They were men of great capabilities. They excelled in their fields. They were masters of waters, having core competencies in navigating sea waves as fishermen. But one day, they were on the Sea of Galilee, legendary for its shallow depth – the lowest freshwater and second-lowest lake on earth. Fed by River Jordan, with the Golan Heights by the side, a wave easily gathered momentum, causing problems along the paths.

On that day, the disciples, masters of waters, had their capabilities tested.  Four of them were recruited by Christ while working on that very Sea. The waves were ferocious. Yet,  the men trusted their skills. Then, they gave up, and asked for help. “Peace be still” were the words, and the storm stopped.

Our education, networks, and experiences are things we cherish. We use them to navigate careers. But there are things so powerful: preventing storms or when they do happen, having higher mentors (or plans) to stop them.

Today’s labour market is like the Sea of Galilee. Tech-driven dislocation and globalization are major challenges. We  require alternate plans just in case the skills become momentarily unhelpful just as the fishermen saw themselves nearly imperiled in a sea. But they were lucky, they were in good company, and the men of waters were saved in water.

Invest to be in the right company!

Note: I have used this story to teach and preach many times. My typical title is “Where is your confidence?”. My focus usually is to call people to the path of humility, as even the things we think we are best on, can disappoint us. Yes, our degrees, our skills, etc could disappoint just as fishermen were nearly imperield in waters. If we know that, how we relate with people will change. Yes, we become humble, with decency and honour, because a storm can change anything. But a higher Mentor becomes our confidence.

Bible: Mark 4:35-41

I vote Yes, and the National Assembly should make at least two pre-election debates to be part of our (national) democracy in Nigeria. Sure, many will argue that debates do not make you a better leader. Respectfully, I think they are wrong.

As a Library Prefect in secondary school, part of my job was to coordinate debates from JS1 to SS3. I learnt quickly that to help moderate or participate or manage, mastering the debate topic was crucial. And the participants were expected to prepare. Magically, we realized that being asked to debate was one way of pushing students to study things they would not have.

Both did not debate during the last election

If you ask Nigerian politicians to debate, they would be forced to spend time to understand the issues they would deal with before they are elected into the jobs. Yes, on Day 1, they know the issues, instead of wasting months trying to understand the state of the nation. Simply, debates would have “prepared” them, forcing them to seek the right data and insights.

There is one reason why an American or UK leader would have the cabinet ready within days of being elected: as part of preparing for debates, the person has been forced to seek insights from experts. So, before they are elected, they know the best in the land. Yes, they know the person who knows, and by having known all the experts, forming a cabinet becomes easier.

Nigeria needs presidential debates and we need those with the fierce urgency of now. 

It is very shameful, repugnant and extremely unfortunate that Nigeria is yet to grow into a nation where leaders prepare into positions.

Debates matter – they matter. They push you to say “Who knows this area best, get him/her here”. By the time you have done that 3-5 times, you will have your cabinet ready to lead a day after election.

Mr. Mike Ini, you always impress: push this forward for the nation.

PT: You have been calling for the institutionalisation of debates at all levels, for all candidates in our electoral system, what are the prospects?

Igini: In the leadership or executive recruitment process, debates on key policy issues allows the aspirants to present their private and public records for public scrutiny. If made compulsory as the practice in some countries, then those who aspire to public office will know that competence, performance, and character are very important matters of public interest when seeking elective office.

Nigeria’s Presidential Debate Failure

In our Tekedia Mini-MBA Live this morning, we had a great conversation on upgrading business as a result of changes in markets. Here is the referred post on Guardian and Jumia Games cases. I am sharing that Live session here.