “Visionary leadership style” for instance, the author affirms that while the flock may be averse to change, mobilization is required to shape them for service.
The shepherd steers the flock to new greener pastures.
Without visionary leadership, the flock would have preferred to stay in their comfort zone despite the fact that it was not an ideal existence. Visionary leadership is assertive and usually applies the rod for achievement. This leadership style allows the leader to apply his wisdom to attend to situational challenges. Shepherd leaders align with the scruple and mantra that principles are maintained by certain levels of godly stubbornness”.
Under Commanding Leadership Style, Ololo posits the shepherd leader as a disciplinarian par excellence whose overbearing push towards set goals is clearly driven by love.
Paradoxically, discipline is bitter, but the result is sweet. “The commanding or coercive leadership style of the shepherd leader provides the bitter sweet dimension in leadership. It shows that there is no human relationship without offence, even in the short term”.
According to Ololo, “There is always an alignment between what the leader is thinking and what the followers are expecting. Prioritization encourages planning and execution and ensures systemic wholeness”.
He further stressed, “The shepherd leader contributes to the prominence and success of his followers. Followers of shepherd leaders are proud of their leaders and showcase them for distinction”.
Professing under the caption, “Endowment and Emasculation”, the author relives the story of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 5:20-21 to typify the ignominy and perilous end that characterize the lot of bad leaders that become proud, self-conceited and distance themselves from the people.
Such leaders, he said, “forget their source and go after the sauce. Their opinion of themselves becomes bloated. When this happens, emasculation plays the masquerade”.
Ruminating in the chapter titled “Rod and The Staff of Restoration”, Ololo, asserts; “The rod is used to describe the leader’s power to correct and sanction, while the staff of restoration is used to describe influence, empowerment and reward”.
In all The Shepherd Leader offers to us all a compelling need to be fully conscious of the enormity and sacredness of the leadership/followership relationship.
Put differently, the underlying message of politics is for the people to be looked after very well with their common resources, but with some worldly leaders, most unfortunately, politics is for enslavement.
The author, an alumnus of the Dundee Business School, University of Scotland, PhD in Management, specializing in corporate parenting and corporate level strategy, is affiliated to the Nigerian Institute of Management (chartered) NIM, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management CIPM, and Institute of Strategy Management, ISM, Nigeria.
*Fiubode is a Yenagoa-Based veteran journalist.