A Call to Nobility in Nigeria's Leadership

A Call to Nobility in Nigeria's Leadership

[My Offline Bible] Ecclesiastes 10
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! KJV
Ecclesiastes 10
16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.

17 Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk. NLT

[My Offline Bible] 1 Corinthians 1
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

I think of my nation today from a painful heart. As we pray for this great nation to attain to her glorious potentials we must pray and call for nobility in our leadership at all levels and in different strata

I know we used to know what nobility is. Our folklores and history tell of past heroes who displayed acts of nobility to birth their various nations. But it seems we would need to revisit the definition again in our day since nobility seems to have been wiped out of our consciousness and we have become a base people without shame who will not tolerate any bit of nobility no matter how tiny, as it reflects in our summed up leadership and the outcome.

Nobility, aside being born into the aristocratic circle or developing to become part of such a social class, speaks of having honorable qualities. Having moral eminence; freedom from anything petty, mean or dubious in conduct and in character according to Oxford dictionary.

Nobility isn't perfection as much as it requires having an excellent knowledge of ethics and etiquette required and expected in public and private conducts. It isn't a show off thing and not much of mere party table manners and observations of events' protocols but of character.

It is the ability to endeavor to do what's expected of a high office and to act appropriately when found wanting. It is the ability to be honorable beyond the title that we love so much. It is the tendency to feel shame when caught doing the unexpected and to relieve self of benefits and perks associated to the high offices desecrated by base and ignoble acts.

In those days, suicide is a way of restoring one's nobility and honor when found wanting, in our days resignation from office is a way of redemption. Our experience so far hasn't identified with the basest of what's acceptable as standard in nobility in leadership.

When people who don't understand nobility rule a nation or lead a group anywhere, there will be trouble. Kings Solomon, the wise preacher said woe unto such a people so ruled. To these ignoble leaders partying is end result. Every other thing is a means to the end of pleasure and self aggrandisement. They see their position as a way to make their partying larger. They compete among each other for the cars to drive and the things to wear to parties. They don't eat for strength to work but for debauchery and gluttony and afterwards the idleness sets the house leaking. Solomons mother taught him not to indulge in wine as a king, it isn't for nobles lest they forget the law and cast away justice...

[My Offline Bible] Proverbs 31
1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

Here, 99% of our leaders wouldn't obey this rule, they do exactly the opposite... What actually do we expect afterwards?

Nigeria today suffers at most levels the absence of nobility in leadership. It is woe and sorrow and a pitiable outcome. Our house is leaking and the roof is dropping through.

Do I call for a Christian leader? Oh, how I wish we have a truly Christ like person to lead us which we had never had, but we don't really need one in a multi religious environment if we can at least have nobility. The lifestyle and doctrine of Christ are beyond nobility. It confounds nobility but how many Christians, even in leadership have attained to that? Christianity is a bypass of nobility, it is the higher life but how many of us understand this. Many so called Christians are even worse... Yet God had intended Christianity to be a way by which the base ones born outside nobility would confound even the nobles of this world. It has come to that point at this time when  even the Christian would need to go back to learn the basics of nobility and honor...to be trusted.

A good name used to be seen as better than silver and gold, but today who cares? It's better to be rich than to have a good name. What's in a good name that can't buy you a house in Lekki or in Asokoro? What's in a honorable name that can't buy houses in London and in Dubai? As if you can sleep in two out of them all same time...

In those days shame had meaning. Today nothing is shameful, we can be naked and not be ashamed. It is a remote sign of mammon worship. Money matters most. And it's money just for pleasure and for filthy lucre. Today honor is more attached to being rich, irrespective of how the money is made than being attached to having integrity in words...leaders lie like fish without care...

Isaiah 3 tells us of the importance of maturity in leadership.

We and our leaders must come to terms with what nobility and honor mean. The titles of his or her 'excellency' or 'honorable' attached to offices are to depict the standard character and conduct expected of them and not mere appendages to shine.

We must learn how to develop self nobility now before we create a generational gap on the subject, we must have something to teach our children, we can't afford to pass this shamelessness down...

We must learn to make our words our bond. We must learn to 'fall on the sword' when we goof. We must learn to do what noble people do when they fail expectations. We must learn some shame. We must not see comfort as end of life's pursuit but as a working condition to make impact in people's lives.

Our leaders at all levels must become self sacrificial and should begin to see achievements beyond their wealth and affluence to what legacies they leave behind.

Then and only then will Nigeria rise above the woes she has been plunged into by children who became our kings, who eat in the morning to feast and not for strength...

This is an humble call to nobility and honor in our nation to rescue what's left of the plunder of our mental and physical decorum... Sharing this may help us all... Please share

May our story be different for the better this week as a nation....

Good Morning