Vivre et laisser vivre: Live and Let Live - Maduebibisiya's Leadership in a Bilingual Lens:- Igbozuruike, Ijeoma H

Abstract Language is not merely a neutral vehicle for communication; it is a social semiotic through which values, ideologies, identities, and worldviews are constructed, reproduced, and contested. One such expression is “Live andLetLive,” and its French equivalent, Vivre etlaisservivre.Though simple in form, this aphorism encodes a profound ethic oftolerance, restraint, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. This study undertakes a bilingual, interdisciplinary exploration ofLive andLet Live / “Vivre et laisser vivre ” within literary, ethical, and institutional contexts, with particular emphasis on higher education leadership in pluralistic societies. Anchored in African humanist philosophy, the paper examines the ethical and administrative implications ofthe Igbo name Maduebibisibeya (“human beings live and allow others to live”) as a lived philosophy embodied in the leadership praxis of Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU).Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics(Halliday), Kahn's Psychological Conditions Theory of engagement, and intercultural leadership models, the study ultimately positionsVivre et laisser vivre as a guiding ethic for contemporary academic leadership, arguing that universities in culturally diverse and postcolonial contexts require leadership philosophies grounded not only in efficiency and regulation but also in humanism, empathy, and moral imagination. Keywords: vivre; laisser; bilingualism;Maduebibisi; MOUAU; letlive