(Sylvester Udemezue)
“Do not criticise what you don’t understand.*
~ Elvis Presley
??I hope you’ve read the two reports— the earlier published and newer version.
?? I must kick off this comment by making it clear, all over again, that I do not and will never support fraud or underhand dealings; I’ve on several occasions, in spoken and written form, stated my principled stand against any form of corruption or corrupt practice and against anyone who perpetrates, encourages of supports it.
??Coming back to the present discussion, to the best of my knowledge and understanding, from what I have seen in the two versions, I personally, respectfully do not think any mischiefs were intended or perpetrated.
??First, I must say this right away; no leader is beyond mistakes; a leader who has never made any mistakes, is one who has never tried anything new.
??Great leaders all over the world are never afraid of making mistakes, neither are such leaders stoned to death, vilified for, nor judged based solely on, their honest mistakes, especially where such mistakes have not led to any injustice or fraud, or otherwise occasioned irremediable hardships, and where such are clearly understable to reasonably discerning minds.
??Accordingly, if an honest mistake is suddenly noticed and then quickly, honestly explained and transparently corrected, in my mind, there shouldn’t much need for any fuss about a non issue.
??We all are mere mortals and making mistakes is part of living a long active life, just as it is a part of business and leadeship decision and action process.
??I think this is what Dean Smith had in mind when he declared, ”What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” ??Then, in his book titled, ”Words of Wisdom For My Daughter,” Dr. Marshall Hennington had advised of further steps to be taken after noticing an honest mistake. Says he, ”… one thing that I have learned over time is that when you make a mistake, recognize it, admit to it and figure out why the mistake was made, then do everything in your power to avoid making the same mistake again.”
??In the present instance, it is clear what the errors in the earlier reports were, which were the sole reasons for their withdrawal and subsequent replacement; the authors of the reports had mistakenly published reports for two NBA National administrations (the present and a past administration) — and then lumped the both into one as if both were all Paul Usoro’s. ??Example, from the later (correct) report, the Paul Usoro administration is reported to have received a total of over N700 million in the last one year. ??Out of this sum, N400 million was reportedly put into a FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNT in NBA’s name . ??The question is, how could an administration that had/has received only a little above N700 millions (and out of which N400 is in a fixed deposit account) be now accused of having spent N1.5 billion in the same period (of one year)?
??It’s obvious the accusation is not correct and or someone somewhere is out to do some image-tarnishing work against Paul Usoro, SAN. ??Evidence of all monies received is clearly documented. ??If we don’t learnt to begin to support progressive and pragmatic leadership for success, and to make our criticisms only constructive, we may find it hard to advance this profession as a body. ??We must all learn, not only to not fear change, but to embrace it enthusiastically and, perhaps even more important, encourage and drive it (Tony Hsieh) ??Criticisms are good, as they put leaders on their toes. ??But, people should try and learn to not criticise merely for the sake of criticising, to boost or massage their own big ego or simply for the fun of it. ??Useful criticism ought to proceed from constructive intents and directed towards altruistic ends.
??Accordingly, i respectfully advise that , where and if there’s nothing to criticize, and no need to criticize, then we should learn to refrain from vain criticisms not having, or not intended to have, any useful or beneficial purposes. ??Elvis Presley’s wise counsel is apt here for all these armchair critics: “do not criticise what you don’t understand…”
Best regards, please.
Respectfully,
UDEMS
