By Buti Sam Kputu
So much is spoken and written about leadership and very little about followership, as if they can ever be one without the other. As a matter of fact, bad leadership is often a product of bad or docile followership. I can say that of many countries I know, but especially of my dear country, Nigeria.
We have just about 15,000 public offices, from ward councilors to the Presidency, in a country of over 200 million people. How is it not possible for us to find 15,000 good and capable leaders to fill such offices? It must either be that most of us are accomplices to the bad ones we throw up at election time or we are complacent about who governs us. Either way, we bear responsibility to the kind of leadership we have. It was Plato who said, ‘The price of apathy in public affairs is to be ruled by evil men” Again same Plato said, “in politics, we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to administer a city or a state. But when we are ill, we do not ask for the most handsome or eloquent doctors…”
Every country gets the kind of leadership it deserves, even if we later grow to dislike them. For leaders, especially in a democracy, do not fall from the sky, they emerge from among the people. Even where there is electoral rigging and manipulation, it takes a dominant or docile variant of willing accomplices for that to succeed. IT IS GREEDY, DOCILE AND MEDIOCRE VOTERS WHO PRODUCE GREEDY, DOCILE AND MEDIOCRE LEADERS!
An African proverb says, “if you do not like what you are reaping, change what you are sowing” IF WE DO NOT LIKE THE LEADERS WE ARE HAVING, LET US CHANGE THOSE WE ARE VOTING OR RIGGING FOR, ESPECIALLY AS 2023 BECKONS US.
▪︎ Kputu, a preacher and social commentator sent this via Butisamkputu07@gmail.com