My father told me an instructive story about Malam Aminu Kano. One day, Malam was walking to a function to which he was invited. On the way, one of his followers tagged along. But Malam didn’t say anything to prevent the man from following him. When they got to the gates, of course, the security men allowed Malam to go through but held back the man.
Seeing that he needed Malam to save him, he shouted “Malam, an kama ni!”
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Malam shouted back “to, kabi su!” The man screamed to let Aminu Kano know that he had been prevented from going in and Malam responded that he should do as he was commanded by the agents.
After I finished laughing with my father, I asked: “What was the alternative?”
A leader seeking popularity would have turned back and instructed the security to let the man through. But who are they letting in and what was his function in the meeting? Malam didn’t know him and would have to explain all this to the security men which would distract him from the main event thereby wrecking a meeting that might have been planned for many weeks.
But Malam Aminu Kano was far from a populist leader. I remember listening to the late Maitama Sule where he said Malam would not even tell you “a nice word” to encourage anyone to follow him.
I remember reading from a book, I think it was his biography, which tells the story of how he went to the market and met a man preaching. A crowd had started gathering – apparently enjoying the man’s message.
But Malam was disturbed by this because the man was preaching nonsense in the name of Islam. So he went and told off the preacher. I understood from the story that at this point, Aminu Kano wasn’t well known. But the crowd that had collected around the preacher, abandoned him and followed Malam instead.
What this means is that a leader has a set of beliefs, some principles and convictions from which he doesn’t deviate. And your followers will seek to distract you and to change you and to squeeze you enough to wring out all the principles like a wet cloth being prepared for drying.
Ironically, the main reason why you’re being followed is because of your convictions. But if you allow it, every Tom, Dick and Harry would pull you here and there. They would hold you upside down and shake out all your values; leaving you empty, ordinary and unworthy of being followed.
Let me be clear. Most of those who wish to change you are well-intentioned. When Abubakar (RA) became Caliph, Umar (RA) vehemently disagreed with him on some decisions he made. But when Abubakar didn’t yield to pressure, Umar later admitted that Abubakar was correct.
It is my opinion that if Abubakar weren’t a strong leader, Umar wouldn’t have subjected him to such pressure. This means that sometimes, your followers disagree with you only to reassure themselves that they are safe in your hands.
Here’s a simple analogy. At night, when you want to retire to bed, you lock the door to the house. Then what do you do immediately? You hold the door handle and try to open the door. You know it wouldn’t open, but you want to reassure yourself that the lock will provide the security it promises.
I remember when in 2018 I decided to turn my house into a fruit forest my wife was against it because such an environment would invite snakes. This was a valid argument. But I knew that one could easily buy a snake repellent off the shelf – and the family’s daily azkaar would provide Allah’s protection.
But I also knew that the vision in my mind wouldn’t be realized without me doing something about it. Now we both enjoy taking guests on a tour of the fruit trees and sharing harvests with neighbours and friends.
This doesn’t mean that a leader is unyielding when he is wrong. When facts are presented and it is clear that the leader is wrong, he concedes. But when you’re right, stay right, don’t follow.
PS: A sheikh told me yesterday that the ability to withstand pressure is an attribute of the prophets. So stay strong. If your people don’t see it today, they will see it tomorrow.
