Africans are great praise-singers/post-humous hagiograghers. It has cultural roots.But, must we carry this hangover into modern statehood? Sycophancy is a problem bcos we’ve psychologically transferred the 19th century divine right of kings to elected and unelected govt officials

It’s only in Africa that I have seen a head of State who famously kidnapped his country’s treasury fondly referred to, in praise, as “Le Grande Legume” ( the big vegetable)!

I am often amused, but somewhat uncomfortable, when I am afflicted with “Your Excellency” as a form of address simply because I ran for President. How archaic! Should reality in the future ever require such protocols, I’d much prefer the smarter and elegant “Mr. President”.

I recall a time I held a high (appointive) national office. On entry on duty, a few subordinates (not most of them, to be clear, cos it was a very professional institution) would knock on my office door, enter and offer the greeting “Oga good morning. I remain loyal”.

I’d smile and respond: “No. Be loyal to Nigeria. Let’s get on with the meeting”. When stories of these kinds of encounters spread, I noticed that form of greeting stopped, to my great relief. Similarly, I dispensed with the Nigerian habit of opening routine meetings with prayers.

“Please pray in your home, church or mosque”, I would tell initially surprised colleagues at meetings I chaired. “We should separate church/mosque from the state and focus on why we are here”. They got used to this too, and the heavens did not fall.

That’s what leadership requires: Re-educating, inspiring and motivating those we lead. Show the light, and the people will find their way forward. The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.That’s the truth, and there’s no getting away from it— hagiography notwithstanding.

We must deal with the (seemingly little) foxes in the vine — sycophant-capture, misplaced religion, values, before we can deal with the “big” ones like like corruption and ethnic bias and chauvinism. #Leadership #GoodGovernanceNow #Covid_19