EMPTY BARRELS MAKE THE MOST NOISE
Do political agitators make good leaders?
"The question begs for answers as they have dominated our political space since democracy was introduced in 2003 and they have taken the nation hostage. One threatened the nation with harm should he be asked to account for, or held accountable for maladministration.
Hence why we must begin to ask questions about our choice of leadership. Does agitation by its very nature confer leadership quality on an individual? If past performances were to be a judge of that, we can unequivocally say NO. When you look at the trajectory of the nation's economy, our worst times have come during the times of political agitators who claim to be leaders. Many of these noisemakers are adept at telling us everything wrong and rarely give us solutions. They are very articulate in outlining everything wrong with the nation. The media and journalists have become accomplices in the game of conning the masses. They provide the platforms for these political agitators to peddle their hyperarticulation of our problems without offering corresponding solutions to the problems.
Not to be misunderstood, we can find a myriad of loft ideas that have been proposed by many of these noisemakers, but holding them to a higher standard must become a prerequisite to having a mic put in their faces for interviews. Access to platforms that build them up as leaders must be constrained by their preparedness to articulate detailed solutions for the problems faced by Nigeria. They should no longer be given platforms to eloquently articulate our problems without proffering solutions. They must be prepared to show us a pathway for executing proffered solutions.
No offense to my two favorite agitators Mr. Obi and Mr. Sowore, but I have tried to find detailed descriptions of executable solutions both claim to bring to the political game. Yet, both have a death grip on the support of the youthful population, making noise at every opportunity. The media has become accomplices to the charade by not asking truly probing questions, not on their views about the status of the nation but on their plans and the steps to execute. We must set higher standards for political office holders, the media must step up and do its job, and STOP exposing these noisemakers to the voters as leaders. Some may argue that Peter Obi is an exception because he was a former governor, but his performance could not meet those of an ordinary city clerk in developed climes. We need to stop the mediocrity.
Are political agitators, empty noisemakers?
Yes
No
领英推荐
Legal Practitioner, Managing Partner at Akin Akinboyowa & Co Barristers and Solicitors|Writer|Resource Person.
5 个月Agitation by its very nature may not be enough to confer leadership on a person, but in a society where people groan in silence because of fear, an agitator can be perceived as someone who is courageous and capable of performing the role of a savior. To answer the question you have posed in the last part of the post; are political agitators empty noisemakers? Political agitators are noisemakers, but they are not empty. The noise they are making in itself is a content and their voices lend support to the agitations of the people for good governance and accountability. Whether or not they themselves truly have solutions to those agitations is another question. In my honest view, those whom you have mentioned in your post do not have solutions to the problems they agitate about. If one should actually listen close to them, one would realize that they are very clueless. I hope Nigeria will be out of the woods one day. There’s a great dearth of good leadership.