An agency of hope: Udo Jude Ilo and influencing change in Nigeria, By Frank Nweke II

In five sections that cover the fundamental nuances of change, the place of leadership in driving change, how not to carry out advocacy, and poignant lessons to keep in mind, this primer is an easy read loaded with nuggets of wisdom. It also includes four well-crafted case studies that many will find most helpful for their lessons and intrigues.

Reviewing this primer, It is Possible: Influencing Change in Nigeria is an honour and a delight. Thank you, Jude, for this invitation to review this work that I have personally christened ‘An agency of hope.’

Hope, not as mere optimism or a euphoric feeling from momentary pleasures but a responsibility. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama described it in the Book of Joy, “Hope is the antidote to despair. Yet hope requires faith, even if that faith is in nothing more than human nature or the very persistence of life to find a new way.”

This primer, rightly so-called, has come at a critical time in our country when patriots need to find a new way. It is a rekindling of passion when despondency threatens to smother hope and the will to continue pursuing a new lease of life for Nigerians.

From the front matter, which included the author’s stirring dedication and acknowledgements, to the former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s “Foreword” and Dr Chichi Aniagolu’s “Prologue,” I was already convinced that this book had its finger on the pulse of change-makers across Nigeria.

Jude has brilliantly documented a framework for change, drawn from his wealth of experience, historical examples, and the undying never-give-up spirit that is the mark of true change-makers.

As Professor Osinbajo and Dr Aniagolu noted, there are no hard and fast rules to influencing change. The quest for change is often complex, ambiguous, and has no single pathway. Hence, we must be prepared to live with a certain measure of ambiguity and uncertainty. However, change is usually born out of incremental efforts connected through years of consistency. It is always advantageous to have a compendium of lessons – from successful and unsuccessful change movements – that form a structural framework for modern practitioners to build on.

Change, like “hope is also nurtured by relationships, by community, whether that community is a literal one or one fashioned from the long memory of human striving whose membership includes Gandhi, King, Mandela, and countless others.” (That is a quote from the Book of Joy by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.)

I must acknowledge and thank the Ford Foundation Office for West Africa, led by ChiChi Aniagolu, for their unrelenting support for civil society and other nonprofit organisations working to initiate or catalyse change in Nigeria. Specifically, the decision to interrogate the system and provide answers to the question of how change happens is a genius move. As the quote often attributed to Peter Drucker states, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”

This primer demands that we give attention to the value of history to optimise the unique advantages of modern perspectives, innovations, and actions.

Introduction

Our author opens with an introduction that made me think he has been a fly on the wall during some of my conversations with my friends and colleagues. He raised the pertinent issue of a seeming over-reliance on activists, change-makers, and the development sector to stand as an alternative for improving lives, while the quality of governance continues to decline. Therefore, this third sector continues to face allegations of self-service. However, it is not the duty of the development sector to provide infrastructure, social amenities, and economic opportunities. Ideally, the sector should function as a bridge of sorts, engaging the government to effectively perform its duty to citizens, and helping citizens to articulate and advocate for their needs from the government.

Unfortunately, the governance system seems to be wired to frustrate and undermine attempts at fundamental change. The question then is, how can change happen? Jude’s approach in this primer is to highlight some evidence of change and the strategies that informed them, both in Nigeria and other parts of the world. He also compares these to movements that fell short of their potential and how to avoid the pitfalls common to change-makers.

In five sections that cover the fundamental nuances of change, the place of leadership in driving change, how not to carry out advocacy, and poignant lessons to keep in mind, this primer is an easy read loaded with nuggets of wisdom. It also includes four well-crafted case studies that many will find most helpful for their lessons and intrigues.

Fundamental Nuances About Change

Before delving into these ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of influencing change, the author was kind enough to help us understand some complementary and, sometimes, overlapping nuances of change in Part B of this book.

This fundamental understanding is important in a country where change is arduous, painstaking, and sometimes, outright perilous. They provide a lifeline for change-makers when the disappointment of failure may tempt them to give up on their efforts.

He wants us to understand that change can be an incremental improvement, sometimes in unrecognised motions. As I pointed out from the articulately written “Foreword” and “Prologue,” change happens over time through consistent efforts, building on past successes, failures, and challenges. One person may initiate change, but its acceptance by many catalyses it to succeed. Movements that have been successful across the world were layered on existing formal and informal structures of resistance and advocacy of varying kinds.

The civil rights movement for racial justice in the United States of America has taken on several expressions through the years, but the momentum was triggered by the action of Emmet Till, a grieving mother who refused to cover up the atrocity committed against her son by a mob of white men. The movement took a life of its own from then on. Simple acts of making a difference add up to create movements that take on lives of their own.

I was quite pleased to read Chapter 12, where Jude espoused the need for a leader to build a brand. Impact leaders must be distinguishable from the pack. People should easily know what you represent, what you believe in, and what your mission is. The example of Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Gani-Fawehinmi was brilliant. He was a man who built a dependable and relatable brand for his integrity, wealth of knowledge, and unwavering commitment to the common man.

The mass acceptance of an idea or a cause drives consistency and ensures the staying power of the collective through changing times and seasons. Jude also notes that social change happens in pockets of places addressing local issues. Our national advocacy will be hollow if it is not rooted in local initiatives. Our work must improve the lives of ordinary citizens, underserved communities, and the most vulnerable in society for it to be meaningful and sustainable.

Every act of development must have a local bearing. It is like a tree that must have its roots grounded to survive the changes of weather and other factors of nature. This also speaks to the change-makers’ need to be deliberate and focus on how their actions impact the larger society and create a shift for the better. How will your effort add to the existing body of work or the long-term goals? While channelling resources to the local context, focusing on the big picture forces strong attention to the optimal utilisation of outputs and maximising your impact.

Every well-thought-out effort to change something, no matter how little, adds to the greater goal of changing the whole society. So, there is a need to recognise little successes, learn from them, and build on them. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.

Finally, in the section about the fundamental nuances of change, Jude speaks on the importance of controlling the narrative. Readers will understand this better as they progress into the next section, but it is critical to note that framing narratives in a way that is emotive, compelling, rational, and non-threatening to the duty-bearers, be they policymakers or other relevant stakeholders, helps you shape people’s perception of the issue and gain the moral and logical high ground to influence change.

Change Requires Leadership

One of my most used quotes is John Maxwell’s “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” While many factors will be relevant in any change-making endeavour, the quality of leadership will determine its success or sustenance.

Jude did a wonderful job of presenting examples of leaders (or the absence of same) to help us understand the role of leadership and provide useful approaches to becoming effective change agents. I will highlight a few of these from Part C of It is Possible: Influencing Change in Nigeria.

From the courage and wisdom of Nelson Mandela to the persuasive powers of the leading men of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama, our author underlines the willingness of leaders to take risks of varying degrees, including building coalitions of unlikely partners. Leaders must recognise the need to sacrifice personal interests, egos, and sometimes, even accepted norms to serve the ultimate goals. Those you lead may not necessarily agree with you. It is up to the leader to take that risk and be willing to manage the consequences in the event of failure.

Leaders also need to have the capacity to talk to the ‘enemy.’ As Nelson Mandela said, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” We cannot reform institutions without working with them. Jude highlights the absence of a leader, and consequently, the absence of anyone to take critical risks like negotiating with the government, as one of the major challenges that faced the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria in 2020. His case study of the short-lived but inspiring moment in Nigeria’s history is a succinct summary that captures lessons that our young people can take into their current demands for better governance.

I was quite pleased to read Chapter 12, where Jude espoused the need for a leader to build a brand. Impact leaders must be distinguishable from the pack. People should easily know what you represent, what you believe in, and what your mission is. The example of Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Gani-Fawehinmi was brilliant. He was a man who built a dependable and relatable brand for his integrity, wealth of knowledge, and unwavering commitment to the common man.

Jude also used the examples of Winston Churchill, Barack Obama, and Peter Obi to highlight the ability to create a broad ownership of your vision and ideas. You have to believe in your idea and be able to project that conviction to others. Clarity of vision, depth of passion, commitment, and communicating a relatable message is valuable in selling your vision. It is only when others buy into your vision that it can endure, become realisable, and sustainable. This was also an attribute that Jude praised in his tribute to Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma. It was a glowing representation of a man who understood that the cause for change was bigger than one person. Innocent was a template for how leaders must be more focused on getting results than getting accolades.

Another quality of a leader that stood out to me is the ability to ‘take the streets to the hallways of power.’ It is a short and powerful treatise on the power of communications, which is something of particular interest to me. Winning change requires the unique ability to translate the sentiments and messages on the street into advocacy and the language of policy that is understood by the duty bearers. The goal is not to demonise the responsible parties but to instigate actions in favour of your cause. Language and approach should therefore be clear, unambiguous, invitational and engaging, giving opportunities for negotiation.

In all, leaders and change-makers must walk the talk. People can hear your words, but your actions speak to their hearts. Effective change-makers must live the values that they espouse and must be seen to embody the principles that underpin their work. Integrity, transparency, and accountability are needed to earn trust, command the goodwill of people, and rally them to a collective cause.

How Not To Carry Out Advocacy

In this section, Part D, Jude Ilo gives a few pointers on attitudes, actions, and missteps to avoid as change-makers. In summary, he emphasises respect for oneself, for the partners that they work with, and for the cause that they drive.

Actions such as lying and misrepresentation of facts, breaching the confidence of your advocacy targets, offering inducements in cash or kind, and over-promising can undermine one’s credibility and advocacy efforts. Also critical and often quite challenging to avoid as we have seen in Nigeria is the attitude of demonising advocacy targets and the duty-bearers expected to implement the changes being championed. It is strategically ineffectual to demonise the people that you want to work with or influence to make changes.

Criticism can be constructive to influence your target audience, but harsh and antagonistic language can alienate those whose conduct you seek to influence. I also liked how he highlighted that leaders must take the focus off themselves. Focus on oneself quickly undermines credibility, and for all intents and purposes, puts the movement at risk of betrayal and utter failure. It also increases the risks of unhealthy competition with other advocacy groups. Turf battles and unhealthy competitions can create a perception of unseriousness, self-aggrandisement, and confusion in the minds of the policy targets. Jude notes that leaders must make the intended outcomes their focus, not their desire to take centre stage.

This primer is thus an important work that lights up a plethora of options for changemakers. In the words of Professor Osinbajo in the “Foreword,” “Perhaps the most frightening thing about change is really that if we do not, intentionally and positively, influence it, there will be change anyway. Only that the change could be disastrous. Consistently working at change against all odds is probably the only antidote to watching negative change unfold.”

Lessons To Always Keep In Mind

In closing, our author gives us some lessons to keep in mind in this change-making quest. Again, to show how important this is, he says that change-makers should not make themselves the issue. To sustain change, leaders must ensure a multi-stakeholder buy-in and ownership of the cause. Using Barack Obama’s quote, “Africa needs strong institutions, not strong men,” Jude explains that individuals can lead change efforts but systems ensure sustainability. The system can draw from an inspirational figure, but this should empower those within it to perform their functions, not restrict them to idolising the initiator.

From the start, there should be clear frameworks of accountability that guide everyone. Change-makers should also be excited to share skills and information. Skills transfer, knowledge creation, and mentorship are very important steps to sustaining pressure and protecting the progress made. It is a great way to ‘hold the fort’ and guard the changes to avoid a reversal. Whatever has been achieved must be maintained.

Relational dynamics are also vital for initiating and sustaining change. There must be intergenerational investment. I loved the quote he used from the ‘Glory’ soundtrack to the movie, Selma. “It takes the wisdom of the elders and the energy of the youths to win a war.” Experience is not better than strength. They must work hand-in-hand.

Change also requires collaboration within and outside one sector. Leaders must service and sustain diverse relationships. Most importantly, change-makers must know when to recharge. You are not Superman. Even Superman has his moments. Your body and mental strength are your greatest assets. Keep them healthy. nAnd finally, no matter how daunting the challenges are, we cannot afford to stop trying.

Conclusion

In addition to a well-laid framework supported by evidence of events through history, Jude Ilo’s primer also left me with a yearning desire to find answers to questions that he noted were out of the scope of this book. For example, he asks a question that I have mused about, particularly in the past two years: Is holding the line enough?

This is an important question because the situation in Nigeria raises the fear that the framework outlined in this primer may either be too ideal or too simple for the complexities we have to deal with. Yet, I am comforted by how he notes that good change-makers are those who know “when to pause, review strategies, and adapt to the dynamic nature of social, political, and economic realities.”

This primer is thus an important work that lights up a plethora of options for changemakers. In the words of Professor Osinbajo in the “Foreword,” “Perhaps the most frightening thing about change is really that if we do not, intentionally and positively, influence it, there will be change anyway. Only that the change could be disastrous. Consistently working at change against all odds is probably the only antidote to watching negative change unfold.”

If at first, we don’t succeed, we have to try and try again. The dangers of doing otherwise and succumbing to the risk of despondency and resignation far outweigh the responsibility of hope that we must bear. This primer answered some of the pertinent questions I have nursed about influencing change, civil society and the development sector, reaffirmed my beliefs about our responsibility for change and strengthened my convictions to keep trying.

As I close my review, I would like to share the story of two frogs that fell into a deep pit.

Once upon a time, two frogs, Olileanya and OsoOso fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit to see how they would help them escape. When they saw how deep the pit was, they became dismayed and hopeless and told the two frogs in the pit that there was no way they could ever come out from the pit and that they should prepare themselves for their fate.

Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs made frantic efforts to jump out of the pit. Some of the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless trying to jump out because they would never come out. Other frogs continued shouting sorrowfully that they should just give up since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued with desperate efforts trying their very best to jump out. Finally, OsoOso quietly resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit and died as the others looked on in helpless grief. The other frog, Olileanya, continued to jump with every ounce of energy he could muster, even though he was exhausted and worn out. His companions began yelling again for him to accept his fate, give up and die.

Finally, the frog leapt so high that it jumped out from the pit. Surprised, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom and asked him how he made it out of an impossible situation. Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf and that when he saw their gestures and shouting when he was in the pit, he thought they were encouraging him to try his best and jump out from the pit.

My friends, we must choose to be deaf to cries of impossibility and believe that the realisation of a state, country, and world that works for all is possible. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama shared in the Book of Joy:

“Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defence against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and cynicism are easier, more self-soothing postures that do not require the raw vulnerability and tragic risk of hope. T o choose hope is to step firmly forward into the howling wind, baring one’s chest to the elements, knowing that, in time, the storm will pass.”

I have managed to condense 127 pages of brilliant exposition and guidelines into six pages, and so I encourage and urge and charge every change-maker to study and have this primer as a reference on their journey of creating impact.

I highly recommend it.

Frank Nweke II is a senior visiting fellow at the Lagos Business School and member, Nigeria’s Federal Cabinet (2003-2007).

This book review was done at the presentation of Udo Jude Ilo’s book “It is Possible: Influencing Change in Nigeria” at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on 14 October, 2024.