Honorary Exit as Solution to Failure in Service Delivery
By Bashir Kabir
In a culture where excuses of whatever kind are entertained where public responsibilities are concerned, mediocrity is the next best outcome.
It is best known that a representation often reflects a vast majority of the represented. In other words, show me your leader and I can easily predict who you could be.
If a leader toys with people’s emotions and still gets followership, it indicates that he is ruling over an emotional society.
He banks on their weakness to get what he wants. He is out-smarting them, taking advantage of their gullibility, a good topic from 48 Laws of Power. This type of society is often clueless, without focus and always ready to take things at face value.
In cultures where excellence is valued, nothing is taken for granted. Assessment of leaders and leadership roles in a critical aspect of governance in direct regards to targets is never played with. This will automatically pave way to assessment of political atmosphere and legislative needs of the people for development and the subsequent deployment of the qualified persons to handle such.
It makes the assessment of the people parading themselves to be elected into sensitive positions with public responsibilities a matter of great significance.
In a situation where one goes right ahead into taking these public responsibilities with good intentions of bringing positive changes only to realize that the forces against that are too powerful to battle, or beyond their his expectations, taking the honorary exit by quitting that position is acceptable.
At this point, resignation from duty is the only indication of a maintained integrity. For those of us who might have forgotten what it is, integrity is strict adherence to set of principles or values no matter the situation. Period!
“I simply cannot go against the tide, because everyone is doing it” as often used by some failed office holders to excuse themselves against their failure to deliver is absurd.
For the benefit of this context, resignation is not the same as changing political parties that’s widely exercised at the moment. Credible leaders walk the talk and make their actions speak louder than their words; they deliver what they promise. When what’s promised could not be achieved for whatever reason, they feel disappointed and even regret being part of that failure.
Going back to assessment, what can be apparent in regards to credibility and integrity when it comes to pinpointing a leader? Before that question is answered, it should be clear that we don’t have a system in place to assess political aspirants’ qualification for a position beyond partisanship. But perhaps it won’t be hard to look elsewhere for such criteria used in the advanced societies.
The sad truth is, you’ll hear comments such as “he has been working hard for the party, he has been spending a lot for the party, he has been doing this or that for the party”. That’s the criteria why that person should aspire for people’s leadership!
You’d expect referencing to at least a single ‘honest,’ ‘sincere’ and successful project done by an aspirant as a qualification. No matter the level of that project, there should be key indicators that can be used to assess at least the goodwill of that person towards the leadership he is aspiring for.
Leadership as a project is beyond deception. A mere media noise and propaganda cannot accomplish a project as big as leadership. Nor can idiotic projects such as distribution of soap and detergent to women be an indication of goodwill. The only way to separate noise from the real happening on the ground is through thorough assessment of actions.
Sadly enough, people are content with reading the first line of information on social media and jumping to conclusions. Some join the queue to collect spaghetti to declare the person giving them out as a Good Samaritan. They ignore tons of facts hidden behind the deception.
That person might be neglecting much needed projects such as providing drinkable water, healthcare, education, security, access roads within that community, but he has extended a token of items which cannot benefit the people for more than a day or two to be accepted as worthy of being a leader.
We surely need to have standards through which to assess aspirants and by which to rate the performance of leaders.
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