I remember that afternoon when @MI_Abaga walked into my office, excited, and played “Safe” for me in our little one-room office on Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja. He played all 5 minutes and 14 seconds of it. I loved the lyrics, but I was worried about the length. “Jude, you have to cut this song down. Radio won’t play it.” “They will play it,” he insisted. I thoroughly disagreed. But that was always our dynamic. @MI_Abaga and I would debate almost everything — music, ideas, strategy, life — sometimes intensely, before eventually finding alignment. That day was no different. Then he stopped and said, “Audu, trust me on this. This song will go as it is.” Sensing that I was still unconvinced, he looked me dead in the eye and asked: “Do you trust me?” The way he asked it made it feel like a much bigger question than the length of a song. Almost as though, in that moment, our entire relationship was being defined by my answer. I looked back at him with the same seriousness and said: “Yes, Jude. I trust you.” And he won. But, as it turned out, we all won. “Safe” went on to break records and become one of the defining songs of that era. Sometimes leadership is knowing when to insist. And sometimes leadership is knowing when to trust the genius sitting in front of you. Happy birthday once again to my brother, a living legend, @MI_Abaga. 🙌🏾🙌🏾 #Safe