The immediate past governor of Anambra told a story of his experience with sycophancy in his days in the saddle during an emotional speech at Oronto Douglas memorial Service. According to Mr Obi, He had gone on official visit to a community and the drums were rolled to welcome him.
Praise singers were in abundant supply telling him he was the best thing humanity was sighting since the advent of toast bread. They poured all manner of encomia to celebrate him for the wonderful feats he had achieved as Anambra governor.
A normal governor in our degenerate culture would have soaked in all the praise, emit some noises and dole out cash to the band of sycophants. Visit ended and the media takes over the rest and do the needful.
Not Peter Obi. He had the right perception of power as an instrument not to make your head swell but to make strategic interventions in the lives of those you are privileged to lead. His conscience told him those singing his praises could not be a sincere crowd. He took a few steps not too far from the madding crowd and saw three of those guys whom Christ said have the keys to the kingdom.
In seconds they began to rain on their parents parade as the governor asked them to tell him their areas of need. The first one pointed him to the leaking roof in their community school, the second showed him the non-existent toilet and the third spoke about their broken chairs.
“I stood there looking at those kids telling me the truth while their parents were at another corner singing my praises. You sing praises so the local politicians could give you N2000 while you go home to drink dirty water from a well. You defecate in the bush just for a small token.
From that day, I decided that every Senior Prefect in all schools in the state must have my direct line so they could tell me the situation of things.”
The tragedy of it all is that except there is ethical adjustment in our society down the line, those kids would master the way of their parents down the line.Search your self.
