“Madam President, what’s the update on the project?”

She looked up from her phone.

“Which project?”

The room went quiet.

“Madam, the one we discussed last week.”

“Oh. I thought someone was handling that.”

Someone?

She looked around the room.

Nobody said anything.

Her phone buzzed again.

One message was from the auditor, waiting for her approval.

Another was from the secretary asking whether the meeting would hold.

Another was from a member complaining that nobody had responded to their request.

Then came the one that made her drop her phone on the table.

“Madam President, are we still doing the project or not?”

She exhaled.

Just a few months ago, she had stood in front of these same people, promising them change.

“Give me the mandate.”

They did.

Now, the mandate was sitting on her head like a 50kg bag of rice..😂

She had been everywhere during the election.

“Vote for me.”

“I have a vision.”

“I will represent you.”

“I'll make sure everybody's voice is heard.”

Campaign flyers, speeches, handshakes.

“My people!”

She won.

Congratulations everywhere.

Nobody told her that after the congratulations comes accountability.

Leadership looks attractive when it's still a title.

President, Chairman, Coordinator.

Team Lead, Class Representative.

CEO, Founder, Director, Even group admin. 😂

Everybody wants to hear:

“Congratulations, our new leader.”

But it hits differently when the same people start asking:

“What's the update?”

“Where's the money?”

“What happened to the project?”

“What's the plan?”

“Who's responsible?”

“What are we doing next?”

Especially when some of these people are people you probably wouldn't even sit down with on a normal day. 😂

And suddenly, that sweet title starts feeling like work.

Everybody wants to be called “Madam President” until everybody starts calling, “Madam President?”

When people's expectations become your responsibility, you realise you're no longer dealing with just a position.

You're dealing with people.

Different personalities.

Someone will be slow, disagree with you, disappoint you, need help, misunderstand your instruction and challenge you.

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a leader is believing:

“I am the leader, therefore I must always be right.”

Oga, abeg. 😂

You can lead and still get it wrong.

You can make a bad decision.

You can misunderstand a situation.

You can have an idea that simply doesn't work.

And sometimes, the person you are leading may see something you don't.

A leader who cannot listen will eventually surround themselves with people who only know how to agree.

And that's how things begin to scatter..

Nigerians like title sha. 😂

Give somebody a position and watch “Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning, ma.”

multiply overnight.

Suddenly, everybody is greeting you differently.

Your face is on flyers.

Your name is on WhatsApp statuses.

People are writing:

“Congratulations to our capable leader.”

But when the actual work starts?

Omo, everywhere don quiet.

And we can't completely blame the people in the positions either.

We are part of the problem.

We choose leaders because they are popular, they have money and connections.

“This one sabi people.”

Then we are surprised when the person who knows everybody cannot actually lead anybody.

We need to start looking beyond who can command attention.

Visibility is not capacity.

Confidence is not competence.

And having people clap for you is not proof that you can carry them.

Maybe when we are choosing leaders, we should start asking a different question:

What has this person already shown us about their ability to lead?

Not just:

“What position are they contesting for?”

Everybody wants to lead when the position is vacant.

But are you prepared to carry the weight when the applause is over?

A title may sit on your chest.

Responsibility sits on your head.

And, na there the real leadership starts.

Just you, the people, the responsibility...

And the question again,

“Madam President, what's the update?”