By Ebrima Manneh
Leaders who see people as the most important resource invest in them abundantly. They value their contributions as integral to the growth and development of an organization or country, and involve them in decision making processes. Good leaders understand the advantage of utilizing the input of others, and therefore surround themselves with men and women that will exercise candor for the benefit of the majority. Setting positive conditions and providing the vision for the greatest number of people is a leadership responsibility. A leader’s ability to be of positive influence wins the people over through empowerment, and influences them to participate in advancing their societies. Leaders that cannot win people through positive influence will not win the loyalty of genuine people over an extensive period of time. A leadership failure leads to an organizational or national failure.
Leadership failure and Africa’s progress
It is widely accepted that leadership failure is the root cause and the major hindrance of economic and political progress in Africa. A citizenry that condones plundering of national resources and brutality are a contributing factor. The fact that Africa possesses half of the world’s natural resources and continue to experience extreme poverty, confirms how the resources are continuously misused yet the situation remains unabated. The people have settled for less while leaders squander the abundant natural resources that can be turned into wealth to create growth and development. In the abundance of resources, the acceptance of scarcity is an unacceptable situation. Even though irresponsible leadership is blamed for the prevailing conditions, the people share the blame for not fighting for what belongs to them. While the people stay in denial and those striving to liberate the nation struggle to find common ground, the culprits continue on their destructive paths. The perception that positions of leadership are divine and the leaders are irreplaceable undermines the concept of implementing transitional leadership which gives people the desire and zeal to replace leaders that failed. The genuine leader embraces mentorship and prepares his or her replacement with the knowledge and skills to successfully run the affairs of the organization or country in his or her absence.
Societies continue to suffer due to bad and calculated decisions made by leaders, and the assistance provided by some of the citizens to this course. The security forces in the Gambia and other parts of Africa are the primary enablers of abusive regimes. They are the enforcers of bad laws and policies. What Africa and Gambia needs are citizen soldiers that defend the sovereignty of the nation, but also safeguard the internal peace and tranquility of the citizens. The dictatorship in the Gambia is enhanced by ordinary citizens who are still caught up in the pursuit of self-interests and cannot see the good in pursuing collective interests. The other group stays noninvolved and unaffected by the deteriorating conditions, leaving the burden of restoring a democratic state to a dedicated few. We will continue to remind our fellow countrymen and women to awaken the suppressed conscience. The reluctance in doing what is required to change the status quo is an indication that our conscience is still suppressed because we have not yet acted on the truth it communicates to us. We must exercise moral courage to free ourselves from the current predicament. Selfishness is a choice but not desirable, fear is understandable but can be overcome if regaining our freedom is the ultimate desire.
When failure is acceptable, progress stalls
It is clear that Yaya Jammeh’s regime not only failed to prove the accusations levied against the old regime, it failed to deliver on the series of promises made to the people. It also failed to focus on the key areas that generate growth and development. It failed to enhance bilateral relationships with neighboring countries and welcome NGOs to operate freely in the interest of the nation. Using negative rhetoric and false accusations to blame the neighboring country, Senegal who we share cultural heritage and mutual relationship is irresponsible. While progressive leaders are busy improving relationships and implementing market friendly policies to attract businesses to generate employment, the Gambian leader is busy making more enemies. This does not only expose the lack of viable developmental polices, but failure to provide hope during difficult times. Injecting extreme fear that makes the challenging of bad policies unthinkable and failures acceptable is the only strategy for the Jammeh regime. Not only tyranny, but naivety continues to be the master of the people. Naivety can suppress moral courage and the will to fight injustice. When naivety takes precedence, people lose the zeal to participate in matters affecting their lives. If people become less concerned about matters impacting their daily lives, who will fight for them?
Whose fight is it and when do we fight?
Andrew J. Bacevich recommended that Americans should “revert to a concept of citizenship in which privileges entail responsibilities.” I think this concept has a natural law implication that should inspire all citizens to develop a sense of duty to country. Parents play key roles in shaping the morality of the nation by instilling virtues that will make their children noble citizens. Both parents and youths play important roles in ensuring a better future, and these duties must be taken seriously. We have compromised our rights and accepted tyranny and the denial of rights in return. Government cannot be held accountable if people cannot exercise moral courage to demand answers. Yaya Jammeh’s government failed miserably in every sector, and this failure is felt extensively.
A leader who makes poor choices and reckless decisions that affect national interests must not be allowed to lead any further. A situation that affects us collectively requires a collective response. We are all stakeholders by virtue of origin or shared interests. The fight to end tyranny should not be reserved for a selective few, does not require a certain qualification, or meant for a certain group of people. It is not designed for the politician and does not make one a politician. Those that devote themselves to the fight for country and the welfare of the people would rather be called activists, “people who see the need for change and devote their time for doing something about it.” They act on the instinct knowledge of right and wrong which their conscience avails them. Being interested in politics on the other hand, is to ensure that the affairs of the country are not left to the wrong individuals.
When human rights, the common good and daily services in a community are denied, fighting to retrieve them is justified. The institutionalized interference with the way people worship, conduct businesses, and even in the sporting events where government directly dictates over procedures, indicates the inability to be in charge of daily activities. Arresting the youths, women and old people in Kartong is morally indefensible, and should concern all of us if we care about preserving the environment for future generations. Gambians must applause and stand in solidarity with the youths of Kartong. Responsible societies join youths and students in protests for social justice and do not leave them to deal with it on their own. Not putting up a strong resistance when the rights of our youths and women are deliberately violated further exposes the lack of cohesion to fight for one another. Embracing the suffering and pain of our fellow citizens instead of fighting for them is defiance of our conscience and betrayal of our people during times of need. Being timid and staying divided will not end dictatorship, but only emboldens a dictator. Forming a united front base on the sincere desire to restore democracy and rule of law should be the responsibility of all. Those that defend the existing conditions as favorable are merely exercising their bias due to the direct benefits from the prevailing conditions. A society of the privilege and underprivileged only works in the interest of dictatorship but does not safeguard the collective interests of the people.
The end is near and the future is promising:
There are often warning signs and turning events that signal the end for dictators. Even though they lack the honesty and humility to admit it, it can be recognized in their state of paranoia, ranting, and believe that they are still loved even when the evidence depicts a different picture. Dictators know that the fear psychosis used on citizens have lasting effects, and therefore continue to use this strategy. A report on Qaddafi by the New York Times described the amount of fear he injected in his people to a point that they felt he was capable of coming back after being driven out of Tripoli. Despite the brutality and mystification, the people overcame their fear, fought together and ended his dictatorship.
It is time we end the lack of action and devote to the quest of ending dictatorship in the Gambia. The skepticism and fear injected in the minds of the citizens that the country will not thrive after this regime is deceptive, a strategy intended to instigate pessimism in the minds of the citizens. The country needs to be returned to a democratic rule under a leader that cares about the well-being of the people. A leader who can create inspiring vision base on shared values; encourage and guide the people to work together to reinstate a democratic nation under the rule of law.
The Gambian people must stand in solidarity with the youths of Kartong. When the people stand together no authority can break them. We must therefore applaud the youths of Kartong for demanding a stop to the environmental degradation of their land. Kudos to the young and conscious of Kartong for standing up for their rights.