Tom was born in 1225, near Aquinas, Italy. Thus, the name Thomas Aquinas. By age 14, he was a student at the University of Naples. From there, he decided to become a Catholic priest, a Dominican. His family was not happy about his plan and developed a strategy to dissuade him. They had hoped he would have much greater financial security than taking a vow to live in poverty! His brother had a creative, but unsuccessful plan. They kidnapped him and held him for 15 months, hoping that he would change his mind. But he did not change his mind.
The family became more daring in their attempts. They arranged for him to be with a prostitute. That attempt likewise failed.
Finally, they offered to purchase for him the position of archbishop of Naples, a practice known as investiture and was common with the wealthy in the Middle Ages. Rather he went to the University of Paris from 1245 –1248. He became profoundly respected through his brilliant mind and voluminous writing, which earned him the nickname Angelic Doctor. He attempted to reconcile two large bodies of thought: the writings of Aristotle (and other philosophers) and the Bible. So influential was he that his thinking was given a name (based on his name). It is called Thomism. Many followed his teaching, because his intellectual prowess and theological acumen commanded respect, and he got it. It’s obvious that everybody wants respect. But leaders don’t ask for it. They already have it. People naturally follow leaders who are stronger than themselves. After his youth service, Professor Pat Utomi left the country in search of knowledge at the Indian University, Bloomington, USA. He travelled with the aim of grabbing master’s degrees in Business Administration and Journalism. The ultimate for him then was to become a “media mogul” in Nigeria. But mid-way into the programme, he was encouraged by Professor Patrick O. Ngara, the institution’s Director of African Studies to study something else.
In Professor Utomi’s own words: “He noticed me and persuaded me to change my course because there are many MBA graduates in my country and suggested that a few smart chaps in my country could get into the Public Management programme.” Professor Utomi heeded this advice and took a specialty in Public Finance and Budgeting. He also went ahead to get a Ph.D. in Political Economy, two broad areas – Public and Environment Affairs and Political Economy and Public Policy. At the age of 26, the maverick Professor had four university degrees in his kitty. While in USA, he was moved by a young fellow, David Tudeman who was then the Director of Budget in the Reagan administration. In Professor Utomi’s words: “My dream was to become a Director of Budget in Nigeria.”
Professor Utomi returned to Nigeria in 1982 to the full embrace of journalism, from where he was appointed a cabinet member of the Alhaji Shehu Shagari administration. The December 1983 coup d’ etat short-lived this appointment. He thus decided to enter into the private sector, falling back on the two companies he had earlier set up, Patike Communications Limited and Utomapp Holdings.
In 1986, Volkswagen of Nigeria contacted him to help deal with a crisis that was eating deep into the fabrics of the company as Assistant General Manager (Corporate Affairs). He was later appointed the company’s Deputy Managing Director in 1989, thus becoming the first Nigerian to hold such a post. At 35, he became the acting Managing Director of Volkswagen of Nigeria. Dynamic and forthright, Professor Utomi was not ready to sit tight in a place. “I sat up and decided that unless I am crazy and stupid, I cannot be at the top of Volkswagen for 20 years because retirement age there is 55. It would certainly bore me to death and it would discourage any other person aspiring to be the CEO. I thus made a statement outrightly that I would be leaving the company at 38.” Professor Utomi made good his promise, left Volkswagen of Nigeria and returned to his third career; teaching. He joined Lagos Business School in 1994 and has been full-time since. Professor Utomi who is credited to have written over 1,500 published articles, seminar and conference papers has published articles in academic journals and contributed chapters to books published in Europe and the United States in several disciplines. He is also the author of several books. Today, he is well known and is very active on the Nigerian business scene, and also commands the respect of many.
Though everybody agrees that Nigeria has a leadership problem, the truth remains that we still have some good leaders who give us hope on a daily basis. Manufactures of fake drug were having a field day before late Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili came on board National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). How about Dr. (Mrs.) Oby Ezekwesili, popularly known as Madam Due Process? The Iron lady, as she was referred in some quarters during her stay in government, brought some sanity into the way contracts are awarded in the country. Leaders who have great vision and how to go about achieving it will automatically have followers who buy into their dreams. They don’t go about begging for people to respect them, to fear them, to know that they are the boss. When you spend your precious time making it known to the whole world that you are the boss, you are not. I believe this same opinion is the reason why some leaders, as soon as they vacate office or position, that will be the last you hear from them. They had no personality influence, but that of the office. Remember, leadership is all about influence.
There is the story of a brother who got so jealous of his brother’s accomplishment and decided to kill him. One evening, they took a stroll near a riverbank and that presented a very good opportunity for the young man to perpetrate his act. So, he pushed him into the river, and instead of drowning, he swam out with fishes, thereby earning more respect from his brother. Those are the kind of stuff leaders are made of.
As a leader or an aspiring one, you may want to ask for respect, depending on what you want, but I think it’s better earned. I bid you farewell for now with this question from Winston Churchill: “What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place to live in after we are gone?”
Shalom!
NB: First published August 2014