Celebrating Kemi's Journal
One of my claims to fame is my sister Abidemi Sanusi, Christian Writer and author of many books, one of which is Kemi's Journal of Life, Love and Everything. I love Kemi's Journal - read and re-read it many times and must have tired Abidemi with a thousand and one requests for her to courier case loads of the book to me here in Ghana (can't buy them here yet). I just had to keep buying extra copies of the book for friends. I just had to pass the book on.
The me in Kemi
As the book starts Kemi, newly born again, rants about how the super spirituals in her church have told her that she must keep a journal and record what God is doing in her life. "Yeah, like anything exciting ever happens to me anyway, " she said. Thankfully she succumbed and we now have Kemi's Journal.
There's a bit of everyone in Kemi. Honestly, there are so many parts of that book that reminded me of my experiences, and many who have read the book say the same thing. It was so refreshing to see a Christian Writer come out, so to speak. Actually, to be honest, there were times when I had to pause when I was reading the book for I felt that I was actually reading about myself. (Abidemi, you didn't, did you?!).
There's a similarly themed book by Bishop T D Jakes called Cover Girls - ladies, go out and buy it. In fact, this book offended me because I saw bits of myself in every single one of the characters, and I was wandering why Bishop Jakes was publicly dealing with everyone of my emotional deficits. Some of these writers are agents of the Holy Spirit, you know.
But then again, the book, like Kemi's Journal, also brought healing.
Keeping Journals
I remember in 1999 I joined a non-denominational fellowship of twenty and thirty something Nigerian and Ghanaian professionals (the Ghana link started way before, right?) in London. Funky guys and gals - seeking to be sold out in work and play to our Lord and Father. Great days of fellowship and Bible study. Powerful sessions. We met weekly for 2/3 hours, and once a month we met for all-night prayers. It was indeed a fellowship of love.
Then someone from the fellowship prompted me, like they did Kemi in Abidemi's fiction, to start a journal. Being cautious as I am (blush, blush), I was reticent, but I nevertheless committed to document significant moments - new spiritual learning curves, praise reports, pity party reports - the lot.
Last weekend I stumbled upon something that I had written to my family and close friends on September 9 2003 - my 33rd birthday. It smiled as I read the entry, for it documents the ever faithfulness of God, and my joy and peace on that day. It also reminded me of the value of documenting - our reminders of where we have been, where God has brought us from, our expectations and our victories.
Here goes: God Can!
As I danced blissfully to the jingle of Ray Parker Jnr, Maze and Bette Davies at a friend’s 40th birthday party on Saturday night, I reflected for a moment on my elation. Here I was, totally delighted. Totally delighted that I was here, at this time, doing this very bop, and loving every moment of it. I felt assured that I was created to be at this place, in this very city, at this very time, with these very people. I danced unreservedly; I danced a dance of freedom, and loved every minute of it.
As I celebrate my 33rd birthday to day, I celebrate the faithfulness of God to me, and I celebrate my life in Christ. I celebrate the you in me, and the contribution you have made to date in my growth. I celebrate today the beginning of a lifelong dream.
I write this journal entry as a record of my delight in the Christ Jesus who I serve. I thank Him for 33 years of learning, 33 years of growing, and for 33 years of receiving. I am grateful to God for His many, many, many blessings unto me. I thank Him for giving me the desires of my heart. Only He could have brought me to the place of contentment that I am in now. I am truly blessed.
Today, I encourage you to live YOUR life – pursuing the worthy, honest desires of your heart; those very desires which prod you from deep down within. Dreams do come true, and yours and mine are no exception to that rule.
Wednesday 27 June 2007
Thursday 21 June 2007
Be Deliberate
Training Courses and Light Bulb Moments
I have participated in two separate training courses in as many months – the first was on Building Financial Models, the other on Leading People: Designer, Teacher and Servant. Given the distinct disparity in content between the two, I was struck with the consistency in which each separate training facilitator prompted participants to “be deliberate”.
Be deliberate. The facilitators directed us to respond, and not react, to the activity, task, or responsibility that had been given to us. Within the context of building financial models, you begin with a whole set of assumptions, conditions and a desired financial objective. The idea is that in building the model you tackle the design of each condition precedent deliberately and in turn. Building towards the desired end, but allotting each specific task at hand due regard.
Similarly, as a leader your task is set out for you in an overarching vision. Your responsibility is to always be deliberate and true to that aspiration through the way that you lead the co-creators of that vision. You don’t react to issues and responsibilities, but you purposefully and deliberately respond to them within the scope of your purpose.
Struck by this principle, I went to The Word for validation.
David and Goliath – the vision and the seeming stumbling block
David was deliberate when he volunteered to fight Goliath. When King Saul offered him his royal war armour, David declined, saying that he was unfamiliar with the kit. “I am not going to war with that unfamiliar gear,’’ he seemed to say, “I’ll go to war with what I’ve tried and tested and what I know works.”
I have lost count of the times people have asked me when I am going to set up my own consultancy firm – doing what I appear to be doing so well now for my own profit, they say. I often respond with terse derision - and I am sure they think I don’t know what I am about. Yeah, like they know me more than I know myself.
I started out this race fourteen years ago and although I can’t say I started out deliberately, God has ensured that I have remained deliberate, unto the place where He is taking me.
University degrees....
During the final year of my BA degree in Economics and Politics, I sought the advice of my favourite lecturer, Dr Michael Hodd, on what to study for my Masters degree. I had thought of an advanced degree in Economics. “Oh no,” said Mike. “Development Studies. That’s what you want to do. Much more interesting.” So, just like that, I sought for and enrolled on a programme in Development Studies.
I studied with various other students who had completed voluntary or work stints with NGOs in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and who, even though Europeans, knew and understood international development issues better than me. They were so often baffled by me, the unlikely African. I had not lived in a mud hut, didn’t have a Cockney accent, and hadn’t grown up in the backstreets of east London. Well, I was equally puzzled by some of them.
and Careers Day...
I recall during that time at Careers Day there was someone from DFID and another from a UK NGO were invited to give us a talk on what is was like working in international development. The DFID personnel gave a great talk to my mind but it would appear that all my fellow students better embraced the speech of the NGO worker. When she asked by a show of hands how many people in the room wanted to work for a donor organisation, I was the only one that raised my hand. When she asked how many people who wanted to work for an NGO, I was the only one that kept my hand down.
I wanted to work with the likes of the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Commission, or Coopers and Lybrand’s Management Consultancy Services.
But this is a blog post on being deliberate.
My point is that I stayed true to that vision. I’ve worked with three major international organisations since then, and to all intents and purposes, I have enjoyed the journey, and I have seen progress. Each new project, each new country, each new experience added value to the next; and although times and seasons sometimes caused me to ask questions, I do very much see how everything has tied together – from the course in Development Studies to present day Public Sector Management consulting.
Briefcase Consultants
So why do I smirk when people ask me why don’t I set up my own firm doing what I do right now for my own profit? Well, I don’t want to be a briefcase consultant. I don’t want to walk the corridors of ministries touting for consultancy work from unlikely clients who may want something for something – more especially when my touting is not tied to a prestigious internationally renowned brand. They just will have a quid pro quo – trust me. Besides, it’s just not me.
Having worked with global organisations, I’ve realised a thing or two about building, maintaining and managing a regarded brand; the challenges of delivering consistently to a high quality; and the resource requirements to undertake and complete capably on assignments – people, ICT, network, finances. It’s just easier for me at this moment in time to do what I do how I do it.
Ruka Inc?
But I do have the future and a reward in sight – just like David – and that is what is driving my present toil.
It will be a future where I am using all the resources, network, knowledge and experience that God has allowed me to go through all these years to reach out in an advisory capacity to communities and institutions around me involved in smaller international development outreach projects.
I might do it through a global organisation (may be even the one I am working with now) – perhaps managing and executing their corporate social responsibility or community relations portfolio. Or I might do it through a Ruka Inc. But I have a game plan for when that must happen – and I am praying and working towards it. Me thinks that might be much more rewarding than touting for business in the corridors of the ministries in Africa. Don’t you?
Write the vision, make it plain
So often when stumbling blocks come, we are tempted to shy away from the bigger vision. That presupposes one thing: that there is a vision in the first place (Habakkuk 2). So I am learning to take time to pray for and think through my vision for my professional future, and document it – and to also take cues from others. God can speak to you through others, as He did me through Michael 15 years ago. Incidentally, Michael is also the academic reference I resorted to for the MBA course I started last October. That’s another story of stress and reward in the same breath.
Believe you me there have been times during this journey when I’ve thought I ought to have studied a different first degree. But I went along with my lot – sometimes in fretful hope that the vision will come to pass, and sometimes out a sheer frustration because all other doors where locked and it seemed that this was my lot – so there – take it or leave it.
Emotional Intelligence
What I will say is that I am realizing the importance of being true to your convictions, through thick and thin and even in the face of demise – just like David. As such, I am learning a new dance to the rhythm of life - the importance of being emotionally steady and committed to my convictions: responding and not reacting to situations so that I don’t jeopardize the personal and business relationships that are supposed to see me through the vision, and so that I don’t enter into the relationships that will block the actualisation of the vision.
So, with thanks to my two trainers, I have learnt a new dance to the rhythm of life – being deliberate.
I have participated in two separate training courses in as many months – the first was on Building Financial Models, the other on Leading People: Designer, Teacher and Servant. Given the distinct disparity in content between the two, I was struck with the consistency in which each separate training facilitator prompted participants to “be deliberate”.
Be deliberate. The facilitators directed us to respond, and not react, to the activity, task, or responsibility that had been given to us. Within the context of building financial models, you begin with a whole set of assumptions, conditions and a desired financial objective. The idea is that in building the model you tackle the design of each condition precedent deliberately and in turn. Building towards the desired end, but allotting each specific task at hand due regard.
Similarly, as a leader your task is set out for you in an overarching vision. Your responsibility is to always be deliberate and true to that aspiration through the way that you lead the co-creators of that vision. You don’t react to issues and responsibilities, but you purposefully and deliberately respond to them within the scope of your purpose.
Struck by this principle, I went to The Word for validation.
David and Goliath – the vision and the seeming stumbling block
David was deliberate when he volunteered to fight Goliath. When King Saul offered him his royal war armour, David declined, saying that he was unfamiliar with the kit. “I am not going to war with that unfamiliar gear,’’ he seemed to say, “I’ll go to war with what I’ve tried and tested and what I know works.”
I have lost count of the times people have asked me when I am going to set up my own consultancy firm – doing what I appear to be doing so well now for my own profit, they say. I often respond with terse derision - and I am sure they think I don’t know what I am about. Yeah, like they know me more than I know myself.
I started out this race fourteen years ago and although I can’t say I started out deliberately, God has ensured that I have remained deliberate, unto the place where He is taking me.
University degrees....
During the final year of my BA degree in Economics and Politics, I sought the advice of my favourite lecturer, Dr Michael Hodd, on what to study for my Masters degree. I had thought of an advanced degree in Economics. “Oh no,” said Mike. “Development Studies. That’s what you want to do. Much more interesting.” So, just like that, I sought for and enrolled on a programme in Development Studies.
I studied with various other students who had completed voluntary or work stints with NGOs in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and who, even though Europeans, knew and understood international development issues better than me. They were so often baffled by me, the unlikely African. I had not lived in a mud hut, didn’t have a Cockney accent, and hadn’t grown up in the backstreets of east London. Well, I was equally puzzled by some of them.
and Careers Day...
I recall during that time at Careers Day there was someone from DFID and another from a UK NGO were invited to give us a talk on what is was like working in international development. The DFID personnel gave a great talk to my mind but it would appear that all my fellow students better embraced the speech of the NGO worker. When she asked by a show of hands how many people in the room wanted to work for a donor organisation, I was the only one that raised my hand. When she asked how many people who wanted to work for an NGO, I was the only one that kept my hand down.
I wanted to work with the likes of the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Commission, or Coopers and Lybrand’s Management Consultancy Services.
But this is a blog post on being deliberate.
My point is that I stayed true to that vision. I’ve worked with three major international organisations since then, and to all intents and purposes, I have enjoyed the journey, and I have seen progress. Each new project, each new country, each new experience added value to the next; and although times and seasons sometimes caused me to ask questions, I do very much see how everything has tied together – from the course in Development Studies to present day Public Sector Management consulting.
Briefcase Consultants
So why do I smirk when people ask me why don’t I set up my own firm doing what I do right now for my own profit? Well, I don’t want to be a briefcase consultant. I don’t want to walk the corridors of ministries touting for consultancy work from unlikely clients who may want something for something – more especially when my touting is not tied to a prestigious internationally renowned brand. They just will have a quid pro quo – trust me. Besides, it’s just not me.
Having worked with global organisations, I’ve realised a thing or two about building, maintaining and managing a regarded brand; the challenges of delivering consistently to a high quality; and the resource requirements to undertake and complete capably on assignments – people, ICT, network, finances. It’s just easier for me at this moment in time to do what I do how I do it.
Ruka Inc?
But I do have the future and a reward in sight – just like David – and that is what is driving my present toil.
It will be a future where I am using all the resources, network, knowledge and experience that God has allowed me to go through all these years to reach out in an advisory capacity to communities and institutions around me involved in smaller international development outreach projects.
I might do it through a global organisation (may be even the one I am working with now) – perhaps managing and executing their corporate social responsibility or community relations portfolio. Or I might do it through a Ruka Inc. But I have a game plan for when that must happen – and I am praying and working towards it. Me thinks that might be much more rewarding than touting for business in the corridors of the ministries in Africa. Don’t you?
Write the vision, make it plain
So often when stumbling blocks come, we are tempted to shy away from the bigger vision. That presupposes one thing: that there is a vision in the first place (Habakkuk 2). So I am learning to take time to pray for and think through my vision for my professional future, and document it – and to also take cues from others. God can speak to you through others, as He did me through Michael 15 years ago. Incidentally, Michael is also the academic reference I resorted to for the MBA course I started last October. That’s another story of stress and reward in the same breath.
Believe you me there have been times during this journey when I’ve thought I ought to have studied a different first degree. But I went along with my lot – sometimes in fretful hope that the vision will come to pass, and sometimes out a sheer frustration because all other doors where locked and it seemed that this was my lot – so there – take it or leave it.
Emotional Intelligence
What I will say is that I am realizing the importance of being true to your convictions, through thick and thin and even in the face of demise – just like David. As such, I am learning a new dance to the rhythm of life - the importance of being emotionally steady and committed to my convictions: responding and not reacting to situations so that I don’t jeopardize the personal and business relationships that are supposed to see me through the vision, and so that I don’t enter into the relationships that will block the actualisation of the vision.
So, with thanks to my two trainers, I have learnt a new dance to the rhythm of life – being deliberate.
Thursday 14 June 2007
Possessing the Secret of Joy
And all copyright et al to Alice Walker…
A decade or so ago the African-America writer Alice Walker wrote a book entitled ‘Possessing the Secret of Joy.’’ I never read that book, but the title always stuck with me. And I am convinced that many, many people around the world have purchased the book over the years not for its literary excellence, but simply because of the title: for we all want to possess the secret of Joy.
Joy
The noun we all seek, and at the same time the noun which is at any one moment intrinsically surrounding us. But the secret of possessing joy is often dependent on the span of our focus. Do I choose to focus on that large utility bill which has just arrived to remind me that my disposable income this quarter will be limited, or can I instead choose to be thankful that I have a job and can honour this large utility bill in the first place?
So often in life we find ourselves longing for more. More happiness, more wealth, a better car, greater business growth, more obedience to God, promotion - more, more, more. It is indeed right in my own viewpoint to long for more; and I am accustomed to the notion of wanting more.
Maximising the moment
My worry though is this – that in the longing for more, I may not be maximising the moment, and yet I so very much need to maximise every moment, for therein lies the secret of joy.
I am learning therefore that my own obligation in that process is to ensure that I give my best to every task before me so that I am qualified to ask for more – and that takes some doing.
But perhaps it is this challenge of giving your utmost best to any task (be it your relationships, your business or your career) that must precede a desire for more. That’s the notion of ‘having done all – stand’ – Ephesians 6.
Might we firstly proceed on why it is important to long for more?
Insatiable by nature and limitless in appetite
Who was it that said human beings are insatiable by nature and that limitless appetite, being natural, is good? Whoever s/he was s/he must have been influenced by Biblical truths for the Bible records that we should be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4 verse 6).
The Biblical advice is this: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” The implication being that in our desire for increase we often worry ourselves sick about how to get more.
The evidence of progress
Yet we must want more, for more is often the evidence of progress. But in so doing let us also choose to balance this desire with a deep appreciation of our accomplishments to date; and with gratitude for how far we have come on our journey. Pause.
Did you have the influence that you do today five, three, two years ago? Did you have the quality of the understanding, wisdom, assets and investments that you do today five, three, two years ago? That is maximising the moment number one.
Then, let us balance that with a further appreciation of the progress targets we have set for ourselves for the future – and we must have progress targets for the future. Pause. That’s maximising the moment number two: toiling in expectation of your harvest.
Our roadmap, the Bible, puts it succinctly in the book of Proverbs chapter 6, verses 6 to 8: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest”.
Making Comparisons
Part of the problem though is that we are always comparing ourselves with others around us who seem to be doing so much better than ourselves. That seems like a journey of dispossessing the secret of joy. Why so? Because our commissions, our experiences, our challenges and our victories are never going to be the same as those around us, and if at all we do chose to compare ourselves with other people, we must remember to do so within context. Note the dialogue of Jesus and the centurion in the book of Matthew chapter 8.
How can we maximise the moment? Well, I don’t often get this right, but I am making an effort to maximise every moment. I am remembering that I must try to keep my spirits high in amongst of the various responsibilities and commitments which compete for my attention –even if I don’t feel like it.
I am learning the need to be more patient, and I am realising the crucial importance of impacting my generation through my words, thoughts and deeds; and I am learning to take time to read, to take time to study and improve my knowledge base in my sphere of influence. These all necessitate me to maximise the moment.
Sounds toilsome?
Where is the joy in doing all of the above, for indeed quite literally this translates into work? Well, possessing the secret of joy will take work – and that’s the harsh reality of life.
The story of the ant in Proverbs 6 comes to mind again. It is often said that to succeed in life you ought to determine what it is you like doing (your passion), and having done that, remember that your vocation might be just that. Perhaps it is because when you do have a passion about something (read: your vocation, not your job), you can survive the pressures, the offences, the late nights, and the frustrations much better than you would if you did not give a hoot about the job you are involved in. When you do all of this what are you actually engaged in? To my mind you are dancing to the rhythm of life – therein is the secret of possessing joy.
My floral release: counting it all joy
Sometime ago I used to purchase fresh flowers for my home on a weekly basis, and I always, always looked forward to my visit to the florist. I loved to smell the variety of scents at the florist and the beauty of the many, many colourful flowers therein displayed.
I had a particular place for my flowers at home. They were always placed at the entrance of my home, and they were the very first thing that I saw as I arrived home, and the very last thing I saw every night as I left the living room to enter my bedroom. The colours and the scent of each weekly arrangement always captivated me. No matter how terrible a day I had had, no matter the freezing cold outside when I came into the house, I would always appreciate the gazing, calming floral arrangement.
Don’t get me wrong. That floral arrangement did not bring an end to whatever burden I had brought home with me. But it did help me to appreciate my surroundings and to maximise the moment. It helped me to appreciate that I had a sanctuary of my own (my home) in which I could place my therapeutic flora, and it helped me to appreciate the importance of paying attention to even the little pleasures of life.
It reminded me that in everything I ought to give thanks.
A decade or so ago the African-America writer Alice Walker wrote a book entitled ‘Possessing the Secret of Joy.’’ I never read that book, but the title always stuck with me. And I am convinced that many, many people around the world have purchased the book over the years not for its literary excellence, but simply because of the title: for we all want to possess the secret of Joy.
Joy
The noun we all seek, and at the same time the noun which is at any one moment intrinsically surrounding us. But the secret of possessing joy is often dependent on the span of our focus. Do I choose to focus on that large utility bill which has just arrived to remind me that my disposable income this quarter will be limited, or can I instead choose to be thankful that I have a job and can honour this large utility bill in the first place?
So often in life we find ourselves longing for more. More happiness, more wealth, a better car, greater business growth, more obedience to God, promotion - more, more, more. It is indeed right in my own viewpoint to long for more; and I am accustomed to the notion of wanting more.
Maximising the moment
My worry though is this – that in the longing for more, I may not be maximising the moment, and yet I so very much need to maximise every moment, for therein lies the secret of joy.
I am learning therefore that my own obligation in that process is to ensure that I give my best to every task before me so that I am qualified to ask for more – and that takes some doing.
But perhaps it is this challenge of giving your utmost best to any task (be it your relationships, your business or your career) that must precede a desire for more. That’s the notion of ‘having done all – stand’ – Ephesians 6.
Might we firstly proceed on why it is important to long for more?
Insatiable by nature and limitless in appetite
Who was it that said human beings are insatiable by nature and that limitless appetite, being natural, is good? Whoever s/he was s/he must have been influenced by Biblical truths for the Bible records that we should be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4 verse 6).
The Biblical advice is this: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” The implication being that in our desire for increase we often worry ourselves sick about how to get more.
The evidence of progress
Yet we must want more, for more is often the evidence of progress. But in so doing let us also choose to balance this desire with a deep appreciation of our accomplishments to date; and with gratitude for how far we have come on our journey. Pause.
Did you have the influence that you do today five, three, two years ago? Did you have the quality of the understanding, wisdom, assets and investments that you do today five, three, two years ago? That is maximising the moment number one.
Then, let us balance that with a further appreciation of the progress targets we have set for ourselves for the future – and we must have progress targets for the future. Pause. That’s maximising the moment number two: toiling in expectation of your harvest.
Our roadmap, the Bible, puts it succinctly in the book of Proverbs chapter 6, verses 6 to 8: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest”.
Making Comparisons
Part of the problem though is that we are always comparing ourselves with others around us who seem to be doing so much better than ourselves. That seems like a journey of dispossessing the secret of joy. Why so? Because our commissions, our experiences, our challenges and our victories are never going to be the same as those around us, and if at all we do chose to compare ourselves with other people, we must remember to do so within context. Note the dialogue of Jesus and the centurion in the book of Matthew chapter 8.
How can we maximise the moment? Well, I don’t often get this right, but I am making an effort to maximise every moment. I am remembering that I must try to keep my spirits high in amongst of the various responsibilities and commitments which compete for my attention –even if I don’t feel like it.
I am learning the need to be more patient, and I am realising the crucial importance of impacting my generation through my words, thoughts and deeds; and I am learning to take time to read, to take time to study and improve my knowledge base in my sphere of influence. These all necessitate me to maximise the moment.
Sounds toilsome?
Where is the joy in doing all of the above, for indeed quite literally this translates into work? Well, possessing the secret of joy will take work – and that’s the harsh reality of life.
The story of the ant in Proverbs 6 comes to mind again. It is often said that to succeed in life you ought to determine what it is you like doing (your passion), and having done that, remember that your vocation might be just that. Perhaps it is because when you do have a passion about something (read: your vocation, not your job), you can survive the pressures, the offences, the late nights, and the frustrations much better than you would if you did not give a hoot about the job you are involved in. When you do all of this what are you actually engaged in? To my mind you are dancing to the rhythm of life – therein is the secret of possessing joy.
My floral release: counting it all joy
Sometime ago I used to purchase fresh flowers for my home on a weekly basis, and I always, always looked forward to my visit to the florist. I loved to smell the variety of scents at the florist and the beauty of the many, many colourful flowers therein displayed.
I had a particular place for my flowers at home. They were always placed at the entrance of my home, and they were the very first thing that I saw as I arrived home, and the very last thing I saw every night as I left the living room to enter my bedroom. The colours and the scent of each weekly arrangement always captivated me. No matter how terrible a day I had had, no matter the freezing cold outside when I came into the house, I would always appreciate the gazing, calming floral arrangement.
Don’t get me wrong. That floral arrangement did not bring an end to whatever burden I had brought home with me. But it did help me to appreciate my surroundings and to maximise the moment. It helped me to appreciate that I had a sanctuary of my own (my home) in which I could place my therapeutic flora, and it helped me to appreciate the importance of paying attention to even the little pleasures of life.
It reminded me that in everything I ought to give thanks.
Wednesday 6 June 2007
Taking Up Leadership Positions
Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men? No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. Psalm 58 verses 1 and 2.
The Nigerian example - how not to do it
Being Nigerian, I am so often bemused by our political leaders. They criminally amass Nigeria’s wealth for themselves and families and yet, when they need medical treatment, must fly to Europe or America because we have few hospitals to call hospitals in our own country.
The roads they drive their luxury cars on are death traps. They give speeches to the world, marketing Nigeria as an investment climate but plough their own investments into foreign lands and foreign bank accounts. They dig boreholes in their homes and have the power generator switched on 24hrs a day because the power holding company leaks power instead of generating it - and the national water authority, well, has no authority. Completely un-intelligible.
We set up the Nigerian Harvard Law Students Alumni Association but do very little to address or confront pressing law and development challenges in our country. It is always and everywhere a status thing, and never a leadership and social responsibility issue.
I have a dream: the long walk to freedom
We all admire the likes of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa – but why? They were driven by their convictions. They acted in response to social and political ills that they could not accept as individuals - and in turn discovered that many others felt the very same way but had not had the stomach to make a difference.
Jesus irrefutably made a difference. St Paul made a difference. Doctor of Jewish law: the schooled Saul. And yet he totally and completely let his conversion and convictions drive him. Mary Magdalene – and no, I am not hesitating to use her as an example. She was the woman with the alabaster box – poured a perfume worth a year’s salary on her Lord. Her purpose was to unreservedly honour Him Who had giving her life true meaning – no matter what it would cost her financially.
Lessons from a Cricketer and the Makings of a Social Justice Politician
I watched a programme on CNN the other week on the Pakistani cricketer now turned politician, Imran Khan.
Privileged background, Oxford University, international playboy et al, Khan embarked on an international cricketing career and then married the heiress Jemima Goldsmith. Back in Pakistan, dismayed by the social and political injustice he saw all around him, he became a philanthropist (partly driven by the passing of his mother from cancer – there was no hospital in Pakistan to treat cancer) and built a world class hospital to treat the poor and underprivileged for cancer.
He then embarked on a political career, setting up his own political party, Movement for Justice, and became an MP. The movement's main focus is to bring justice to the people of Pakistan, largely via an independent judiciary. I’ll mention how his marriage broke down as a result of this later.
Stirring up the Pakistani Orange Revolution
It is not insignificant that the current political crisis in Pakistan, fuelled by the President’s questionable sacking of the Chief Justice, has highlighted the plight of legal inequity and non-independence of the Judiciary in Pakistan - and of course you know that the legal inequity always and everywhere favours the rich against the poor, right? Now his party has gained renewed prominence, and I hope will gain grounds in the coming elections.
Khan took up social and political leadership and responded to the cry to judge uprightly among men. The word on the street is that the Movement for Justice was inspired partly by Khan's renewed commitment to Islam.
Food for thought, Christian soldiers.
Well, Miss Ruka, what are you doing then?
Well, I don’t have plans to set up my own political party, but I do hold leadership positions on a number of outreach initiatives here on the African continent - where I volunteer my professional knowledge and experience in an advisory capacity for initiatives to benefit the under privileged. It can be that simple.
Can two walk together unless they agree?
The point about Imran Khan’s marriage breakdown is this. Whilst he was busy finding and executing purpose, his wife, quite rightly, wanted to enjoy the fullest of conjugal bliss - with her spouse’s time. But with the purpose driven Imran I assume devoting insufficient quality time (note, not quantity) to his spouse and family, a divorce came knocking on their marital door.
What I found insightful about Imran Khan’s response to the break up is this: he echoed words to the effect that his marriage presented him with the happiest moments of his life, but once the marriage was over, he just moved on and pursued his purpose all the more.
The point is, such people, mad with purpose, will just go on doing what they feel they need to do. It’s almost as though the purpose, the dream, is their elixir.
Who were those deranged script writers and film producers who said Jesus was married when He was here on earth? Yeah, right.
Lessons from St Paul
When St Paul said it is better not to marry I think I now understand what he meant. I don’t think he was not saying that we should not marry at all – what I think he was saying was that some of us will be so driven by purpose that it could almost consume us – to the chagrin of our spouse and family.
‘Do not be unequally yoked.’ It’s time to give this Biblical instruction wider scope. Might we therefore be obliged to carefully consider and ensure that we can and are prepared to bear the yoke of our spouse's commission? Me thinks so.
Me also thinks we must in tandem pursue our own God-given purpose – and not wait for that purpose to be defined by our spouse or partner. And oh no, I am not suggesting that our own purpose should conflict with that of our partner’s. In fact it must not, for then two will not walk together for they will not agree. If our two purposes can actually be complementary – then we are in business.
Leadership Responsibilities and Domestic Management
A possibel remedy? Making quality time available for the domestic front - for these also are a part of our God-given commissions and our leadership responsibilities. A friend and colleague who is as equally purpose driven and busy with a capital b as her husband tells me this: ‘‘life is too short to whinge. Make and take every opportunity to enjoy quality time – not whinge time.”
Something to offer to this world
Our leadership and social responsibilities may not be as celebrated as those of Mandela or Imran Khan, but we all have a responsibility to be true to our convictions, redeem the time, take hold of every opportunity and rise up to the leadership and social responsibility challenges which come forth as a result.
Our experiences, knowledge and contributions are far greater and wider than we suppose, and many around us need to learn, grow and benefit from our experience and knowledge much more that we suppose. Let's reach out whilst managing our domestic world.
No one is going to change the world for us but ourselves.
The Nigerian example - how not to do it
Being Nigerian, I am so often bemused by our political leaders. They criminally amass Nigeria’s wealth for themselves and families and yet, when they need medical treatment, must fly to Europe or America because we have few hospitals to call hospitals in our own country.
The roads they drive their luxury cars on are death traps. They give speeches to the world, marketing Nigeria as an investment climate but plough their own investments into foreign lands and foreign bank accounts. They dig boreholes in their homes and have the power generator switched on 24hrs a day because the power holding company leaks power instead of generating it - and the national water authority, well, has no authority. Completely un-intelligible.
We set up the Nigerian Harvard Law Students Alumni Association but do very little to address or confront pressing law and development challenges in our country. It is always and everywhere a status thing, and never a leadership and social responsibility issue.
I have a dream: the long walk to freedom
We all admire the likes of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa – but why? They were driven by their convictions. They acted in response to social and political ills that they could not accept as individuals - and in turn discovered that many others felt the very same way but had not had the stomach to make a difference.
Jesus irrefutably made a difference. St Paul made a difference. Doctor of Jewish law: the schooled Saul. And yet he totally and completely let his conversion and convictions drive him. Mary Magdalene – and no, I am not hesitating to use her as an example. She was the woman with the alabaster box – poured a perfume worth a year’s salary on her Lord. Her purpose was to unreservedly honour Him Who had giving her life true meaning – no matter what it would cost her financially.
Lessons from a Cricketer and the Makings of a Social Justice Politician
I watched a programme on CNN the other week on the Pakistani cricketer now turned politician, Imran Khan.
Privileged background, Oxford University, international playboy et al, Khan embarked on an international cricketing career and then married the heiress Jemima Goldsmith. Back in Pakistan, dismayed by the social and political injustice he saw all around him, he became a philanthropist (partly driven by the passing of his mother from cancer – there was no hospital in Pakistan to treat cancer) and built a world class hospital to treat the poor and underprivileged for cancer.
He then embarked on a political career, setting up his own political party, Movement for Justice, and became an MP. The movement's main focus is to bring justice to the people of Pakistan, largely via an independent judiciary. I’ll mention how his marriage broke down as a result of this later.
Stirring up the Pakistani Orange Revolution
It is not insignificant that the current political crisis in Pakistan, fuelled by the President’s questionable sacking of the Chief Justice, has highlighted the plight of legal inequity and non-independence of the Judiciary in Pakistan - and of course you know that the legal inequity always and everywhere favours the rich against the poor, right? Now his party has gained renewed prominence, and I hope will gain grounds in the coming elections.
Khan took up social and political leadership and responded to the cry to judge uprightly among men. The word on the street is that the Movement for Justice was inspired partly by Khan's renewed commitment to Islam.
Food for thought, Christian soldiers.
Well, Miss Ruka, what are you doing then?
Well, I don’t have plans to set up my own political party, but I do hold leadership positions on a number of outreach initiatives here on the African continent - where I volunteer my professional knowledge and experience in an advisory capacity for initiatives to benefit the under privileged. It can be that simple.
Can two walk together unless they agree?
The point about Imran Khan’s marriage breakdown is this. Whilst he was busy finding and executing purpose, his wife, quite rightly, wanted to enjoy the fullest of conjugal bliss - with her spouse’s time. But with the purpose driven Imran I assume devoting insufficient quality time (note, not quantity) to his spouse and family, a divorce came knocking on their marital door.
What I found insightful about Imran Khan’s response to the break up is this: he echoed words to the effect that his marriage presented him with the happiest moments of his life, but once the marriage was over, he just moved on and pursued his purpose all the more.
The point is, such people, mad with purpose, will just go on doing what they feel they need to do. It’s almost as though the purpose, the dream, is their elixir.
Who were those deranged script writers and film producers who said Jesus was married when He was here on earth? Yeah, right.
Lessons from St Paul
When St Paul said it is better not to marry I think I now understand what he meant. I don’t think he was not saying that we should not marry at all – what I think he was saying was that some of us will be so driven by purpose that it could almost consume us – to the chagrin of our spouse and family.
‘Do not be unequally yoked.’ It’s time to give this Biblical instruction wider scope. Might we therefore be obliged to carefully consider and ensure that we can and are prepared to bear the yoke of our spouse's commission? Me thinks so.
Me also thinks we must in tandem pursue our own God-given purpose – and not wait for that purpose to be defined by our spouse or partner. And oh no, I am not suggesting that our own purpose should conflict with that of our partner’s. In fact it must not, for then two will not walk together for they will not agree. If our two purposes can actually be complementary – then we are in business.
Leadership Responsibilities and Domestic Management
A possibel remedy? Making quality time available for the domestic front - for these also are a part of our God-given commissions and our leadership responsibilities. A friend and colleague who is as equally purpose driven and busy with a capital b as her husband tells me this: ‘‘life is too short to whinge. Make and take every opportunity to enjoy quality time – not whinge time.”
Something to offer to this world
Our leadership and social responsibilities may not be as celebrated as those of Mandela or Imran Khan, but we all have a responsibility to be true to our convictions, redeem the time, take hold of every opportunity and rise up to the leadership and social responsibility challenges which come forth as a result.
Our experiences, knowledge and contributions are far greater and wider than we suppose, and many around us need to learn, grow and benefit from our experience and knowledge much more that we suppose. Let's reach out whilst managing our domestic world.
No one is going to change the world for us but ourselves.
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