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Onwuegbuzina Ikechukwu John

Question: Select one great leader in your country and identify which particular
leadership theory validates his leadership style.

WHO: Cosmas Maduka (Founder, President and Chairman of Coscharis Group,


Nigeria)

Across the Nigeria, there are a few accounts of successful business men and
women. Some had solid financial background from their already established and
affluent families, while for other people the journey was less smooth however through
sheer tenacity, dynamism, unrivaled spirit and enthusiasm even with overwhelming
chances, they earned remarkable achievement. I will discuss about disappointments as
well as the accomplishment of Cosmas Maduka, the CEO of Coscharis Group in
Nigeria, his story is a motivation that each current and hopeful entrepreneur can follow
as it shows versatility, difficult work, and making the most of chances at the perfect time
are significant for the accomplishment of any troubled business men and women all
around the globe. Cosmas Maduka was born in 1958 in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
where his parents lived for a long time. The Maduka’s family hails from Nnewi local
government area of Anambra State, a town believed to have the highest number of
millionaires and billionaires in the country. He was the fourth child in a family with six
children. In 1977, at the age of just five, tragedy struck with the passing of his father.
With the poor and pitiable status of his family’s finances then, he had to fend for himself.
When he was seven, he withdrew from primary school to assist his mother in “akara”
(beans cake) on the streets of Lagos, in southwest Nigeria. Cosmas once said, “at the
age of seven, my mother was already making sure we worked or contributed to making
ends meet for the family. I would go out early in the morning just as the day is breaking,
to go and purchase “akara” in bulk before determining the price and how to go about
selling it”. With his meager savings from hawking and other menial jobs, Cosmas
founded a car spare parts company but failed to succeed. No letting this to weigh him
down, he proceeded to establish another company he named Coscharis Motor. But his
breakthrough came in 1982 when his company was among the ten selected companies
granted with a license to import cars into Nigeria Since then the company has continued
to enjoy success and expansion to other regions of the country and beyond. Today the
Coscharis Group is the exclusive distributor of Ford, BMW, Rolls Royce, Jaguar and
Land Rover cars in Nigeria.

WHAT: Leadership Theory (Transformational Leader)


Transformational leader refers to any leader who is willingly followed by his
followers and he acts as a source of inspirational motivation for his followers. This has
many positive effects on the job performance of low performing employees and boosts
their morale when they follow their leader. Transformational leaders have the potential
to bring about a positive change in the organizational climate and raise the interests of
the people and their well being before anything else. Corporate citizenship refers to the
social responsibility of businesses towards their communities and their well being. It
encourages potential investors, employees and consumers to keep away any negative
influences from affecting their organization which builds a positive good will in the
community and still maintains profitability for stakeholders. This is a change brought
about just the way a transformational leader brings about a change in the organization
or even the community at large.

WHY: Evidences
From his poor but humble beginnings, Cosmas Maduka can be considered as a
transformational leader. First one of the evidences to show that he is a transformational
leader was Cosmas is someone who walked the talk and led by example. For instance,
in 2015, Cosmas led a team of senior management of his organization in opening four
branches in four geo-political zones in Nigeria. This noble feat did not come as a
surprise because as the CEO of his company, he was always open to suggestions from
all members of his team and boosts their morale and charisma. He was able to develop
a mission statement and worked towards achieving it which was to expand the business
to four regions in 2015. He did not work alone rather he carried everyone affected by
this change on board and encouraged them to work towards achieving the same goal.
This made members of his team want to do better just because he is such an uplifting
leader. This is one of the significant attributes of a transformational leader which
Cosmas possess. He is undoubtedly one of the most inspirational leaders and
businessman the nation has seen. He empowered others to follow in his direction of
leadership and followed through with his actions. He was self-critical but had a vision,
took reasonable risks, made difficult decisions, looked for new ideas, was proactive and
inspired others in his organization to develop their personal capacities to climb up the
ladder and or achieve their personal goals in life. He placed his trust on his
subordinates capabilities and assign them the duties or task so that they are tested for
the work as well as they get the confidence of the success in their new venture to get on
to the next big thing in their career. Finally, he always ensure that there is a rapid action
team ready to tackle difficult situations in which employees of his company would be
given the freedom to assume their roles on their own and act confidently. A
transformational leader pushes ego to the backseat and works with a vision, making
sure that he/sure inspires people along the way. Cosmas Maduka was all of this and
more, therefore he is a transformational leader.

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