QUESTION OF THE DAY
Behind every president and political leader there are opinion leaders who become stakeholders. They become more determined for the president or political leader to hold unto office or be hooked to getting office than even the president or political leader himself or herself. A clear example is President Bouteflika in Algeria who has been ill for some years now. However, instead of being allowed to rest because of infirmity opinion leaders behind the throne have done all they could to sustain him in power even at the risk of his health and national conflagration.
What is it that make people so obsessed with power? Power is designed to administer wealth and people. The very people who clap for a person today may end up hurling stones at the person tomorrow. Hence the support of opinion leaders is not permanent. It is determined by time and circumstance.
The wisest decision for a leader is not to overstay once welcomed. That reality will never be conveyed by opinion leaders interested in receiving handouts from political leaders. It is the political leader that should know better and not to allow oneself to be enticed to overstay one’s course.
Opinion leaders do not have to be accountable. They could move from one patron to another. Hence, he or she who will be held accountable should try to be as transparent as possible in one’s dealing. Those who try to manage the affairs of a country in good faith are likely to earn the respect of even those who do not agree with the person’s manner of government. Restraining one’s appetite for power is a virtue. Hunger for power is a curse. The two roads are now before the political leaders of this country.
