The #Dasuki in All of Us and The Change We Seek

I once had the honor of leading a newly formed association; I was tasked with writing the association's first constitution as well as obtaining necessary (legal) registrations and recognitions. It was a difficult task, especially given my lack of experience in carrying them out, so I began soliciting assistance from old friends on how to meet all of these responsibilities.

Following that, a friend offered me a connection to a senior official (possibly a secretary or so) of another association for assistance, which I gratefully accepted. Without further ado, I contacted the man and proposed a one-on-one meeting on a day convenient for him. I was on the next bus out of town on the agreed-upon date to meet this "heaven sent." He was to, among other things, offer me all-experience-based advice on running the association and loan me a copy of their association's constitution, which I could study to draft one for my own.

I was really dissatisfied by the end of our (very brief) discussion since, first, he was unable to provide a copy of their constitution (for me), and second, he gave all the "wrong advice"—perhaps not to him. He claimed to be jealous of my position as the association's leader, saying that he would be lucky to have my friendship while I was in office because he couldn't have imagined how wealthy I would become. He also gave me advice on how to embezzle money by taking advantage of legal loopholes. He described how I would choose some important posts that would give me express authority to act anyway I pleased, including tailoring the constitution to support my term since I am its author. He also provided numerous examples of how each of these things had been carried out inside his own association. My responses? I pretended not to be disappointed throughout the conversation and grinned broadly.

My goal is not to portray this man as evil and myself as a saint. No. Not exactly. I'm not perfect, and perhaps no one is. Instead, I'm trying to show that everyone has a second side that can emerge with even a modest amount of leadership or authority.

While Colonel Dasuki (rtd) may be guilty of the charges leveled against him, how many of us would pass the same test of office that he did? We will continue to seek societal changes in vain unless we change ourselves first.