Anthony Joshua: Leadership, fate, and the sanctity of life

My return to this column comes with mixed emotions. I stepped away to complete my book, Uplifting Leadership, a book dedicated to the late Dr Christopher Kolade, Elder Felix Ohiwerei, and Mrs Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru. Sadly, while preparations were underway for its release, Dr Kolade passed on. I received the news upon my arrival in Nigeria on October 9, 2025. I remain deeply grateful for the time he gave and the invaluable leadership insights he shared during the writing of the book.

As we enter 2026, I renew my commitment to offering leadership perspectives on national and global developments. This column will continue to serve as a reflective platform for leaders across sectors. Leadership, by its very nature, is a continuous process of learning, unlearning, and renewal.

The tragic deaths of Latif Ayodele, a personal trainer, and Sina Ghami, a strength and conditioning coach, in a road crash on December 29, 2025, once again draw attention to Nigeria’s persistent road safety challenges. For Anthony Joshua, the loss is both personal and professional. Losing close associates who are integral to one’s work and private life is deeply traumatic. That the incident occurred in Nigeria and may have been avoidable adds another layer of complexity to the grief.

Joshua’s consolation, by his own worldview, lies in faith and fate: faith in God and fate in the belief that his survival implies unfinished purpose. A closer reflection on the circumstances highlights how chance and structure often intersect. Differences in seating conventions between the United Kingdom and Nigeria may well have influenced the outcome of the accident. In the United Kingdom, the owner or lead passenger typically sits behind the driver on the left, while the driver sits diagonally on the right. In Nigeria, however, the driver steers from the front left, and the owner traditionally sits behind the driver on the right. Assuming AJ was the owner of the vehicle, had he switched seats to align with local custom, he might have been the one who lost his life. It appears he occupied his usual seat, which, in this case, became the difference between life and death. Indeed, every circumstance carries both fortunate and unfortunate seeds. In this instance, what appeared routine became decisive. It is a sobering reminder that systems, standards, and seemingly small decisions can have life-or-death consequences.

Our collective prayer is for God to grant the families of the deceased the strength to bear this painful loss.

Road traffic accidents in Nigeria are daily occurrences, many of them undocumented and unresolved. Thousands of lives are lost annually, often without investigation or accountability. Public attention typically follows only when prominent individuals are involved. Yet, amid this tragedy, the conduct of ordinary Nigerians at the scene offered a counter-narrative. Bystanders, frequently dismissed as “area boys”, responded with urgency and empathy, calling for medical help and referring to Joshua as “Omo Ologo”, a child of glory. Their actions reinforced a simple truth: the moral deficit in Nigeria is not rooted in its people but in a deep-rooted outcome of the politics of power, control, and wealth.

Nigeria’s reputational challenges stem primarily from leadership failure, political and, in some cases, religious. Chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, weak enforcement of safety standards, and the diversion of public funds have normalised preventable loss of life. When leadership fails to prioritise safety, accountability, and institutional strength, tragedy becomes routine rather than exceptional.

Posterity will judge those who diverted resources meant for safe roads and emergency response systems. It will also judge leaders who weaponised religion, identity, or power at the expense of human life. Positions of authority are temporary; their consequences are not.

The leadership imperative is clear. Nigeria’s progress depends on a fundamental shift in leadership culture – from impunity to responsibility, from rhetoric to results. Road safety must be treated as an economic, public health, and governance issue, not merely a transport concern. Citizens, professionals, and institutions must demand higher standards and sustained accountability. There is always a turning point. I hope AJ’s loss and tragic experience will be one, especially if the driver of the vehicle is held accountable, unlike in many instances, where no justice is served for reckless driving on our roads.  Beyond justice is accountability from people and the Federal Road Safety Commission, which has seemed ineffective in its core duties over time.

Nigeria undoubtedly has a long journey ahead. That journey must begin with cultural and attitudinal change in leadership. We must collectively reorient our values and mindset if we are to build a civilised society—one where the sanctity of life is respected on our roads and upheld in every corner of our nation.

Only through intentional leadership reform, value reorientation, and institutional discipline can Nigeria build a society where the sanctity of life is protected—not as an aspiration, but as a measurable outcome of governance.

 

Babs Olugbemi, FCCA, is the Chief Vision Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited and Founder of Positive Growth Africa. He can be reached on [email protected] or 07064176953 or on Twitter @Successbabs.