By Matthew Ujah-Peter
History bears unforgettable records of (and will always
honour) men and women who put their lives, comforts and reputations in jeopardy
in order to fight for a course that should bring about changes that will
benefit others and not themselves, directly. Among these heroes is the man,
William Wilberforce. He stood and fought gallantly and his voice rang through
the entire British Empire with an energy and impetus that stood him several
feet taller than his contemporaries in the Parliament. David Jeremiah, in the MasterWork of Fall, 2012 edition, says
this of Wilberforce:
William Wilberforce, the statesman
who almost single-handedly championed the abolition of slave trade in the
British Empire, was dwarfed by disease. He didn’t appear to be a person who
could accomplish much. But here’s what biographer James Boswell wrote after
listening to one of his speeches: ‘’I saw a shrimp mount the table; but as I
listened, he grew and grew until the shrimp became a whale.’’
In the third book of the trilogy: GEORGE CHARLES SMITH OF
PENZANCE, author Roald Kverndal captures the adventures of Williams Wilberforce
in relations to the background role of an equally Gallant historic figure in a
much succinct way:
Among the many church and lay
people who came to visit Newton in the matter of faith at St. Mary Woolnoth was
a confused young Member of Parliament for Yorkshire, William Wilberforce. One
cold December night in 1785, he came to seek the guidance of the only one he believed
could help him decide what to do with his life. Newton’s unhesitating advice
was to stand firm where he was – in the parliament, serving God there as both
Christian and statesman.
Had Newton advised otherwise,
the loss to the nation, and especially to the cause of abolition of slavery,
could have been devastating. Small wonder some have referred to this meeting as
‘’Newton’s finest hour as a pastor.’’ Wilberforce wrote in his diary that he
saw that visit with the transformed slave ship captain as ‘’a turning point in
my life.’’
The slave trade was at that time
seen as a national economic necessity. Even a person of Admiral Nelson’s
stature could say that never would ‘’the just right’’ of his nation’s West
Indian possessions be infringed upon while he had an arm to fight in their
defense or a tongue to launch his voice
against the damnable doctrine of Wilberforce and his hypocritical allies.’’
During the two decades that followed the start of Wilberforce’s campaign to end
the slave trade, there were no less than eleven failed attempts to pass a bill
to that effect. Still, as Wilberforce endured
the continuing loss of parliamentary battles, Newton did as much as anyone to
win the crucial war of public opinion. He gave personal evidence in hearings
before the House of Commons about series of ‘’butcheries and atrocities’’ so
graphic that they could no longer be ignored.
At the same time, Newton did his
best to maintain the morale of his parliamentary protégé. After the narrow
defeat of yet another vote in 1795, Wilberforce was devastated to the point
where he actually talked about giving up the campaign and retiring from
parliament. Newton countered that Wilberforce reelection as MP the following year
showed that God had further work for him. As Newton Put it with great
emphasises: ‘’You have not laboured in vain!’’ The outcome was that Wilberforce
carried on. Finally, on March 25, 1807, a bill for the abolition of slave trade
passed in the House of Commons – and did so with an impressive majority. Meanwhile, Newton had, in 1790,
experienced the grief of losing the unique companionship of his wife Mary.
However, it gave him great joy t live to long enough to hear about the passage
of a bill that Mary, too, had so long looked forward to
Shortly before he breathed his
last – on December 21, 1807– Newton prayed that Wilberforce would live to see
the abolition of slavery itself. Otherwise, Newton was convinced, it would
become ‘’a milestone sufficient to sink such an enlightened and highly favour’d
nation as ours to the bottom of the sea.’’ On July 29, 1833, three days before
William Wilberforce died, he did, in fact, experience this victory. Neither
Newton nor Wilberforce had, after all, ‘’laboured in vain.’’
William Wilberforce was and still is the face of the Slave
Trade Abolition Movement. But without such figures like The Reverend John
Newton, the struggle may never have seen the light of the day and if it did, it
may have ended in defeat for Newton, for all of Britain and may be, for all of mankind. One man was willing to stand behind a young man who dared to think he
can change the course of history. Wilberforce was but one soul, but the many
supports he was given by unknown souls gave him a size larger than the size of
one man.
As human nature most times exhibits, if what someone else - a colleague, a co-student, a friend, or even a sibling - can do better
than you puts him or her in a better light than you, or puts him or her in the
spotlight and relegates you to the backstage, it won’t make you feel great.
Granted, that there are a few highly confident individuals who are usually not
in the least threatened by the success of their peers or colleagues, even if
that success shoves them off the stage quietly or in a full view of all. Homo
Sapiens of that kind are not easy to come by, no, not in this age of Lights!
Camera! Action! But as one who sees himself or herself as a leader,
irrespective of position and / or station in life, this grain of hard feeling
must be put to death in us, else the oil that powers our leadership engine will
be polluted, thereby impeding the entire journey.
The reason we each have our own unique gifting is that each
one of us is meant to be a leader in an area and capacity and for a particular
purpose. Though everyone is a leader in one
form or the other, all leadership roles are not visible. There are lots and
lots of people leading in the background whose works and tasks are keys and
form major backbone for the ones that are visible. But as it is with human
desires and nature, we all crave the spotlight as those often seen in the lines
of their duties - especially those who are the targets of media spotlights - are the ones often regarded as the more
important people. But you and I know that without the roles of those in the
background, the works of those in the limelight cannot be seen. For instance,
not many people take notice of the studio cameraman, the sound engineer, and
other studio crew members that help beam the pictures of TV personalities to
the world. Yet, this unseen crew is the backbone of broadcasting.This holds true for most areas of life as far as role
playing and leadership is concerned. Leadership is not about the man that is
often seen. Leadership is being faithful to your calling, irrespective of
publicity or popularity.
MAXIMUM
RESPECT!
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