Poem: THE LEADER AND THE LED by Niyi Osundare

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The lion stakes his claim
To the leadership of the pack

But the Antelopes remember
The ferocious pounce of his paws

The hyena says the crown is made for him
But the Impalas shudder at his lethal appetite

The Giraffe craves a place in the front
But his eyes are too far from the ground

When the Zebra says it’s his right to lead
The pack points to the duplicity of his stripes

The Elephant trudges into the power tussle
But its colleagues dread his trampling feet

The warthog is too ugly
The rhino too riotous

And the pack thrashes around
Like a snake without a head

“Our need calls for a hybrid of habits,”
Proclaims the Forest Sage.

“A little bit of a Lion
A little bit of a lamb

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe
Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake

A leader who knows how to follow
Followers mindful of their right to lead”

Niyi Osundare

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I really enjoy this literary work Of Prof. Niyi. It is educating and an eye opener to the society on the flimsy facade of leadership.

  2. The leader and the led is what everyone in Nigeria ought to read right now. It depicts the power tussle in the high places and how we at the lowest part suffer the consequences.
    The lion stakes his claim to the leadership of the pack but the antelopes remember the ferocious pounce of his paws
    The hyena says the crown is made for him but the impalas shudder at his lethal appetite
    Out need calls for a hybrid of habit proclaims th forest sage.
    Niyi osundare deserves an award he pinpointed out the problem of everything and offered a perfect solution in one of the simplest way for even a layman to understand.
    The leader and the led is a poem that can never be forgotten by literature students.

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