“We have nothing that is really our own; we hold everything as a loan.”
This is my 3rd-week journaling peculiar occurrences and so far, it’s been thrilling. I thought of what to name this series and I’ve decided on #OOFSDIARY.
Journaling enables me to stay mindful and reflective of lessons learned in the course of my work. Life comes at all of us fast and in the end, what really matters are the memories and LEGACY.
During this past week, 3 events stood out to me:
1. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Processes for approval within government systems are designed to ensure accountability and transparency. Same processes however can become bureaucratic if not understood or deliberately misrepresented. A few days back, my colleague whom I had praised for issuing approval for an important project, within 24hrs of our request, called back to withdraw the approval. The basis? The procurement approach we took was no longer consistent with the initial approval we received from His Excellency. After about 10 minutes of back and forth over the phone, I drove to his office to discuss it in person.
On the counsel of one of his advisors, he suggested we obtain a new approval from the Governor. I thought it was unnecessary, the advisor in my view, had limited understanding of the program design and appeared not to understand the approach.
After some thought, I decided to let go because in the grand scheme of things, the “ask” wouldn’t change the program design significantly. I went to the Governor and obtained a new approval.
Musing on this, I realised that as much as timelines matter, what’s most important is that every project or intervention I initiate has to be impactful and sustained beyond my tenure as commissioner. Public servants come and go, but civil servants are there for the long haul. They drive program sustainability and ensuring their contributions to programme processes are considered, is important.
2. Talk Is Cheap
Acknowledge your wins but don’t dwell on them.
Two almost opposite events happened on the same day. I received a visit from one of the very respected women leaders in my LGA. She was very generous with kind words; expressing her gratitude on behalf of the women for the work that I’ve done so far; in summary, extolling me for doing my job.
Shortly after she left, another visitor came calling. A young man who claimed to represent a group of youths. I was about to attend an e-conference so the staff wouldn’t let him into my office. A minor brawl ensued between him and the staff and he kept sending me “interesting” text messages. Based on his messages, it’s safe to say that in the space of about 30 minutes, I went from “Honourable Commissioner” to “anything but the son of god” This, my friends, is Public Service!
The lesson I drew from these concurrent events is the fact that the praise singers and the naysayers are two sides of a coin. Appreciate both. Acknowledge and celebrate your successes, but do not dwell on them because, in the long run, both good and bad talk is cheap. What matters is your LEGACY.
3. Life is fickle
Stay grateful for the gift of life while working on the legacy you’ll leave behind.
On Thursday, we lost a brilliant colleague in the person of Professor Francisca Aladejana. Prof. Aladejana was an erudite scholar who was the former provost of the Ekiti State College of Education and till her demise served as His Excellency Dr Kayode Fayemi’s Senior Special Adviser on Basic Education. The news of her death shook me to the core.
Losing such a brilliant and vibrant woman definitely leaves a void in our system. But I am consoled because her good work will definitely outlive her.
In summary, here are my takeouts from the events of the past week:
1. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
2. Talk is cheap, acknowledge your wins but don’t dwell on them.
3. Life is fickle; stay grateful for the gift of life while working on the legacy you’ll leave behind.
Always remember; Time is a gift, it’s not something we’re entitled to. Stay grateful and work towards your legacy.
~ #OOFSDIARY
