We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.
Chuck Palahniuk
For centuries old, human beings have obsessed about the idea of immortality . They have toyed with the idea of living forever so much that The mythical Fountain of Youth has become stuff of legend. In the writings of Herodotus and Alexander romance, it has been said that anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters would be restored to youth.
In the movie, The Fountain, three people living in different centuries embark on a search for the tree of life in order to protect their loved ones and receive the gift of immortality.
Human beings in recent times have not given up the quest of trying to live forever. Although ancient Egyptians and many religions like Christianity and Islam are premised on the notion that there is life after death – a form of immortality, I am very convinced that most religious people would rather live on earth for as long as possible than cross over into the realm of eternity. Billionaire Elon Musk has dedicated his life to making human beings a multi-planetary species – to extend live beyond the confines of planet earth.
In a study published On January 12th, 2023 in Cell, Sinclair, a professor of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School, describes a groundbreaking aging clock that can speed up or reverse the aging of cells. In the Cell paper, Sinclair and his team report that not only can they age mice on an accelerated timeline, but they can also reverse the effects of that aging and restore some of the biological signs of youthfulness to the animals.
Whereas human beings haven’t achieved immortality as yet, these advances in modern science are being heavily funded and followed very closely by the rich, wealthy and famous, kings, queens and rulers and the young and the old alike.
There’s however one category of rulers that I am confident would not hesitate to bet their fortunes on an opportunity to attain immortality. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you African Presidents!
This category of humans have gained notoriety for clinging onto power and would rather die in office than pass on the mantle of leadership.
An article in The Nation observed that 15 African presidents have died in power – higher than on any other continent in the world. More than 50% of them had been in power for over 15 years at the time of their (untimely) death. They had no known plans be succeeded . Only death succeeded them. This is a sign of what I refer to as the Succession Curse.
Leaders who fail at succession suffer from the Succession Curse and their legacy dies with them. This applies to leaders across all domains from government, business, religion down to even the family level.
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The idea of succession might not be a very popular topic among African leaders, but succession is very critical for effective leadership across the world.
John C. Maxwell in his best selling book 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership profoundly notes that a leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. This is the 21st Irrefutable Law of Leadership.
When all is said and done, your ability as a leader will not be judged by what you have achieved personally or even what your team has achieved during your tenure.
You will be judged by how well your people and your organization did after you were gone. You will be gauged according to the law of legacy. Your lasting value will be measured by succession.
John C. Maxwell
I can’t over state how important succession is for a leader’s legacy.
I am convinced that a certain level of immortality for a leader can be attained by having a succession plan and seeing it through. This is how legendary leaders are made.
Bright Onapito
There’s a tendency for leaders to be insecure about the idea empowering people on their teams to lead.
Many leaders don’t want to share responsibility with others because they don’t want to lose any of their power. But when you share leadership with others, it doesn’t actually take away from you. Instead, it actually gives you something you can get only by developing others: it gives you back time. As you develop people and empower them to lead, their territories expand and so does yours. But you are also freed up to do more important things, the most important of which are often thinking, envisioning, and strategizing.
John C. Maxwell
Africa might be known for systemic leadership failure, but there are leaders who have broken the succession curse. They have engendered the Law of Legacy by being intentional about raising the next generation of leaders. They have mentored, nurtured, produced and empowered leaders who have in turn done the same.
Let me tell you a story of one such leader.
He arrived in Uganda in 1984 together with his family at the height of a war that had devastated the country. While everyone else was finding a reason to escape the country, he had a divine purpose to be in the country. While the country suffered a leadership crisis, he risked the life of his wife and little children to establish a church in the heart of the capital city, Kampala.
Over the past 39 years he has laser focused on being a true leader of intention, integrity and influence. He has developed, empowered and multiplied leaders like himself. He has established a church of 30,000 congregants in 16 locations across Uganda and South Sudan whose influence has extended across the world, even to the halls of Buckingham Palace and the White House. Through this church, the lives of over 5,000 orphaned children have rescued and rebuilt. Vulnerable women battered by the HIV/AIDS scourge have been given a hand up and their dignity restored.
At the end of 2022, he announced that he would be handing over the leadership of the church to a young man he has been mentoring for a long while.
On February 3, 2023 the transition from a remarkable leader, Gary Mark Skinner to another trailblazing leader, Julius Rwotlonyo will be officiated at Watoto Church Downtown where it all began.
Mankind’s quest for immortality might be fleeting and the Fountain of Youth a dreamer’s delight, but a leader who plans for succession ensures that their legacy and influence will continue long after they are gone. In a way, they will always be here with us.
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