“BA A GUDU DA SUSAR DUWAWU” (ONE CANNOT RUN WHILE SCRATCHING THE BUTTOCKS)
Full Focus, Discipline, and Purposeful Action as the Pathway to Lasting Success
By: Sani Abdullahi Kofar-mata
Date: 23rd May 2026
One of the greatest secrets of achievement in life is full and complete focus. Every meaningful success, whether in leadership, politics, education, business, governance, or personal development, requires concentration, discipline, patience, consistency, and clarity of purpose. No individual can attain greatness while living a life of divided attention, confusion, unnecessary distractions, and excessive ambition.
The Hausa proverb, “Ba a Gudu Da Susar Duwawu” — meaning “one cannot run while scratching the buttocks at the same time” — perfectly explains the importance of concentration and purposeful commitment in human life. The proverb teaches that success can not be achieved when attention is divided between too many unnecessary activities, ambitions, and distractions. Every meaningful accomplishment demands focus, sacrifice, discipline, and strategic direction.
In reality, whoever wants to be everywhere may eventually end up nowhere. Human beings naturally possess limitations in time, energy, attention, and capacity. Therefore, wisdom lies in understanding priorities and concentrating efforts where they can produce the greatest positive impact. A person who constantly attempts to dominate every space, interfere in every issue, and participate in every activity often loses direction, effectiveness, and productivity.
Life itself teaches the importance of focus. A hunter can not successfully catch two rabbits at the same time because divided attention weakens efficiency and increases the possibility of failure. Likewise, a student can not effectively remain in the classroom and on the football field simultaneously. Every meaningful success requires concentration and commitment toward a clearly defined goal.
Similarly, when crossing a busy road, it is dangerous to stand permanently in the middle because danger may emerge from every direction. Standing in the middle divides attention and creates confusion, uncertainty, and vulnerability. However, standing firmly on either the right or left side allows greater concentration, clearer judgment, and improved safety. This simple reality reflects the importance of decisiveness and strategic focus in life and public affairs.
Indeed, slow and steady wins the race. Sustainable success is not built through noise, unnecessary activities, reckless ambition, or constant struggle for attention. True progress is achieved gradually through patience, discipline, consistency, perseverance, and purposeful action. Great individuals, successful institutions, and developed nations attained excellence not through confusion or scattered attention but through strategic planning and focused execution.
Unfortunately, many people mistake excessive activity for meaningful accomplishment. There is a clear difference between activities and accomplishments. Being constantly busy does not automatically mean being productive. A person may engage in numerous activities every day without achieving anything meaningful or sustainable. Likewise, some politicians move from one gathering to another, interfere in every discussion, and appear everywhere seeking attention and relevance, yet contribute very little to actual development or institutional progress.
Working very hard without meaningful accomplishment is often useless. Productivity should not be measured merely by movement, noise, or visibility but by results, impact, value, and positive contribution. True accomplishment is reflected in the ability to solve problems, build institutions, promote peace, strengthen systems, and contribute meaningfully toward collective advancement.
Politics, like every other profession, requires full focus, maturity, discipline, and strategic patience. A serious politician must understand that success is not about unnecessary interference, excessive ambition, or desperate attempts to dominate every opportunity. Politics should not become an endless struggle for supremacy, attention, popularity, or control.
Good politicians should never display excessive ambition or unhealthy desperation for relevance. Excessive ambition often leads to unnecessary rivalry, bitterness, envy, political tension, and institutional instability. Some politicians constantly seek to overshadow colleagues, dominate every political structure, monopolise opportunities, and interfere in every matter whether it concerns them or not. Such behaviour weakens teamwork, discourages competent individuals, and creates confusion within political organisations.
A wise politician understands the importance of boundaries, patience, consultation, and collective responsibility. Success is not about becoming the alpha and omega everywhere at the same time. Human beings naturally possess limitations, and wisdom lies in recognising those limitations and operating responsibly within clearly defined responsibilities and institutional structures.
Focused action promotes efficiency, productivity, harmony, and institutional stability. Individuals who remain focused on development, service, accountability, justice, and institution-building are more likely to earn credibility, respect, and lasting relevance. However, those who constantly seek cheap popularity, unnecessary visibility, and excessive control often lose direction and weaken the very institutions they claim to protect.
This is why division of labour, delegation, and specialisation remain essential in governance and administration. No organisation can function effectively when one individual attempts to control every responsibility. Delegation is not a weakness; rather, it reflects maturity, confidence, wisdom, and administrative competence. Strong institutions survive through teamwork, operational discipline, mutual respect, and clearly defined responsibilities.
Furthermore, focused individuals are less likely to become distracted by envy, unhealthy competition, and unnecessary interference in the success of others. When people concentrate on their responsibilities and long-term goals, they contribute more positively toward institutional growth and collective advancement. Mature individuals understand that progress is not about suppressing others but about empowering people and strengthening systems.
Nations themselves progress through focused governance and disciplined administration. Countries achieve greatness when leaders concentrate on education, economic growth, security, justice, accountability, innovation, and sustainable development rather than distractions, selfish rivalry, and excessive political ambition. Lack of focus often produces policy inconsistency, poor governance, confusion, and national stagnation.
Ultimately, the wisdom contained in the proverb “Ba a Gudu Da Susar Duwawu” reminds humanity that greatness cannot be achieved through divided attention, excessive activities without meaningful accomplishment, unhealthy ambition, or unnecessary interference in everything around us. Meaningful progress requires full focus, discipline, patience, strategic direction, consistency, and purposeful action.
True wisdom lies not in attempting to be everywhere at the same time but in concentrating efforts where they matter most. Success belongs to those who remain focused, disciplined, patient, and purposeful despite distractions and unnecessary competition. Indeed, individuals, organisations, and nations that embrace focus, steady progress, and meaningful accomplishment are more likely to achieve credibility, peace, stability, productivity, and lasting success.