A Conversation With Benjamin Akande, Director Of Wash U's Africa Initiative

A little over a year ago, Benjamin Akande was tasked with a big job: strengthening and expanding Washington University’s efforts in Africa. He was appointed as director of the Africa Initiative, which aims to strategically enhance a wide range of institutional activities connected to the African continent.

On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air, Akande joined guest host Ruth Ezell for an update on the initiative as well as conversation about other topics. 

Listen to the discussion by clicking here: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/conversation-benjamin-akande-director-wash-us-africa-initiative#stream/0

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. “St. Louis on the Air” producers Alex Heuer, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Jon Lewis give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.

Benjamin Ola. Akande: Lessons from the street at 50

A few years ago, I had the good fortune to visit the studios of “Sesame Street,” which has been a treasured part of children’s lives for nearly half a century. It is certainly entertaining, and more than a bit humbling, to meet face-to-face with those iconic puppets and realize they represent the best of what we all strive to be.

It flooded me with memories of watching the show back in my native Nigeria with my grandpa, who was a huge fan of the talking bird — Big Bird. And so as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Sesame Street,” I want to take some time to tip my hat to all those Jim Henson characters, who starred originally on “Sesame Street” as Muppets and who have made life more meaningful for millions of children, including this adult who grew up in Nigeria.

Kermit the Frog teaches us the value of friendship and originality. He challenges us to stay unique in a world that can seem to encourage conformity. Big Bird teaches us that we are all “birds of a different feather” and that life is not about how different we are, but about the difference we can make. The Count introduces us to the intrinsic value of money, but warns against the tendency to put too much value on material things. Even Oscar the Grouch consistently demonstrates the value of respect and tolerance for different ideas and different people.

“Sesame Street” shows us that the best way we can bring authenticity to ourselves is simply by being ourselves. Big Bird and his friends teach us to embrace the feelings of others and to celebrate the diversity of people and ideas that have made our country such a special place.

These days, it may often seem as if the lessons of “Sesame Street” we learned as children have been forgotten, or at least set aside for more expedient means. But these are exactly the times when we need to reconnect with our true values and with the Big Bird and Kermit within all of us. At times like these, we need to recognize that our great country was built on principles that have made us, as President Ronald Reagan so aptly and poetically put it, “that shining city on a hill.”

It is ironic that America has become a nation where immigrant families are being separated at our southern border.

Regardless of one’s politics or concerns about border security, we all cherish the values that have made our country special. As former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts once said, “America needs to be a place where all of us can feel a part of the American Dream. But this will not happen … if Americans are asked to accept what is immoral and wrong. America must put differences aside.”

Our country has always been anchored in goodness, good faith and the willingness to do whatever is required to lift each other, and ourselves, up. For five decades, “Sesame Street” has served as a mirror of the society we are striving to be. These beloved characters demonstrate our values, celebrate our strengths, and remind us that we can live together harmoniously.

Perhaps it’s time to change the channel and tune in once again to those lovable Muppets and monsters that show us how to be the best we can be. I found racial and ethnic harmony in the most unexpected place — “Sesame Street.” On this street lives a world of respectful puppets and kind friends where everyone is welcome. America as a nation continues to grapple with the power of and a reluctant appreciation for the greatest competitive advantage we possess — diversity. “Sesame Street” is an authentically colorblind community, where diversity is valued and inclusion is a natural part of daily living. It reflects the very best of America because it reveals our follies, showcases our strengths and reminds us that we all belong on the same street called humanity.

Benjamin Ola. Akande, Ph.D., is the assistant vice chancellor of International Programs-Africa at Washington University.

Connect the Dots: The Value of a Strong Bench

The current NFL season was barely a few weeks old when 21 different quarterbacks were sidelined with a variety of injuries, several of them season-ending. Included were such stars as Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Jacksonville, Florida’s Nick Foles. Also, just prior to the season’s start, Andrew Luck, a rising star, announced he was retiring rather than face another in a long line of injuries.

What would you do if your leader suddenly wasn’t there?

Sports has adopted the operative phrase “next man up” – and that holds true for the business world, too. Do you have the bench strength in place to step in for your leader should he or she retire or go elsewhere? Have you put a succession plan in place, and do you have talented people ready, willing and able to take on leadership roles?

We expect our leaders to be resilient, especially if they have driven us to success. But the belief that leaders have the endless stamina, ideas and skills it takes to deliver success year after year forms a fallacy. “Great things in business are never done by one person,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and creative genius, once noted. “They’re done by a team of people.”

To ensure future success, organizations need to develop tomorrow’s leaders today. That much should be obvious. New requirements of leadership, however, often complicate these efforts. You cannot expect the kind of leadership that worked in the past to continue to be functional in the present or in the future.

Today’s leaders need to have the courage to accept change and to willingly let their bench strength evolve. An organization’s “next man up” will be expected to perform in an environment that’s constantly changing and increasingly competitive. Tomorrow’s leaders must have the ability to revitalize, rebuild and embrace shared leadership approaches to accountability.

Global Leadership, a leadership guide co-authored by Dr. Cathy L. Greenberg, cites the top five leadership competencies of the future as thinking globally, appreciating cultural diversity, developing technological savvy, building partnerships and alliances, and sharing leadership.

Future leaders must demonstrate not only the traditional leadership qualities of vision and integrity but also these newer qualities, such as global thinking, technological sophistication and the ability to use diversity to increase return on investment.

When leaders are prepared, nurtured and enabled to build community, understand themselves and rethink the possibilities of nonlinear strategic planning, great things happen. In short, building a strong bench – in sports and in business alike – remains key to continued success. 

Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande is assistant vice chancellor of International Programs-Africa, director of Africa Initiative and associate director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former president of Westminster College and served as dean at the Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University. He has a Ph.D. in economics.

Connect the Dots: When Things Go Wrong

“Failure is not an option.”

That line, apocryphally attributed to NASA Mission Director Gene Kranz in the classic 1995 film Apollo 13, accurately sums up our society’s approach when faced with a crisis. We find a way to conquer adversity, and we expect to win. Admirable qualities, no doubt, that previously have served us well in times of trouble.

Unfortunately, that noble attitude has some unintended consequences, two of which I’ll consider here.

The first unintended consequence is that we too often focus on deciding who or what is to blame, rather than seeking to learn what caused the crisis and how to forestall future problems. The examples throughout our history are numerous.

We saw this in the 1940s, with the military’s investigation of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; again in 1968, with the investigation into the capture of the USS Pueblo off the coast of North Korea; and even earlier this century, with the investigation of 9/11. In each case, did we work to understand how these events could have been avoided, or did we simply look for a villain?

Nor have we learned from past mistakes. We ratchet up the rhetoric about racism, guns, mental health and gender equality, but quickly descend into partisan name-calling rather than searching for viable solutions. How much more effective might our Congress be if our leaders spent less time pointing fingers and more time seeking common ground on important issues? We tend to forgot what Henry Ford once said: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Our inclination to find blame fails to acknowledge that disasters such as these are often caused by failures, both individual and systemic. Humans, being what we are, are ultimately responsible for failure. But we do not deal easily with failure – not in warfare, not in business, not in marriage, not even in a tennis set. We fear failure. It breeds contempt. No one is lonelier or avoided more ardently than a person who is perceived to be failing. It gives us comfort to be able to say it’s someone else’s fault.

Which brings me to the second unintended consequence. As an educator, I have always struggled with our traditional A-B-C-D-F grading system. There is no E; we jump right to “F” for emphasis on failure.

How many young students have been labeled as failures in this way, perhaps stigmatizing them for life? How many have seen a big red F at the top of a test paper and given up? Would it not be better to focus on helping them learn from their mistakes, to show them what it takes to do better and to foster the inherent potential they possess? Shouldn’t we accept that we have as much responsibility as they do to see them succeed?

I prefer the approach Winston Churchill espoused: “Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Failure is not an option when we accept the truth that success is difficult. Success does not come easily; certainly, it is much easier to fail. The most successful people are usually also the most persistent. Success takes planning, preparation and perseverance. Most important, it requires a belief in oneself that success is possible.

No one do we love more than those who overcome failure with triumph. Success glows ever brighter when contrasted with the repeated failures that one may have experienced along the way. Although not an option, failure should be an opportunity to learn, to improve and to strive for a better tomorrow.

That is the attitude that put men into space and brought them back safely, against all odds. It is that attitude that we need to have every time we face adversity. 

Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande is Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Programs-Africa, director of Africa Initiative and associate director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former president of Westminster College and served as dean at the Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University. He has a Ph.D. in economics

Connect the Dots: The Big One

Friends in Southern California had a big scare recently when that area experienced its most severe earthquakes in decades. Fortunately, despite all the jolts and aftershocks, no one was killed, and apparently, there was little major damage to the infrastructure.

When I heard the news about the quakes, I immediately thought back to October 17, 1989. That was the day the San Francisco Bay Area was hit with a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. As much of the rest of America watched on television – the quake hit just before the start of the third game of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics – bridges and highways collapsed, buildings crumbled, and lives were shattered. In only 15 seconds, 63 people died and nearly 4,000 others were injured.

Back then, I was a doctoral student in Oklahoma, far removed from the catastrophe in San Francisco. Yet that event affected me deeply. So many tragedies, no clear pattern, no consistent explanation for why some people lost everything, including their lives. It was just the work of nature, the melody of uncertainty, the song of change. Nature owed us no explanation, no rational understanding of why this time and this place. It was terrifying, frustrating and inexplicable.

One year later, residents throughout the Mississippi Valley waited in fear that “the big one” was about to happen along the New Madrid Seismic Zone – roughly 170 miles southeast of Ladue – thanks to a prediction by a since-discredited self-styled climatologist named Iben Browning. Thankfully, it never came to pass.

What these events did, however, was raise our collective consciousness about Mother Nature and the fragility of our existence. In the blink of an eye, life can change for so many people, leaving physical and emotional scars that may last a lifetime. People, myself included, began to realize that this could happen to us, and now, 30 years later, we have made significant improvements in building codes and infrastructure reinforcements. The fact that the damage from a 6.9-level earthquake in Southern California was limited suggests that we are paying attention and responding in positive ways.

Even more important are the human stories that events like these bring to the front. Thirty years ago, I saw people coming together, helping each other in times of need. Black youths in Oakland peering into 18-inch gaps between the layers of concrete to help mostly white commuters climb to safety. People in expensive business suits munching chicken wings with homeless people in tattered clothes. It was a unique display of the haves and the have-nots together sharing.

I was encouraged to read about Los Angeles neighborhoods organizing to check on one another’s safety and help when disaster strikes. It made me realize that in times of tragedy, we realize how much we really need each other, how much we really have in common.

One of the most popular new musicals on Broadway today, Come From Away, also played in St. Louis in May at The Fabulous Fox Theatre. It tells the tale of the residents of Gander, Newfoundland, who opened their town, their homes and their hearts to more than 7,000 airline travelers who were grounded there following the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001. Like the people by the Bay, they leaned on one another and pulled together. For five days, the Newfoundlanders showed that love and compassion can always triumph over tragedy and disaster.

Like the weather, life often can be a thing of beauty, a thing to enjoy – but it also can change unexpectedly, suddenly. Its impact can be devastating, even deadly. But after every storm comes a calm, a time to reflect on change.

Whether because of a natural disaster or a manmade catastrophe – an earthquake, a tsunami, a tornado, a flood or a terrorist act – we may stagger and fall, but we always find a way to regain our balance. We find comfort in our common humanity. 

Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande is assistant chancellor of International Programs-Africa, director of Africa Initiative and associate director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former president of Westminster College and served as dean at the Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University. He has a Ph.D. in economics.