If the hierarchy of political structures is built in the form of a pyramid, leadership will stand at the apex. Leadership is the machine of the government. But without an adequate supply of fuel (peace), there will be no development. Justice is the well from which that fuel is extracted. Therefore justice comes first before anything else and a nation’s credibility rests upon the effectiveness of its judiciary machine. Likewise a good leader is judged by the way he or she handles justice. Here I wish to mention a great man by the name of Björn Eriksson who has been the Governor of Östergötland in Sweden for more than a decade before he retired. I met him in a town called Kisa during the American week in June this year to commemorate the million people who migrated from Sweden to America some 150 years ago.

I have not met with a man whom people have respected him by virtue of his integrity and dedication as a leader since the war in Somalia.. So meeting with Mr. Eriksson has refreshed my mind with memories that have been fading in a dark leadership vacuum. Not only people have spoken positive about Mr. Eriksson but also nature has shouted loud and clear in praise of him. During his tenure as a governor he had done a great deal of change in the environment of his province. So I wrote this poem for him. Please share it with me.

I did not know you as a leader
Nor have I lived in your county
But from the whispers of Nature
I have heard echoes of your past
Breathed out by the dampened soil
Transmitted through drops of hope
Drizzling from the drenched leaves
Descending upon me intermittently
As I enjoyed
The melody of a bird’s song, saying:
Welcome, welcome Mr. Bjorn
We are happy to have you in the park
You are a friend of with a distinction
You are the Oak, you are the leader
What you have done for this region
Is written on the eyes of its Nature