Many people celebrate success, very few recognize that value deserves even greater celebration. Success is loud but value is enduring.
I have read and seen a lot of successful people whose accomplishments did not outlive them. They traveled the world, built empires, and amassed wealth, but they are mainly forgotten. Why? Because they eschewed the path of value in favour of the path of success.
At a gathering of scientists, I once heard a professor speak. He declared with pride that it was better for him to be poor and have value than to be like “that rich idiot” and strive for success without value. His remarks stuck with me.
Long after you are gone, value still speaks. It outlives and endures monuments and bank accounts, whereas success seldom does. However, when success is aligned with value, genuine relevance becomes inevitable.
To our leaders, it is worth noting that, whether Governors, Council Chairmen, Supervisors, Councilors, Special Assistant, Senior Special Assistant, traditional rulers, or anyone else in a position of authority, your physical presence ends, only the value you created will determine how you are honoured. You will be forgotten quickly if all you pursued while alive or in office was success without value.
My take on success and value addresses you and me, because every unlearned lesson poses a danger to whoever refuses to learn. This statement aligns with the words of the Late Rotimi Akeredolu, former Governor of Ondo State, at the burial ceremony of his mother. The late Governor invoked the youruba proverb “Aṣiwèrè ń kó ọrọ jọ láì mọ ẹni tí yóò jogún rẹ”, meaning that Fool amasses wealth without knowing who will inherit it which resonates with the EFCC mandate, that the commission would one day seize everything in plain sight (korokoro eye). This warning still outlives him and reminds all public office holders that there is no such thing as ill-gotten gains that will last forever.
Few former leaders are truly honoured years after they left office. The only people still honoured are those who followed the path of value.
They are remembered not only for their accomplishments but also for the long-lasting good they brought about.
