Ruling in Abstentia

The first time I came across the phrase 'working from home' was during my secondment in Diageo Africa in London. It baffled me that one could opt to stay home and still be perceived as working. That was the Nigerian mindset I had then: You have to be on your seat or in the four corners of the company to be 'working', anything else is 'play'.

I did try it out a few times but I must confess that the Nigerian in me could get more done with the noise, hustle and bustle on the office and co-workers around me than I could with all the quiet of home before the children are back from school and the noise level and distractions when they are back overloads my system later. There are however some people who thrive when allowed to work from home, away from the distraction of co-workers and other matters. I have seen fantastic work delivered after such 'home days' to make me feel guilty for thinking they took time off to attend to personal matters.

With the above I hope I have established my open-mindedness: even though it does not work for me, I admit that it could work for some people. I must however state that I never saw a CEO taking such 'home days'.

This all brings me back to our dear Nigeria, where our lovely but frail president has now being away for close to 70 days. I have always been a firm believer that if you can take your whole leave and extra days in one swoop the business might really not need you. This believe is further reinforced if through out the leave you are not contacted to handle one emergency or the other. Some organisations are such well oiled machines but I would fear the relevance of anyone able to take a whole month plus off. Our dear president is into his third. This in our country that is sooooo easy to rule! Where everyone knows and does what is right.

In the times I have been on leave, each company has stipulated that I clearly identify who is standing in my stead. Who the go-to guy is with regard to my responsibilities. Some companies actually pay anyone relieving some form of allowance as they are carrying the extra weight during the absence of the office holder.

Why is this so difficult with our president? Did Atiku not act in Obasanjo's stead, at least before the milk became sour? I remember Obasanjo being on leave at some time or the other and I would expect that Atiku was the acting president at those times. Is it the possibility of death that makes this difficult now? Considering that our president is a wise and religious person who knows that only the Almighty knows who will wake up tomorrow morning, I want to believe that the reluctance to hand over is not from him. So who are the people who stand to gain from creating confusion? Who are the people gaining from it right now. I always assume positive intent in all that I do with people so I would really appreciate feedback on why we are stuck.