By Bello Bawa Bwari
One can only but imagine the state of mind of Musa (A.S) and Harun (A.S) when they met Pharao(h) in the company (of) Hamman and the great Egyptian Chiefs. It would have seemed like Barak Obama’s “audacity of hope”.
Gliding through the fortified corridors of power and walking confidently towards a man perceived to be a god on his own, perchance Musa and Harun were scared. It is obvious that they had a shared and compelling vision to speak truth to power no matter the price.
Indeed they delivered the message of truth from their Lord, but Pharaoh in the most belligerent manner said “O chiefs! I know not that you have a god other than me. So kindle for me (a fire), O Haman, to bake (bricks out of) clay, and set up for me a lofty tower in order that I may look at (or look for) the God of Moses…” (Quran 28:38). This was a statement utterly defiant and barbarously arrogant.
The rage of Pharaoh’s defiance to the message of repentance, righteousness and humility eventually drew him to taste the wrath of Allah (S.W.T): “So We sent (plagues) on them: Wholesale death, Locusts, Lice, Frogs, And Blood: Signs openly self-explained: but they were steeped in arrogance,- a people given to sin. (Surah Al-A‘raf, 133). In spite of all these signs of overbearing superiority, Pharaoh remained unrepentantly defiant, but as the sands of time trickled by gravity, Pharaoh lost the battle against truth and Allah seized soul in an attempt to outrun Musa (A.S) and his people.
For this type of contemptuous leader, Allah made his parable one for all of mankind to bear witness as indicated in the Quran that:
“So this day We shall deliver your (dead) body (out from the sea) that you may be a sign to those who come after you! And verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our signs.” (10:92).
The parables of Musa (A.S) is one which stands universally accepted amongst the major faiths-Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
His sojourn points to the ideal drama of the essence of servant leadership, the value of humility and snags of indulgence of power.
Our societies today are riddled with so many individuals characterized by the Pharaoh-like mindset, yet charged with responsibility and power over men.
The fathers of today are no longer leaders of their homes through the obnoxious lowering of moral values for the wives and children.
This, in turn, has rubbed off on the entire society. We have lowered the standards of morality, laced these postures with the arguments of “freedom of choice” even when we know that the matrix for good and bad will remain till eternity.
Consequently, the decisions that are required for the common good have become subjective, selfish and repugnant to natural justice. The repercussions of our bad decision are leaving their footprints on the sands of time. The COVID-19 pandemic has indeed laid the biggest test for leaders at all level.
This global challenge has exposed to enormity the difference between those who are real leaders and the pretenders to the throne.
Leaders at all levels are grappling with the massive spike of the pandemic, an unimaginable number of daily deaths, social restrictions, collapsing health infrastructure and potential economic depression.
I honestly doubt if there is anyone alive today who has witnessed such a multifaceted scale of global challenge like this.
The whole world is on its knees looking for solutions. Powerful leaders have been demystified, the weak ones have been certified while the vulnerable ones have been exposed.
The test of true leadership has never been this intense in the past 100 years. The phenomenon shift of fortunes and comfort zones are unequalled to any similar occurrence in the most recent times.
This pandemic has shown us unequivocally that great leaders must be proactive in responding to daily challenges, that they must empower others to be greater than them, they must display a high level of capacity in managing bad news and a crisis situation with magnanimous calm, while some exhibited impressive leadership skills, many were visibly unable to bridge the gap between the crisis and their skills.
It took so much reluctance to close all points of entries and local boundaries in an effort to contain the importation of the early COVID-19 index cases.
The sluggish approach towards educating the citizenry on the dangers of the pandemic was an obvious minus for most state governors and their respective agencies.
The present escalation of the prevalence of the disease could have been flattened on the curve if leadership wore their armour of responsibility earlier.
In some cases, these leaders who fell short of providing the much needed basic capacity that could accommodate the initial patients comfortably, found themselves thrown into grave silence, consequently leaving their subjects to wonder in unsubstantiated theories about the pandemic even when one of the primary requirements of effective leadership is seamless communication between the state and the citizens.
In one instance, a member of an opposition party donated a certain property for the purpose of isolating infected persons, but the governor of that state outrightly rejected the offer even when the state had none to offer because of what many consider as an “old grudge”.
This simply indicates an unconscious exhibition of open disconnection of the danger at stake. The governor’s willful exhibition of political sentiment in the face of a catastrophe can easily be linked to the quality of decisions that has birthed the visible lack of preparedness.
The arrogant personalization of state responsibility is definitely at the root of these vicious spreads of the pandemic and the unprecedented number of deaths that have trailed it.
In a Hadith related by Abdullah Ibn Umar, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) admonished leaders that “every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock”(Sahih Al-Bukhari,6719). This clearly requires leaders to be exceptionally dutiful, humble, empathic in protecting and providing for the welfare of the people.
When a good shepherd is expected to exhibit his mastery of boundary setting, leadership by example, trust, investing his time and providing for the wellbeing of his flock, he will, in turn, gain an uncommon relationship-based on genuine love and respect from them.
Therefore, If a leader does not dedicate all this energy towards a direct engagement with his subjects to know the extent of their pains, there will always be a deficiency in their loyalty and obedience to the state like what we have witnessed most recently.
Our leaders must take this golden opportunity despite great misery of fighting an unseen enemy amidst the excruciating power of the majority to redirect their consciousness towards the need for selfless service of humanity with humility and empathy.
Leaders should not be Lords unto their subjects, but only trustees of Allah’s (S.W) flock. It is time to see your positions as nothing more than a borrowed cloak of stewardship. Your time will come to pass and you will account for all your time with it. Power is indeed transient for those whose heart is still able to realize the parables of Allah(S.W).
Without a doubt, the narration of Musa (A.S) and Pharaoh exemplifies to mankind the virtues of shepherd leadership and that of a perfidious ingrate. While the good shepherd ends with a larger willing flock, the arrogant leader ends up with all the calamities the world can offer because of the betrayal of the trust of his subjects and the responsibilities that Allah (S.W) reposes in him.
This is the month of mercy and the perfect time for all believers to reconnect with their faith by recalibrating their propensity to spread common good and to obey in absoluteness all the tenants of Islam. These are by all means our keys to unlocking prosperity and defeating COVID-19. Leaders must be responsible and responsive to the wellbeing of their subjects under all circumstances.
O, Allah! We put our trust in You and enough as a disposer of all affairs, forgive us, have mercy on us and guide us onto the straight path.
Bello Bawa Bwari wrote in from Minna