Emir Sanusi II: The rarest gem is leadership without ego

I’ve written this before, but it merits repeating. As a leader, do not attack the people, by your deeds, words or attitude. Because you owe them your power. Therefore, court them. Care for them. Forgetting this simple lesson would expose your flanks to attacks - that can cripple you.

At issue is the recent intervention of Emir Sanusi II. Nobody says you shouldn’t tell the people and their leaders the truth. But do it in a digestible way. Don’t upset their stomachs!

There are three positive ways (that I know) of pushing down bitter pills through people’s throats.

1. Show them another perspective without necessarily condemning their own. This way, you can criticize anyone without inviting their wrath. “That’s an interesting perspective,” you may say, “however, let’s also look at it this way.”

2. Share responsibility! You may say: “We’ve all failed. These are the facts. Arewa is the poorest region. However, these are the things we can do to address the embarrassing situation.”

3. Point out the positive sides. “We’ve three million children out of school,” you may say, “but our people are hardworking. You see farms everywhere you go in our communities. We feed the nation even without government’s assistance. So why can’t we replicate our modest success in agriculture in education?”

But you can’t condemn the people totally and expect not to be condemned.

It’s not today that Emir Sanusi started criticizing the political leaders, but they generally left him alone, because he’s the people’s hero and had their support.

Even when President Jonathan removed him as the Central Bank governor, the political leaders in his state quickly made him an emir. Why? Because they knew the people would support that move.

Today, Emir Sanusi II is lumping the political leaders and the people together and subjecting them to ridicule. Therefore, his support base is beginning to turn against him.

And the politicians who have been his victims for a while, are watching and thinking: “This is the right time to fire back!”

Now the emir’s old sins are being refreshed and new ones are being counted. Before now, I didn’t know that he used Rolls Royce or he was redecorating the palace. But his own state government is spinning these developments in a negative light.

All in all, if you’re in a leadership position, don’t show people that you’re better than them - even if you believe you are. And genuinely care for them. And ask God to guide you.

It’s my opinion that Emir Sanusi’s intervention at the economic summit in Kaduna was not only arrogant, but also ill-advised. He violated the age-old tradition of scholars and scientists which is to be humble in speech - allowing a reasonable room that they may be wrong.

HajiyaHauwa Baba Idris, while commenting on my post on Facebook captured the full spectrum of people’s sentiments through her comment:

“I don’t believe you are wrong Dr. Dooba. I am one of Emir Sanusi’s admirers but he goofed. His speech dripped sarcasm and disdain, directed at the very people he is leading. He can do better than that. He let arrogance get in the way of his intelligence and knowledge. He barely spared Islam itself.”

The Qur’an says in An-Nahl [verse 125] “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.”

It was Adam Grant, the youngest tenured professor at Whartonand bestselling author of “Give and Take” and “The Originals,” who said that confidence, as taught in the Western culture such as being assertive and displaying one’s credentials, is overrated.

He therefore advocated that while communicating, leaders and experts shouldn’t only show their strengths but also their shortcomings, shouldn’t be only assertive, but also engage in tentative Surat talk and finally, they shouldn’t only give answers but ask questions. He calls this, the power of powerless communication. But I prefer a less fancy term: humility.

The psychologist Erickson did an experiment where experts were allowed to show some weaknesses. He hypothesized that would make the experts more likeable and that was what happened. Those shortcomings instead of making them bad, humanized the experts. People felt they could relate to them.

How does this relate the emir? Emir Sanusi II already has the image of an intelligent, urbane and knowledgeable leader. Therefore, he needs not flaunt that in the people’s faces all the time. Telling people you’re from Kings College, an economists who has a degree in shariah is no longer necessary. Sometimes, he has to show his shortcomings.

One way of doing that is to accept responsibility and take ownership of the failure of Arewa. That wouldn’t diminish him, it would improve his credibility and likeability.

What’s the way out? He should grant a media interview - preferably to Daily Trust, VOA or BBC.

In that interview, he shouldn’t talk down to people again. But show that he’s passionate about them and that passion was somehow misconstrued.

I also may be wrong by writing this. May God guide us.