By Ishaya Ibrahim
Ahead of a medical outreach and evangelistic crusade slated for December 14 -16 in Ugep, a community in the Yakurr local government area of Cross River State, a well-rounded masterclass was first held on the fundamentals of leadership, today.
The leadership session was the first in a weeklong event aimed at bringing relief to thousands of people in Yakurr and environs which Dr Joseph Tarkon, a Nigerian-born, American-based doctor and presiding pastor of the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Atlanta, Georgia, is spearheading.
Speakers at the event, including Dr Tarkon, Pastor John Emmanuel also a pastor at the RCCG City of David in the U.S. who is also a healthcare professional, and former House of Representative member Emmanuel Ibeshi, spoke on themes around building systems and structures, running a sustainable business, impact of technology in growth of business and ministries, harnessing wealth, among others.
Dr Tarkon said the baseline for anyone aspiring to effective leadership is to have the fear of God.
He said: “If you want to be an effective leader whose enterprise can continue to thrive, do it with the fear of God.
“One of the things we see in many of our leaders today is that they don’t have the fear of God, and we see it in the expression of their businesses, their practices, their attitude, and in their corruption.”
Drawing from different definitions of leadership, Dr Tarkon says leadership is the ability to get people to see what you want them to see.
He encouraged the gathering to seek knowledge because the measure of their growth will determine how high their businesses or ministries will go.
He warned of acts like greed, deceit and selfishness. He said true leadership involves building people.
On his part, Pastor Emmanuel harped on developing systems and structures in businesses and ministries. He said the absence of systems and structures has in most cases led to inability to manage scarce resources.
He says systems and structures provide order and predictably especially in financial management. He says it also increases productivity, supports sustainability and facilitates communication.
On technology, he encouraged the gathering to seek markets beyond their immediate environment by taking advantage of social media tools.
Honourable Ibeshi, who was once a House of Rep member that represented the Ugep area and its environs during the aborted Third Republic, and a one-time national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), shared his experience as a politician who placed integrity and the people’s interest ahead of his own.
He recalled how elements in the national working committee of the PDP during the first term of then President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to remove him from office for committing no offense. He said it was the late legal icon, Gani Fawehinmi, whom he never met, that came to his rescue. He said Gani took up the case pro bono just by learning about it in the media. He advised the gathering not to sullied their integrity over temporal benefits.
The leadership session was attended by community leaders including Reverend Father Hyacinth Inyang, chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria in Yakurr local government, and Archbishop Patrick E. Ekpi of Jesus Triumphant Faith Church among many others.
