BY: SAIDU AHMED
S.A Research & Strategy to the Honorable Minister of Information & National Orientation.
Minister of Information and National Orientation
“…His life was gentle; and the elements so mixed in him, that Nature might stand up and say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN!”
– Julius Caesar
It is never too prudent to prattle or avoid scabrous articulation about the meaning of power and responsible leadership which is an objective concern of my understanding of how power is won, retained, refined, lost and regained.
Like a chain of bio-chemical reaction, I don’t want to be seen always like a serial storyteller who always plot pontifical proses and adverbial clauses in order to impress his audience.No, rather I have come to study and understand the man Mohammed Idris Malagi as a manifold sub-variant of Sir. Ahmadu Bello, Ghandi, Dilai Lama, Marcus Aurelius or if you like Mahathir Mohammed, one of the brilliant founders of modern political civilization in Malaysia.
It is only by rejecting what Mao called idealistic and mechanic tendencies and taking an objective all-sided view in making a study in power, politics and leadership can we draw correct conclusion on the questions of what makes a leader’s legacy thick even after death.
Understanding Mohammed Idris from all-sided view is to see him first as a media pope respected even by the neophytes who just recently, are beginning to have their hands on the cookie jars of media issues in the sector, country or at the global fora level.
Secondly, one can see Mohammed Idris as a political leader, his belief in national unity, politics without bitterness and a stint for wealth creation has won him a seat at Nigeria’s Mount Olympus.
Thirdly, As a Minister of Information and National Orientation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whenever the Chief spokesperson to the Nigeria Government speaks my heart never trembles over the fear of defeat, that British accent makes all articulation flow with magnificent fluidity. Ensuring what he said is in consonance with reality, truth and the visionary commitment of the Renewed Hope Agenda, this is because the people are the custodians of our Republic.
As a Special Assistant Research & Strategy to the Honorable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris taught me something about Information Statecraft which is not far away from the classics, that in grand strategy you look beyond the moment, beyond your immediate battles and concerns. Controlling the temptation to react to events as they happen, you determine each of your actions according to your ultimate goals. You think in terms not of individual battels but of a campaign.
Like the relationship between Nicolo Machiavelli and Lorenzo de’ Medici, Louis XII and Cesare Borgia, The Duke of Valentino, my interest in understanding the man Mohammed Idris has become a filial responsibility of a son to his father, and working with him in politics and government has come to be the intersect between mentorship, loyalty and result.
To God be the glory, Happy Birthday to Kilimanjaro.