Prince Philip was a model of selfless leadership, support pillar – Arch B’shp Sam Zuga

The Duke of Edinburgh, Late Prince Philip, has been described as a modern day model of selfless leadership worthy of emulation by both present leaders and those aspiring to any leadership position.

Nigerian famous clergy, Arch Bishop Sam Zuga, said this at the weekend in Abuja during a memorial service held in honour of the late Prince.

Bishop Zuga, who also described late Philip as the strong pillar behind the successes of the queen of England, maintained that it would be impossible to have great leaders without good followers who are ready to support the vision of their leaders.

He stressed that if other men can emulate the late monarch to support whoever God has placed ahead of them like the prince did, then the world would be full of successful leaders.

“Today in Nigeria, everyone wants to be a leader. You must not be a leader yourself but you can support someone who is leading.

“This was a man who sacrificed personal gain to support someone else’s vision, he supported the queen, now the queen is the strongest monarch on earth because there was a strong man behind him,” he averred.

On why he choosed to organize the memorial service which held online concurrently with the funeral service in England, Bishop Sam Zuga stressed that  the role played by the late prince in granting independence to Nigeria in 1960 necessitated the need to honour him.

He said, “The person we are celebrating today is part of what we call Nigeria today. If we didn’t remember that somebody was instrumental for Nigeria to come to be, then we cannot appreciate our being in Nigeria. If he was not instrumental today we couldn’t have what is called Nigeria. Today we are celebrating independence, this person was part of it so I believe there is need for him to be celebrated in Nigeria, having married a woman who happened to be the first president of Nigeria.”

The clergy further described the late Philip as a man that saw the future before the it arrived, noting that  while the world started talking about climate change and its effects just of recent, the late prince saw it very longtime ago and started working on it.

While extolling the leadership virtues and qualities of the late sage, the clergy urged Nigerian leaders to learn how to serve selflessly like the late prince Philip, stressing that that is the only way Nigeria will have a great future.

“The first thing is he lived a selfless life. All the projects he embarked upon, he was serving but not being served. He wasn’t doing it because he was a leader but because he needed to support someone who is ahead of him.

“Today in Nigeria, in any initiative or project, the first thing people ask is what is my interest, what is my gain in this? And if that personal interest or gain is not clearly spelt out or guaranteed, the person can afford to allow a project that will benefit millions of citizens to die and not see the light of the day.

“The late Philip’s passion for education showed that he had the key for future generations. He embarked on so many projects and it is something we need to commend,” Sam Zuga stressed.

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II and the longest-serving consort in the history of the monarchy died at age 99 on April 9 and was laid to rest on Saturday in the royal vault at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England.

The funeral was attended by the Queen, Prince Harry, Prince William and Prince Charles with the royal family adhering strictly to UK Covid-19 regulations.

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