In a book launch held at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi, on March 9, 2023, Chief Justice Emeritus David Maraga, the event’s chief guest, unveiled 101 Authentic Leadership Lessons, a book written by a public health specialist, Dr. Mosinya Nyaberi.
Also in attendance were several other great minds from Kenya and abroad, including Anne Mwasi, Prof. Marion Mutugi, Dr. Vincent Gaitho, Prof. Florence Memba, and Quinter Mbori of Standard Media Group.
The author, Dr. Nyaberi, is a lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and is the founder of Ayanna Health Foundation.
She is also one of the three Kenyans who were part of the acclaimed Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Program (KAGHLP) fellowship in the 2021/22 cohort.
Speaking during an interview, Dr. Nyaberi disclosed that her journey as an author began in 2020 when she was selected to be part of the KAGHLP, which was domiciled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Dr. Nyaberi narrates that she spent a record seven months writing her book, a feat that had her working day and night, sometimes at the cost of her health.
Juggling her work as a lecturer at JKUAT and her role as a mother was the most challenging part of her journey. However, her motivating factor was her determination to pass her knowledge and insights to the world.
Like most first-time authors, Dr. Nyaberi confesses to having had moments of doubt throughout her writing journey.
However, her burning desire to impact the world quietened her fears. She says that she wrote the book for the world but particularly Africa.
As she wrote, she envisioned that current and aspiring leaders of all ages would benefit greatly from her publication.
She believes that all leaders need to have her lessons ingrained if they are to make any notable and lasting changes in their leadership realms.
“With proper, authentic leadership, Africa would be the dream continent her residents want her to be. With the kind of resources and workforce present in the continent, we would not need to move abroad to fulfill our dreams,” said Dr. Nyaberi.
From 20 to 101
Having been a leader for years in various capacities, Dr. Nyaberi says that her mistakes, triumphs and experiences have greatly shaped her book.
She further adds that the KAGHLP fellowship program offered great resources, mentors and coaches whose valuable lessons went into the writing of her book.
She draws her inspiration from Kofi Annan’s legacy, particularly his selfless leadership, and service to humanity.
However, she says her greatest gratitude is towards her mother, Eunice Nyaberi, who embodied authentic leadership and exceptional motherhood throughout her life, setting the best example one could ever get.
Her father’s influence has also been of great value to her publication.
Narrating her writing journey, Dr. Nyaberi explained that her book started with twenty key lessons that she had drawn from her KAGHLP fellowship experience.
However, as she wrote the book, it dawned on her that there were more valuable lessons that she was compelled to pass along to the world, hence her 101 Authentic Leadership Lessons.
Timely and Simple Book
Dr. Nyaberi points out that all her lessons are strategically placed in her book to ensure her readers benefit and grow throughout their reading into the authentic leaders they want to become.
“My book is very simple yet so critical. There is nothing hidden from it. So I urge everyone, Africans in particular, to read it,” said Dr. Nyaberi.
Speaking to the guests during the launch, Kenya’s Supreme Court’s immediate former Chief Justice, David Maraga, described the book as a timely publication that is profound in its simplicity.
He said that its Afrocentric focus makes it relevant as the book passionately calls upon its readers to live honestly and practice transparency and courage.
“The book,” he said, “has great and valuable lessons from which we should draw ethos that should be our national pillars, both at personal levels and other engagements.”
He added that the book admonishes readers to become champions of authentic leadership in all their spheres of influence.
CJ Emeritus Maraga, Dr. Nyberi and other guests during the book launch. PHOTO/Courtesy.
Maraga noted that there are plenty of challenges in Kenya and the world today that stem from a lack of authentic leadership.
The economic mismanagement, corruption and looting of public resources in the country, for instance, mirrors the lack of authenticity in various levels of leadership.
In his speech, he commended the entire Koffi Annan Global Public Health Leadership Programme (KAGHLP) team for their exemplary work and their impact on Dr. Nyaberi, prompting her to write her book.
He emphasized the need to encourage a reading culture in young children, saying that many young Kenyans are lost due to poor parenting and upbringing.
He challenged parents to be more involved in their children’s lives if they are to be future leaders.
He defined 101 Authentic Leadership Lessons as a clarion call that should prompt serious action and introspection to embrace authenticity that will make a change in our nation and, consequently, the world.
African Leadership Solutions
Quinter Mbori, the deputy digital editor at Standard Media Group, noted that despite the numerous selfless leaders that Africa has enjoyed in her history, the continent has also had her fair share of leadership crises in the hands of rotten tyrants.
Mbori, who is also the founder of Women Kenya Network, applauded Dr. Nyaberi’s book for the numerous solutions it offers to the problems that ail African leaders.
For instance, on the reluctance of African leaders to relinquish power decades after serving their terms, Mbori quotes Dr. Nyaberi, advising that authentic leadership transcends a lifetime.
It calls leaders to instead work to ensure their legacies outlive them rather than hold on to power for decades.
Instead, leaders should work on creating great succession plans that will leave a lasting impact.
“The book also calls leaders to create and be innovative. It says that leadership is about the people we serve,” said Mbori.
Dr. Vincent Gaitho, the Founder of the Gichuru Gaitho Foundation, emphasized the importance of fostering authentic leadership in Africa, saying that most African leaders contradict their words and their promises.
“Several Africans die each day trying to escape our continent, yet we have leaders who can change the pressing situations in our countries that push immigrants abroad,” he said.
Dr. Gaitho believes that the book will go a great way in instilling authentic leadership lessons in leaders and improving leadership quality in the continent.
Terming it The bible for authentic leadership, Dr. Simon Obwatho, the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Africa Nazarene University, said that the book would be the first step towards fixing the lack of authentic leadership that is bedeviling Africa.
He urged Dr. Nyaberi to write more books on leadership.
Dr. Obwatho commended Dr. Nyaberi’s book for the special attention it gives to authentic leadership in motherhood.
First of Its Kind
According to Dr. Courtinho, the Program Director at KAGHLP, who was represented by Judith Omondi, Dr. Nyaberi’s book has captured the essence of real leadership through service and humility, and she is the first KAGHLP fellow to publish a book.
Judith Omondi, one of the other fellows in the 2021/22 KAGHLP fellowship, congratulated Dr. Nyaberi, saying that she was indeed the only fellow of the 20 that graduated last year to have become a published author.
She added that the KAGHLP alumni are proud of her and they celebrate her greatly.
CS Anne Mwasi, the CEO of Nyamira County Public Service Board, denotes optimism, focus and sobriety as the main lessons for political leaders in the book.
In the face of annoying and frustrating challenges, leaders are to maintain a sober way of relating to the people they lead.
Dr. Nyaberi’s book already seems to be leaving a mark on the young generation as Beila, her friend’s daughter, told the launch that the book by Dr. Nyaberi has kindled a fire in her to write a book of her own.
She went on to say that Dr. Nyaberi has been a great inspiration in her life.
YOU CAN ALSO READ: BOOK REVIEW: Mourning Glory
Dr. Nyaberi’s children, Christian and Gabriella, shared Beila’s sentiments, saying that Dr. Nyaberi’s great influence in their lives is unmatched.
Would you need some copies of this resourceful book to become an authentic leader (and you really should), email Dr. Nyaberi at jnyaberij@gmail.com. To pay for the delivery of the copies to your place of preference, use Paybill Business Number 400200, Account Number 40050349.
