Making impact, despite the lean times, By Dakuku Peterside These leaders and their likes are the reasons why we still have hope in our country. These Nigerians in the three MDAs under review are making giant strides and lasting impact. They are employing dynamism and innovation to achieve measurable results. In a nation where we celebrate ineptitude, mediocrity and crass opportunism, any genuine ray of light making an impactful difference deserves to be noted and encouraged. Criticism makes leaders wake up, and it puts them on their toes. It is a natural component of leadership. We all acknowledge that it is always easier to criticise than to appreciate; hence Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers and a political philosopher, had this to say, “any fool can criticise, condemn and complain and most fools do.” However, when we see flashes of creative, courageous,and competent leadership, let us celebrate and encourage them. Amid challenges of acute insecurity, rising poverty levels, alongside the gloom and doom that have enveloped the country’s current climate, which threatens the current administration’s legacies, some ministries, departments, and agencies of government have defied the odds to show that there is indeed hope for Nigeria. These MDAs and dedicated Nigerians have demonstrated innovation, courage, and hard work to meet leadership challenges.