Except XXXIV from Moral Goodness In Our Lifetime, By Pastor Ajayi James B. C.
In Africa, just to name a few, Patrice Lumumba, Muritala Mohammed, Tafawa Balewa, Aguiyi Ironsi and Adekunle Fajuyi were all victims of political assassination. The murder of Herbert Macaulay and Adelabu Adegoke seemed to have opened the pandora box of political assassination in Nigeria. Since then the virus has undergone some dangerous mutations yielding variants that are immune to any form of control.
For centuries democracy has been wailing for the attention of courageous and upright rulers all over the world to champion its cause. As of today only a minor fraction of rulers in the world practise pure, purposeful and selfless democratic governance. The cost of governance of a nation should not include Human life, but many people have been murdered in cold blood over politics. Apart from the direct political gladiators, thousands of journalists, innocent electoral officers and voters are being killed before, during and after elections. The cost of governance of a nation has been inflated beyond the imagination of Aristotle who declared that “ the good of man,” (happiness) must be the objective of the science of politics.
Does the administration of people and resources have to cost even the finger of a human being, how much more his life?Moral goodness demands that a ruler resign conscientiously from whatever position he occupies, if there is an iota of truth or evidence of a wrong doing, even at the mention of a few calls for such resignation without waiting for the majority of people’s out cry. When a ruler is involved in or responsible even vicariously in any despicable act of commission or omission, he should resign if he has any honour or a shade of integrity left in him. Whoever aspires to the position of a ruler should possess the attributes or characteristics required to govern over others and live by them. Otherwise, the cost of governance cannot be kept in a manageable or tolerable level.
2.3.2 The Pentagon Of Virtues For Successful Governance
There are some cardinal virtues a governor should possess. They are five pairs: Knowledge and wisdom, honesty and justice, courage and discipline, hardwork and humility, love of others and fear of God. He needs to have each pair at least minimally, but the last pair abundantly. Those virtues that he has minimally will be fully supplied to him by throughly scrutinized advisers. That was the strategy used by king Nebuchadnezzar to build his empire. A governor certainly needs to have a good measure of the milk of human kindness, as well as absolute fear of God.
(a) Knowledge and wisdom.
(TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK IN EXCERPT XXXV)
LEGENDARY QUOTES: “When General Douglas MacArthur was asked, ‘what is the greatest quality of a leader?’ he answered, ‘selflessness.’” … THE SPEAKERS QUOTE BOOK BY Roy B.Zuck
