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I had said in a recent post that “if it cannot run without you, it is an interest and not a vision”. The Spanish club, Real Madrid CF, has proved to the world that system is bigger than players. Wikipedia defines a system as a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. The first lesson, therefore, is that notwithstanding your competence, whatever rests solely on you is not a system and is prone to a crash. Even in several religions where the supremacy of God is sacrosanct, they still talk about the host of Heaven. By implication, even God has a system where structures and functions are clearly defined.
System ensures perpetuality. With a clear system in place, plans run somewhat seamlessly. Within 1998 and 2024, Madrid has had over 15 coaches yet the club has sealed its place as an all-time champion. As of 2024, Real is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Spanish football. Since becoming the first Spanish club to enter the European Cup in 1955, Real has competed in every UEFA-organised competition, except the Intertoto Cup and Conference League. They have missed out on European football only twice in their history, in the 1977–78 and 1996–97 seasons. In decades, Madrid only failed to get a silverware in 2020/2021 yet they did manage to guide themselves through a raft of injuries to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and fight for the LaLiga Santander title until the final day. Real Madrid, with 30 continental and worldwide trophies, is the most successful team in international club football.
Such consistent success in over 70 years cannot be attributed to players or even coaches. It is the benefit of building a system. A system makes it easy to hand over a structure from one generation to another.
As a nation, Nigeria has to build a formidable system that will not depend on any individual(s) but clearly mapped out plans and procedures that must run notwithstanding who is in leadership position. An institution that can help facilitate a working national system is the family. Families must put in place value systems that are built on virtues such as hard work, honesty, transparency, empathy, selflessness and whatnot.
Be like Madrid! Build a system! It lasts long, even if not forever.
(c) 2024 Ganiu Bamgbose
