THE Muslim Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (MPAN), Oyo State, held the second edition of its annual Ramadan lecture on Sunday in Ibadan, Oyo State, with a charge on people in positions of authority, political and otherwise, to be diligent and conscientious in the discharge of their duties.
Professor Ibrahim Uthman of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan and Alhaji AbdRazaq AbdSalam Awayewaserere, a retired director at the Voice of Nigeria (VON) were the two scholars who used the Islamic lens to view the concept of leadership at the lecture with the theme, ‘Imperatives of Good Leadership: The Islamic Model’.
The duo spoke to the need for Nigeria to make the empowerment of ideal leaders an established custom if the nation must transform into a society where all people are equal and enjoy equal social, political and economic rights and opportunities.
The first speaker, Professor Uthman, described what he called the five fundamental objectives of the shari’a as necessary guiding principles for all good leaders.
He listed the fundamentals to include the protection of life, protection of the human intellect, protection of the family (future generation) and respect for every religion.
The don said a good leader “must be somebody who is honest with the mandate of protecting the objectives of the shari’a.”
Professor Uthman also said good leaders listen to the people and as such, programmes and policies that are inimical to the welfare of their followers, no matter how well intentioned, should be modified or reversed.
He gave the example of the Federal Government’s monetary policy which recently brought untold hardship on Nigerians, saying “intention is not enough to build a nation.”
According to him, the cashless policy should have been annulled two weeks after its introduction if the government respected public opinion.
He declared that one of the mistakes in the society is that leadership is always considered from the point of view of political leadership, emphasising that the concept of leadership is applicable at all levels of the society.
The second speaker, Alhaji AbdSalam Awayewaserere, said, among other things, five things must be considered when talking about leadership.
Alhaji AbdSalam said: “It must be understood that leadership is about responsibility, not authority. Leadership is to serve Allah and not ourselves or our group and it is about the people and not about a select few.
He added: “Leadership is about ensuring justice and fair play, which is what is missing in every society now; and it is about the culture of follow-up, to be sure that what you want to happen in the populace is what is happening
The Ameer, MPAN, Oyo State, Alhaji Abdur-Razaq Adeyanju, said the purpose of the lecture was “to remind ourselves one of the teachings of Islam as it affects our social development as a people” and to be “able to appraise ourselves in the context of leadership individually and collectively.”
Adeyanju described politics and governance as critical elements in the development of any society.
He said: “We have seen many societies develop due to good governance while many societies were plunged into destruction and citizens frustrated due to bad governance.
