Leaders are those who undertake the task of guiding others and showing them the way, by going before and directing the followers on most appropriate things to do and strive to build up in them a culture of initiative and self-help. Political leaders are only one spectrum in the wide sphere of leadership, except that the tasks and responsibilities of political leaders are enormous, involving a large and expansive population. Myopic leaders are those who undertake such task without an adequate and thorough understanding of the implications of such responsibility. Being myopic would imply having a short-sighted perception of what responsibilities that the task entails, not immediately but more importantly on a far-reaching dimension.
Taking up a leader’s position as a means of earning a living involves personal choices or decision, with attendant responsibility. The kind of enthusiasm and zeal expended in hustling for political leadership give the impression that it is a rat-race affair, whose motives are more of gains in terms of money and power, rather than service delivery. Obviously political leadership is an enormous task, whose success or failure would go beyond the leadership itself, but cuts into the life and affairs of a large number of people, immediately and in the distant future.
The concept of deferred gratification which demands making some personal sacrifices now for a better future, is a relevant principle in public leadership. Unfortunately, in Nigeria as a developing country, that concept or principle is usually wrongly applied, making the masses to make all the sacrifices while leaders live in obscene opulence and extravagance. From the enjoyment of immunity, to having everything necessary for maximum comfort and security, key political leaders have everything provided as perquisite, free.
It does not matter that over 80 percent of the citizens groan in hunger, agony and poverty, political leaders would not shift grounds with regards to official perquisites; rather, if sacrifices must be made then the masses must bear such brunt’s. This feature of Nigerian political leadership, put together by departing military regime, will not make for a sustainable political economy. Neither can it be said that political leaders themselves are not aware of the precariousness of the situation. Apart from there being no sincere political will to change the status quo, anything attempted in that direction would be mere window-dressing.
The vital message for political leaders arises from issues which can rarely be recognized immediately, neither can the consequences be quantified in material terms. Any activity undertaken by anyone, whose results impinge on other human beings, carry enormous implications and responsibility for the one engaged in such activity. Such implications and responsibility become more serious in leadership positions undertaken by personal choice and decision. Thus the concept of social contract in politics makes it clear that contractual obligations cannot be breached without attendant penalties. Also the concept of accountability goes beyond mere lip services.
Political office holders and key political leaders are subject to the concepts of social contract and accountability. Apart from expectations which must be met in the social contract principle, accountability makes leaders answerable to the masses and some higher authority. With cunning and blusters, political leaders can intimidate and cajole the masses and make false claims about their performances. But the mark of good leadership expresses in the level of happiness, satisfaction and productivity of the masses, arising from the stable and conducive state of the nation.
If Nigerian political leaders have a true knowledge of what the masses think and say about them, many of such leaders would dismiss their opinions and feelings as wrong. In social services theories, there is what is known as blaming the victim, involving placing all the responsibility, criticism and failures on the helpless and disadvantaged masses for the conditions that led to their plight. Thus real politics seeks to pass the buck on someone else when things go wrong, and then take maximum praises when the going is good. It is obvious that Nigerian masses are groaning currently.
Let it be said that leadership is a grave task whose immediate and long-term responsibility and accountability are rarely taken into consideration by politicians. It is not enough to make money, wield power and enjoy fame and honour by engaging in politics, there is also a need to look at wider implication of political leadership. Leaders in all spheres of activities can mislead followers, plunging their future and life-chances into jeopardy. We must also admit that there are blind but ambitions shepherds who lead their followers into desolate wilderness and perdition. Adolf Hitler, Rev. Jim Jones, among several others, did lead their followers astray.
Whether charismatic or tyrannical and obtuse, leaders and the position of leadership command mass influence which can have positive or negative effects. We cannot decry the fact that some leaders turn out to become locusts, oppressors or even scorpions, whereby the masses groan under their heavy burdens. Historically, some harsh and tyrannical leaders did play the role of compelling indolent, docile and myopic masses to make fast progress in development, by the use of whips and forced labour. The masses can also be myopic.
Specifically, myopic leaders are usually ambitions ones who see leadership not as giving services, raising the level of awareness and living standards of the masses, but a means of primitive accumulation of wealth and power. A Nigerian politician once told us many years ago that there were half a dozen Nigerians who had more money than the entire Nigerian nation. There may be nothing wrong with individuals having enormous wealth, but there is truth in the saying that behind every great wealth, there is usually a crime. Myopic money bags!
Influence of leadership goes beyond personal wealth power and fame, but leaders usually set the tone and standard of orientation of the masses. Through unexemplary leadership, installation of a corrupt system in a society, abuse of power and gross mis-management of national resources, leaders incur such burdens of guilt’s whose atonement would take several incarnations, accompanied by pathetic suffering and sad experiences. Curses which groaning citizens lay upon bad leaders who are concerned only with their own personal welfare and those of their cronies, do not fail to affect such leaders in a way that they rarely image.
What such bad leaders often do is to give huge donations to religions bodies, with a wrong notion that such gifts, arising from ill-gotten money, can reduce their burdens of guilt. To put the lives of unsuspecting citizens in jeopardy through inability to provide security, and the future of the masses in uncertainties through faulty polices, often arise from myopic leadership. Far-seeing leaders make personal sacrifices for the sake of the masses as a means of advancing their own ascent to glorious realms of existence. Myopic leaders remain earth-bound for a very long time!

By: Bright Amirize

Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.