FOLLOWING the sudden resignation notice served by the head of the Catholic faith,Pope Benedict XVI ,Catholics now have to fathom how to manage a retiree Pope before Easter which is a few days after February 28 when the Papal Lord promised to go into retirement.
In a surprise statement on February 11, the Pope announced: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God,l have come to the certainty that my strengths,due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom,l declare that l renounce the ministry of the bishop of Rome…”.
Undoubtedly, this must have been one of the most difficult speeches written by the Pontiff and most critical decision he ever made which might turn out to be one that would extend his life on earth by a few more years.
At this juncture, let me crave your indulgence to skip details about the turmoil which the holy father’s resignation has caused in the Catholic world and ask to be excused for not joining in the debate on chances of the tiara resting on the heads of Cardinals John Onaiyekan of Nigeria or Peter Turkson of Ghana -the Black African front runners because l’m anxious to dwell on the sheer will power and uncommon leadership quality which Pope Benedict XVI exhibited in making a decision to give up such enormous power without external pressure.
As the leader of Catholics across the world which is estimated to be in excess of one billion people, the Pope’s responsibility as a leader can be equated to that of the Chinese Premier which along with India’s prime minister are the only two heads of countries managing population in excess of one billion. In addition, the Pope, as the head of the Vatican which has the status of a nation state and one of the richest in the world, wields financial power comparable to that of the president of some of the wealthiest countries in the world.
The illustration above is to highlight the incredulous power, authority and affluence which Pope Benefit XVI voluntarily renounced which is a rare and inspiring act of leadership.
Although the position of a “person requiring homage” is alluring, the Pope was also bearing the burden of office comparable to that of the president of an average sized country in Europe in terms of wealth and population, China which probably informed his decision that his strength is no longer able to sustain the burden that the Papacy could be exacting on his frail body at an octogenarian age of about 85.
While still trying to recover from the thrill and awesomeness of a mere mortal suffering from arthritis, giving up the glorious throne which he is entitled to retain until he gives up the ghost, it suddenly dawned on me that we are talking about the Pope, God’s representative on earth.
By now, as a leadership scholar, it should be clear that my perspective on the Pope’s decision to renounce the seat rather than being religious or spiritual is obviously from the prism of leadership.
Writing on the topic ‘‘ln Search of a Global Leader” in Harvard Business Review-Leadership in a changed world, Fred Hassan, Chairman/ CEO of Shering-Plough, noted that: “The CEO/leader has to see himself as the chief developer of talent, no matter how large the company/organisation”. The Pope can be said to have wittingly or unwittingly applied that leadership principle when he embarked on the recruitment of new cardinals from strategic regions of the Catholic world a few months before he announced his stunning decision to excuse himself from the Petrine ministry. For instance, Cardinal John Onaiyekan’s recent elevation by the outgoing Pope underscores the fact that the pontiff might have been giving Africans- with the third largest population of Catholics in the world, a good chance to have a shot at the revered position of the Pope which cardinal Arinze narrowly missed out about eight years ago.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the last time a Pope abdicated from office over six centuries ago was due to external pressure to avoid a breakup of the Church due to internal conflicts, but Pope Benedict is doing so voluntarily-a leadership quality which is rare particularly in this part of the world.
The only other living Legend in my view to have made such a noble leadership decision is Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa.
Unarguably, Mandela owes his apparent extra time on earth to the decision not to run for a second term as the president of South Africa by humbly passing the mantle over to much younger ,Thambo Mbeki.
Had he not possessed the strength of character to resist the allure of power and affluence even when it was within his constitutional power to run for a second term ,perhaps we would be talking about Mandela in past tense like the late President Umaru Yar’Adua of Nigeria who,due to underlying health challenges,died in office apparently as a result of the pressure of his presidential duties.
Incidentally, some of the political books currently floating around in Nigeria’s literary firmament suggests that the late President Yar’Adua actually discussed with one of the prominent emirs in the North his thoughts about stepping aside on account of his deteriorating health but unfortunately he was unable to make the decision before the debilitating illness incapacitated him.
Other presidents in Africa who died in office due to pre-existing poor health conditions worsened by pressure of work are President John Atta Mills of Ghana and President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.
Who knows, if these leaders of blessed memories, realising they had life threatening illnesses, made that difficult leadership decision to reduce the burden on their failing health by stepping down or opting not to run for a second term in office like Mandela and renouncing the papacy like Pope Benedict XVI,perhaps they would have lived long enough to savour the pleasure of the company and warmth of their children and grand children which is currently Mandela’s favorite past time.
Back home in Nigeria,the astute leadership qualities exhibited by Mandela and the Pope in stepping aside rather than die in office is instructive for the likes of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State who until mid-February was away in a London hospital for