By: Okoi Obono-Obla We the people must now reconsider our criteria for selecting those who are to become our elective leaders. ...
By: Okoi Obono-Obla
We the people must now reconsider our criteria for selecting those who are to become our elective leaders. It is as clear to me as a crystal ball that unless there is a paradigm shift in the template we have been using to evaluate those who qualify to lead at all strata of governance in this country—whether in the executive, judiciary, legislature, civil service, political parties, and beyond—we shall continue to remain in the doldrums, reduced to making a cacophony of noise on social media out of sheer frustration with the state of affairs.
If someone is mindful of personal hygiene, or committed to living in a well‑kept and clean environment—a tidy home, a good office ambience, clean toilets, good roads, and proper sanitation—there is no way such a person, when entrusted with leadership, will fail to ensure that the state he governs or the local government he chairs does not descend into squalor. A leader who values cleanliness and order will naturally insist on a clean, functional, and dignified working environment.
If a leader has good taste and a knack for quality, there is no way such a person, when placed in charge of a public institution, will award substandard contracts at inflated prices for poorly constructed roads or buildings. Quality-minded individuals do not suddenly become patrons of mediocrity simply because they assume public office.
If someone is broad‑minded, large‑hearted, good‑natured, compassionate, kind, generous, and open‑minded, there is no way he will run an opaque government or become a closet tribalist, discriminatory, sectional, ethnic, or religious bigot when placed at the helm of leadership in a highly diverse society like ours. Character does not mutate simply because one enters office; it only becomes amplified.
If someone is not greedy, but contented, not given to covetousness, and does not crave material possessions, there is no way he will suddenly transform into a glutton, a kleptocrat, or a practitioner of primitive accumulation when he assumes leadership. Leadership reveals who we are; it does not create who we are.
In conclusion, the time has come for us to shift our focus from political rhetoric to personal values, from empty promises to proven character, and from popularity to integrity. Only then can we hope to build a nation led by individuals whose private virtues naturally translate into public excellence.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
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