A SUCCINCT LOOK AT EDEBIRI'S FOUR CARDINAL DOCTRINES OF R.I.T.A.
By John Ewah
What is R.I.T.A.? I remember the first time I told someone about it and they asked me if she were beautiful. They actually thought R.I.T.A was a girl. I could not hold back my laughter. It is true that the pronunciation they heard was the same with the one they usually hear (Rita).
In most of my spoken discourses, the mention of that acronym which is often pronounced as a word, sparks off certain elemental and instinctive reaction from the male folks since it shares a phonetic and phonemic semblance to the common name 'Rita' often borne by members of the opposite sex. It is not easily fathomed in the spoken form as it is in the written form since the graphological layout in its written form obviously gives it away as an acronym unlike in the spoken form where interpretation and expatiation are required to make room for clarity.
Even now, some reading this piece may be wondering what or who the hell R.I.T.A. is. Well to break the ice R.I.T.A. is not the name of a girl but an acronym of a patented ideology invented by Chief Dr. Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri MON. R.I.T.A. stands for Responsibility, Integrity, Transparency, and Accountability.
However, I cannot but notice the similarities between R.I.T.A. and Rita. The former, on first thought, evokes the image of a virtual lady while the latter is the actual lady. The feminine imagery is one that provokes the thought of beauty and simplicity; that same beauty and simplicity which the R.I.T.A. doctrine connotes; as there is no greater beauty in any man than the traits of R.I.T.A., neither is there any greater beauty in leadership than that founded on the basis of Responsibility, Integrity, Transparency and Accountability (R.I.T.A.).
R.I.T.A. was founded and patented by Chief Dr Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri MON, which according to him is "to promote the practice of excellence in individuals, and to guide public behaviour which in turn enhances national capabilities."
The essence of R.I.T.A. is to help shape our everyday behaviour whether as individual citizens or collectively as a nation, whether as a follower or as a leader. Irrespective of our social status, R.I.T.A. should be our guiding principle as it has become a necessity for our national rebirth in orientation and re-orientation, which may eventually lead to a behavioural revolution in our society.
A brief overview of what I have termed the ' Edeberi's Four Cardinal Points of Behavioural Amendments' would perhaps help in this regard.
*Responsibility*
It involves duty. It is the state of having a duty to uphold. The Principle of Existentialism throws some hints on 'responsibility'. It states that a man is a unique and isolated individual, living in an indifferent and hostile universe, responsible for his own actions and free to choose his destiny. People do not easily uphold their duties or own up to their mistakes. We are very quick to shift blames. Even those we have entrusted with leadership positions are worse. It is clearly an act of irresponsibility when leaders cannot stand to take blames for their actions or inactions but are always willing to take the praise. The fact that you made a mistake as a leader does not necessarily make you incompetent and the fact that you have not yet made a mistake as a leader does not guarantee your level of competence. In fact, in most cases leaders who make mistakes and own up to them exhibit a high level of responsibility than those always seeking scapegoats to take the fall for their mistakes. We all make mistakes and sometimes to make up for them we make greater ones. Like Oscar Wilde wrote, "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future".
Louis Anderson wrote "I felt ashamed for what I had done. I don't have any excuses. I did what I did. I take full responsibility for myself and my actions. I wouldn't pawn this off on anybody. I'm sorry it happened. And I hurt people." We must understand that we are in charge of ourselves. We may not be able to change certain things but we can change ourselves. Owning up to our actions gives us the chance to effect changes where needed and when necessary; the more reason we must at every given point in time, be bold and brave enough to own up to our duties and take full responsibility for our actions whether as leaders or as followers.
*Integrity*
It is a state of being honest and having strong moral principles. Most times we are tempted by the 'Id' part of our personality which operates on the 'Pleasure principle' to throw honesty and morality out the window. Sometimes we are constrained by society not to care about anything that does not provide us with instant gains. Like Thomas Hobbes noted we are driven by competition, diffidence and glory. Sometimes we are blinded by the ephemeral and mundane things of this world not to pursue the higher purpose of our existence. Having a sense of integrity as citizens and leaders alike will help cut down on our excesses. Our dishonesty runs through every facet of our lives and it has made the very few honest ones to lose ground breaking opportunities that would have bettered their lives and the lives of others and this has created set back for us as a nation.
We have eschewed very salient moral principles in our pursuit of riches and fame. It is simple, do good, avoid evil. How else can we uphold morality but by sticking to that simple tenet? Instead, we have alternated the places of vices and virtues. Today, virtues are more like vices and vices have become virtues. What Shakespeare would refer to as 'fair is foul and foul is fair'. The bad and the good are now confused. How can we grow as a nation with such behavioural deficiency? We have to begin from ground zero. A national re-orientation and an attitudinal change is of great necessity. We must learn to shun behaviours and attitudes that are devoid of sincere moral standards. W. Clement Stone wrote, "Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity."
*Transparency*.
It is openness and not being unnecessarily secretive or bias. It is very similar to being honest. This is one quality lacking in our present day leadership. Yes we all have secrets but there comes a time when as individuals and especially as leaders, we free ourselves from the shackles of secrets that tend to consign us to a particular position and prevent us from operating in full capacity as we ought to. Howard Schultz wrote "I think the currency of leadership is transparency. You've got to be truthful. I don't think you should be vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you've got to share your soul and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it."
Our secrets are deep and our secrets become dark. The deeper they are, the darker they become. We conceal these secrets by putting on masks; masks we can later hardly remove without removing our own skin with it, and sometimes we wear these masks so long that we forget who we really are. Be open and share a part of yourself with the people around you. Let people see who you were, who you are and who you intend to be. Shutting yourself against the world is a dangerous behavioural Isolation.
*Accountability*
It is the obligation of being answerable to someone or something. While 'transparency' is a twin to 'integrity', 'accountability is the twin to responsibility'. It is also a major leadership tenet. If our leaders have the consciousness that their freedom to take decisions on behalf of the people are not without control, if they are truly aware that they are answerable to those who elected them, they would become more efficient and effective as leaders. In totality, we all are answerable to our conscience just as we are answerable to a higher power. Like Polibius wrote, "There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man". Truly, There is no hiding place from the torments of our conscience in this world. The spirit of our foolish deeds will always haunt us with or without repentance. In all we do, we are answerable to someone or something. We must put up that consciousness of accountability as citizens and as leaders if we wish to observe significant changes in our behaviours in order to drive the machinery of development. Carl Levin wrote, "Restoring responsibility and accountability is essential to the economic and fiscal health of our nation".
In conclusion, to build a nation, we have to build the individuals. The major problem with our nation today is largely behavioural. When we change our behaviours and attitudes it would have a domino effect on every facet of our society and on the social fabric of humanity. Let the change begin with us so that, like Chief Dr Solomon Edebiri opines, we may bring about the Change We Want. ... See MoreSee Less
