Get MAD! (You Can Make A Difference)

By ABIOLA "CHAMP" SALAMI

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Abiola "Champ" Salami
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-5456-4

Contents

Endorsements.............................................................................vPrologue.................................................................................xiDedication...............................................................................xviiAcknowledgement..........................................................................xixForeword.................................................................................xxiiiChapter 1. Champions Of Madness..........................................................1Chapter 2. Do The Right Thing No Matter Who Is Doing The Wrong Thing.....................13Chapter 3. Lose Your Luxury Not Your Integrity...........................................20Chapter 4. Stand For Justice.............................................................26Chapter 5. Win The Nobel Peace Prize.....................................................32Chapter 6. Learn From These Barbers......................................................36Chapter 7. Be Peculiarity-Centred Not Popularity-Centred.................................40Chapter 8. Be An Innovator...............................................................44Chapter 9. Quit The 'I Better Pass My Neighbour' Mentality...............................49Chapter 10. The Guinness Book Of Madness.................................................58Chapter 11. Make A Contribution To Make A Difference.....................................80Chapter 12. Write Your Obituary..........................................................99Conclusion When I Am Gone................................................................103

Chapter One

Champions Of Madness

What comes to your mind when you see the following names?

President Barrack Obama: First Black President of the United States of America.

Dr Christopher Kolade: Dependable Diplomat, Exemplary Educator & Legendary Service Leader

Angela Dorothea Merkel: First Female Chancellor of Germany

Jose Mourinho (The Special One): Globally recognized exceptional Football Coach

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola: Compassionate Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria

Obiageli Ezekwesili (Madam Due Process): Vice President World Bank, Africa Division

Bill Gates: American business magnate, philanthropist, author and chairman of Microsoft

Paul Adefarasin: Author, International Speaker & Motivator

Mo Abudu: Africa's Top Talk Show Host & Media Personality

Professor Stephen Covey: Author, professional speaker, consultant & management-expert

Donald Duke: Exceptional Nigerian Leader

Biola Alabi: Young & Visionary MD of MNet Africa

Austin Jay Jay Okocha: World Renowned Football Entertainer & FIFA's 100 footballers of all time

Kobe Braynt: Top NBA Star

Serena Williams: Professional Tennis Player and former World Number 1

Nelson Mandela: First President of the Republic of South Africa

Pat Utomi: Nigerian Exceptional Business Strategist, Corporate Leader & Nationalist

Late Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino: First Female President of the Philippines

Engineer Ernest Ndukwe: The Brain Behind Nigeria Telecoms Success

Tyra Banks: America's Super Model & Media Personality

Tuface Innocent Idibia: Multiple Award winning Singer-songwriter & Producer

Fola Adeola: Exemplary Corporate Leader

Tara Fela Durotoye: Nigeria's Premier Makeup Artiste

Gen T.Y. Danjuma: The Soldier Who Feels the People's Pulse

Wole Soyinka: Nobel Laureate & Nationalist

Mrs Patience Jonathan: Nigeria's 1st Lady & Exemplary Marriage Partner

Professor Dora Akunyili: Ex-NAFDAC Director

Abike Dabiri Erewa: Front-runner in Nigeria's Legislative House of Representative

Late Steve Jobs: The Brain behind Ipad.

Late Tayo Aderinokun: The Entrepreneur at heart & former MD GTBank

Late Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun (aka Dagrin): Musician Who Projected African Culture With HipHop Music

And of course, Late Mr. M.O. Salami and Mrs. M.A. Salami My Parents

You may think of them as great leaders, people of great influence, top achievers, famous people, visionary citizens, motivational leaders, philanthropists, models, sports stars, character centred people and the list may continue but do you know that they are not different from you? Regardless of what you may know about them and what you call them, I see them differently. For me, I see them as MAD people. MAD men and women!

I salute the courage of President Barrack Obama the politician who rose from obscurity to become the first African-American President of the United States of America. He was mad but not insane with his "Audacity of Hope" and The Movement for Change in America's democracy. In one of the craziest elections in American history, he overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who were political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th President of the United States of America!

Times Magazine cited that Obama's unlikely run for the presidency, his ability to energize voters and the expectations abounding for his presidency at home and abroad as some of its reasons.

I salute the tenacity of Angela Dorothea Merkel, the current and first female Chancellor of Germany who was mad and not insane. Her stern commitment to Get MAD saw her becoming the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher in 2007. In the same year, Merkel was also President of the European Council and chaired the G8. She played a central role in negotiating the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. In domestic policy, health care reform and problems concerning future energy development have thus far been major issues of her tenure.

I applaud the love for country and people displayed by Nelson Mandela when he chose to respond differently to his assailants and relinquish the power he bled to obtain after a single term. His story is far more about his social and political morality than his achievements as a leader. He was MAD and not insane.

On 5th August 1962 Mandela was arrested after living on the run for seventeen months, and was imprisoned in the Johannesburg Fort. The arrest was made possible because the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tipped off the security police as to Mandela's whereabouts and disguise. Three days later, the charges of leading workers to strike in 1961 and leaving the country illegally were read to him during a court appearance. On 25th October 1962, Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island where he remained for the next eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison.

While in jail, his reputation grew and he became widely known as the most significant black leader in South Africa. On the island, he and others performed hard labour in a limestone quarry. Prison conditions were very basic. Prisoners were segregated by race, with black prisoners receiving the fewest rations. Political prisoners were kept separate from ordinary criminals and received even fewer privileges.

Mandela describes how, as a D-group prisoner (the lowest classification) he was allowed one visitor and one letter every six months. Letters, when they came, were often delayed for long periods and made unreadable by the prison censors.

Mandela was eventually released on February 11, 1990 and he became the 1st President of The Republic of South Africa. He has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Nelson Mandela's act of MADness was made obvious by the forgiveness he granted his captors and his willingness to walk away from the South African presidency after a single term.

I extol the will power of Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquina who was MAD and not insane in the pursuit of her dream. Though she lost her darling husband, she did not loose her dream. She employed The People Power Revolution mercenaries to emerge as the 11th President of the Philippines—the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the staunchest critic of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning to the Philippines after three years in exile in the United States.

After her husband's assassination, Aquino emerged the leader of the opposition against the Marcos administration. In late 1985, when President Marcos called for a snap election, Aquino ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential running mate. After the elections were held on February 7, 1986, the Batasang Pambansa proclaimed President Ferdinand Marcos the winner in the elections, Aquino called for massive civil disobedience protests, declaring herself as having been cheated and as the real winner in the elections. Filipinos enthusiastically heeded her call and rallied behind her. These series of non-violent revolutions and prayerful mass street demonstrations, marked the restoration of the country's democracy leading to the ousting of Marcos and the installation of Aquino as President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986.

Now comes Jose Mourinho (The Special One) an impeccable, astute and unparalleled football manager of Portuguese descent. He was MAD and not insane with his strategic leadership approach in getting outstanding results from his team. Mourinho succeeds in being the players' confidante, in fostering an unbreakable team spirit and group culture, but at the same time manages to maintain a healthy distance and ensure that even the most egocentric of the modern game's pampered superstars are fully aware of who's in charge. It is these ingredients, this mixture of charismatic leadership and painstaking attention to detail, that combine to make Jose Mourinho the outstanding coach of his generation.

Between 23rd February 2002 and 2nd April 2011, Mourinho went 150 home league matches unbeaten. The run was broken by Sporting de Gijón on 2nd April 2011, when they defeated Real Madrid 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in La Liga. His only prior home league defeat had come when Porto lost 2-3 to Beira-Mar on 23rd February 2002.

In eight seasons of club management, including an eight month sabbatical in 2007-08, Mourinho has led his club to win its domestic league six times, the UEFA Cup once and the UEFA Champions League twice. Since 2002, Mourinho has not gone a full season or a calendar year without winning at least one trophy. He is widely known for his strong personality, refined dress sense and quirky comments at press conferences.

In 23rd March 2009, José Mourinho was awarded a doctorate honoris causa degree by the Technical University of Lisbon for his accomplishments in football. Mourinho speaks Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English fluently. He also speaks Catalan. In October 2010, Mourinho was ranked No.9 on the list of Most Influential Men published by AskMen.com.

Obiageli Ezekwesili former Minister of Solid Minerals and Education Minister, now Vice President of the World Bank, Africa Division, was MAD and not insane with her commitment to ensuring that people did the right thing in government in Nigeria despite the culture of sharp practices.

Little wonder she was dubbed Madam Due Process. Oby is a humble Amazon. She has performed excellently in all areas and as a core member of the Nigerian cabinet in the 3rd Republic, she contributed immensely to the reforms in the Nigerian economy.

On assuming the position of education minister she embarked on a tour of the country's educational institutions, she was so horrified at what she saw that she broke down in tears on national television. She was on the path of reforming that sector before she was appointed to the World Bank Group. A modest woman, she wears no jewelry except beads, owns no lace fabric. She is now the Vice-President at the World Bank in Washington DC. USA.

Paul Adefarasin was MAD and not insane when he embraced the needed change from 'crack' and other drug addiction to sanctity and eternal life through God-addiction. He graduated from University of Miami with a professional Bachelors Degree in Architecture and practiced in Florida before he received a call into ministry.

As a visionary, he obeyed the leading of God to start the Lagos Experience Gospel Musical Concert and the program was first produced in 2006. This annual Gospel music concert is now a revered event with Gospel music heavyweights making it a date with people of different tribes, tongues, traits and creed across the world for the singular purpose of the worship of God. Described as the largest single gathering of people by CNN, Paul Adefarasin's MADness gathers over 700,000 people and the number increases annually.

Dora Akunyili was MAD and not insane when she became the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). She was firm and exuded much passion when she talked about her fight against drug counterfeiters.

Her MADness was inspired by the loss of her sister due to fake insulin administration. According to her, "Drug counterfeiters are murderers. It is the highest form of terrorism against public health." Upon assumption as the head of NAFDAC she trawled various hospitals, medicine markets, chemist stores and clinics and she was horrified at what she discovered. Sugar syrup and chalk tablets, were cynically packaged to look like drugs and given to patients to fight killer diseases like malaria, typhoid and tuberculosis!

Prior to her appointment as NAFDAC chair, the hospitals were using fake and contaminated drips and surgeons were using fake adrenalin to re-start the heart. Dora closed down many medicine outlets and clinics, fake drug barons were arrested and prosecuted. She set up new standards and recruited inspectors (mostly women) and pharmacists.

In the course of her battle with fake drug merchants, she was threatened, shot at, had her office burnt and her family assaulted. She remained resolute. Dora Akunyili was born in Makurdi in 1954.

She got over 370 awards and was singled out as one of the 18 heroes of our time by the Time Magazine of 2005. She is happily married with children. She is a true Nigerian, a woman to be proud of; she brought messianic zeal to her work.

She performed with the same zest when she served as the Honourable Minister of Information.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, the action Governor of Lagos State Nigeria was MAD and not insane with his passionate commitment to making a difference in the lives of people within his domain. He has been applauded several times for his strategy and vision of transforming Lagos to a Mega City.

He is also a global citizen. As soon as Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, Babatunde Fashola launched an appeal to raise up to $1 million which was disbursed to the disaster-saturated zone.

Late M.O. Salami my father was MAD and not insane when he decided to get formal education as a young boy despite the degree of illiteracy around him and he successfully passed the vision of sound education to his children with moral and financial support despite that his father didn't support him morally and financially.

I can't but talk about Adenike Salami my mother, who was also MAD and not insane when she decided to stay committed to raising five children all by herself, after losing her husband in her forties.

She didn't retire in her care, concern and attention. Despite the pressure and counsel from friends, colleagues and relatives for her to search for another man to help her, she was resolute and committed to her marital vows even after the death of her husband and especially her marital vision to ensure that her children got complete quality education despite her meagre take home pay which hardly 'took her home'.

These people have made a difference with their ideas, character, vision and talents. We need to take a cue from them in leading a good life.

Get MAD!

Chapter Two

Do The Right Thing No Matter Who Is Doing The Wrong Thing

Many people talk about the need to put the world right and in order without much reflection on the root cause of the world's problems. Hence, the discourse on global and national issues keep hanging in the air with tons of politicians, business leaders and so called concerned citizens merely expressing articulate prowess without following it up with the requisite actions required to upturn the maze of events.

In his words, Confucius said: To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. I believe that to put our nation in order, there are a number of things we must initiate.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Get MAD! (You Can Make A Difference)by ABIOLA "CHAMP" SALAMI Copyright © 2012 by Abiola "Champ" Salami. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.