The energy in our virtual room was palpable this past Sunday as the Naija Book Club successfully pivoted from historical fiction to the structural foundations of personal leadership. Tackling Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People proved to be exactly the intellectual jolt we needed. Rather than just skimming the surface of productivity hacks, our community dug deep into the first principles of character formation and systemic change.
Our discussion was masterfully guided by our moderator, Dassali Immaculate, joining us all the way from Kigali, Rwanda. Immaculate steered the conversation with a series of incredibly thought-provoking prompts that challenged our paradigms. We debated which of the seven habits felt the most intuitive to our daily lives and which ones required a grueling, conscious effort to actually practice. The session took a deeply introspective turn when we tackled Habit 2 (Begin with the End in Mind); discussing Covey’s exercise of visualizing one’s own funeral forced us to confront surprising realizations about our current life trajectories and what truly matters.
We also confronted our own burnouts during the breakdown of Habit 7 (Sharpen the Saw). Immaculate pushed us to admit which of the four dimensions of renewal—physical, mental, social/emotional, or spiritual—we are most guilty of sacrificing when our schedules get overwhelmed. Ultimately, we were left with a singular, actionable challenge: if we could only implement one single concept from Covey’s book starting the very next morning, what would it be and why?
The evening reached another level of brilliance when we turned the floor over to our special guest, acclaimed author Ugochukwu Ugonna. Ugonna gave us a fascinating look behind the curtain of his writing process. When asked to compare the creation of his works, he openly admitted that his latest book, Festival of Bribes, proved to be his most challenging project yet due to the heavy, intricate political themes woven throughout the narrative. It was a brilliant reminder of the sheer resolve and intellectual heavy-lifting required to produce impactful literature.
To cap off an already fantastic evening, we rewarded the most active and engaged participant in the session with a free, hard-earned copy of Ugonna’s book. Thank you to everyone who logged on, shared their vulnerabilities, and engaged so fiercely with the material. We are already looking forward to our next gathering.
