Introduction
Leadership
is an issue that affects all of humanity. But, visionary and true
leaders are difficult to find. Not only are we impacted by this
phenomenon, but we are also called upon to exercise it. Whether we are
involved in leading government or business, guiding young minds, leading
a family, a sports team or a committee, organizing a dinner, a class
project, a carpool or a household, or just standing for what is right.
At every turn of human endeavour, everyone has a leadership role to
play. In other words, we are called upon to be custodians of what is
right and good, lasting and of value for those in our care at one time
or another.
It is as a
result of an obvious lacuna in worthy, responsible leadership in many
economies of the world that these questions were thrown up not long ago:
"What
has happened to leadership? Have all the great leaders gone from the
world scene?" The search for true, value based leadership is not limited
to the global arena, but also relevant in the task of socio-political,
cultural, educational, and moral transformation of developing economies
such as Ghana.
However,
why does a true leader need to demonstrate values in leadership? Values
are regarded as esteemed qualities which are intrinsically desirable.
That is why experts in the humanities have described values as "the
especial essence of who we are as human beings." Such demonstrable and
authentic values on which the Ghanaian society should be built upon
include transparency, patriotism, personal integrity, fear of God,
courage, transformational leadership, accountability, vision,
creativity, knowledge, character and passion.
Leadership
also, has been described as a form of service. Thus, In order to lead
effectively, a leader should be
willing to meet the essential needs of the individuals in the team or
group. London's Sunday Times published an article with the title,
"Whatever Happened to Real Leaders" the time it noticed the perceptible
inadequacy in the leadership of some economies in Europe. The fact not
only applies in the Western world where the people combat leadership
problems of recent, it is also applicable to the Ghanaian situation, as
the reputed most populous Black nation (in terms of the production of cocoa, gold and a strong football team) who needs values-based,
visionary leadership. It is a powerful, well-timed plea for the
emergence of a right kind of leadership that can deliver Ghanaians from
the grip of its many socio-economic problems resulting from poor
governance.
Nature of leadership in Ghana
While
underscoring the need for anyone entrusted with the sacrosanct mandate
of leadership in any human community, Walter Lippmann, a late American
newspaper commentator, in his
syndicated column "Today and Tomorrow", attempted another description
of leaders as "the custodians of a nation's ideals, of the beliefs it
cherishes, of its permanent hopes, and of the faith which makes a nation
out of a mere aggregation of individuals." According to Lippmann, the
term literally, refers to a keeper, a guardian or a caretaker, as it is a
proactive word which implies action on the part of the bearer. He is
the custodians of the people's mandate who simply holds such in trust
and on behalf of others. In other words, custodianship does not imply
behaviour motivated out of self-interest, which leads to the unbecoming
development which Ghana daily witnesses in various aspects of their
national life.
Today, it
is no longer news in the country to see the mass media of communication
inundated with scandalous and disturbing stories of reckless inflation
of contract sums, disappearance of phoney contractors after collecting
mobilisation
funds, or oftentimes, all of the contract sum; blind looting of
treasuries with impunity, brigandage, culture of wastage, outright lack
of vision on the part the leadership, endless dashed hopes, and lack of
creativity in statecraft, and instances of shoddy cum white elephant
projects with no material relevance to the aspirations of the populace.
It
is simply overwhelming these days, as Ghanaians helplessly, continue to
hear or read about horrifying tales of financial malfeasance, under
various guises, and obvious looting of the treasury being reported in
the media. This is purportedly being committed by both appointed and
elected leaders in active connivance with the largely inefficient civil
servants, shameless and forceful collection of toll from transporters or
motorists by men and officers of the Ghana Police Service on the
nation's roads; absolute diversions of statutory allocations originally
budgeted for developmental projects and
programmes, into private accounts for personal use by corrupt leaders.
Moreover,
a former US Ambassador to Ghana during the Kuffuor administration, at a
seminar in Granada recently, made a comparative analysis of the
sustained purposeless leadership afflicting Ghana with what is
obtainable in the United States (US) in connection with values-based
leadership. Carrington, specifically, mentioned the progressive strides
the US has been recording over time to the extent that "racism and
nepotism" were fast disappearing in America, thereby paving way for an
African-American (obviously referring to Barack Obama) to win the
support of the majority of the Americans to occupy the White House, the
official seat of US Government in Washington D.C. According to him,
instead of making distinct progress, the loss of a value system in Ghana
has made corruption, concept of "indigeneship", vandalism and political
thuggery to remain prominent in the country's
body politic.
It is not
unexpected to discern why some wonder aloud, if responsibility,
accountability and sense of integrity could ever be restored in the
political dictionary of the current crop of leaders. Perhaps, such
individuals and groups who frantically, desire meaningful change in the
socio-political life of the country think so against the backdrop of
apparent purposeful, focused leadership that characterised the era of
Ghana's founding fathers as late Dr Kwame Nkrumah,Nana Yaa Asantewaa,
the Big Six, our fomer Presidents and their ministers whose work were
really credible and others who sacrificed a lot to ensure the well-being
of the masses. With their own share of challenges peculiar to the
management of human affairs, till this day, those erstwhile leaders are
fondly remembered for good as a result of their strength of character,
discipline, loyalty, and patriotism.
Indeed,
with nostalgia, one cannot but be amazed at the
depth of passion exemplified in the communication of these past
Ghanaian leaders as regards the pursuit of their economic programmes for
the welfare of the people. It is quite edifying for any discerning
Ghanaian, especially the young ones, to listen and watch to the
programme which I titled: "Memories of Our Heroes", a production of GTV
News Directorate (especially some weeks before the celebration of the annual independence), which gives us a re-play of some of the events Ghana
underwent before the independece and the contributions of our legends.
One believes reliving and reflecting on memorable experiences of such
great Ghanaians would add much impetus to the ongoing efforts and
projects such as the so-called Better Ghana Agenda which has
its own significance to its inventors.
Interestingly, it
deserves a mention that in our day, there are yet men and women of
substance who exemplify rare values-based leadership and courage in
service to humanity in both private and public sectors of Ghana's
economy.
Research has shown that Ghanaians such as Peter Cardinal Turkson,
Prof. Frimpong Boateng, Mr.Kofi Annan, Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Pastor Mensa Otabil and the many village teachers
teaching in villages where the government has forgotten even the names,
and other numerous to mention here fall into this category. Such ones
are said to have continued to hold their heads high in and outside
positions of authority despite very widespread corrupting influences
around them. They are no doubt, shining examples to, particularly the
younger generation.
However,
a large number of the population believe that what is obtainable now is
just a question of corrupt leader's associating himself or herself with
any of the vicious cliques of ravenous individuals whose stock in trade
is to hold their fatherland down till eternity, because we virtually
lack the basic amenities (like electricity, water, LPG and other
petroleum products, transport and even ICT for our schools and other
public places) that
makes life moving. It is therefore, not unusual to hear the
mind-boggling term, ‘cabal' which can be equated to a firm (company)
owned by our politicians, at every turn in socio-political discourses.
The masses have categorised such dubious leaders as belonging to either
the oil/filling station cabal, electric power cabal, generators or rice importation
cabal, political power NDC, NPP, CPP, PPP and PNC cabal, or fertilizer business cabal among other
amorphous ones. Over the years, these groups are believed to have
succeeded, just as they, absurdly, continue to work against the
collective will of the Ghanaian people on all fronts.
Ghanaians
seeking elective and political offices with nothing to offer the
generality of the population ought to be discouraged henceforth. Again,
as custodians of the people's mandate to serve them and manage their
combined resources for the betterment of the entire society, individuals
holding leadership positions should know and chart the way forward for
the led, uphold what is best for all people, even if it may not be in
his or her own interest to do so. Their custodial role must be
approached as a temporary role, preserving something greater than the
self -principles of enduring value in service. This embodies an attitude
that focuses on the task at hand and not on what a leader may gain from
the position he or she holds. This will certainly bring about a caring
and concerned relationship between leaders and followers.
Consequently,
these seem contrary to what is happening across the land. In many
arenas in the country today, we see appointed or elected leaders holding
nothing in trust for those they purport to serve. Instead, it is
looting galore, as scores of them merely continue to advance their own
ideals, hopes, and aspirations to keep their followers down and
frustrated perpetually. Where there is no common vision to be shared and
actualised, it is often difficult to say whether such
selfish Ghanaian leaders are serving their people in any meaningful
way.
Poor reward system
has been identified as another serious factor, which probably instigates
many a leader to consciously, greedily appropriate billions of tax
payers' money to themselves in the name of "allowances", or in many
instances, some resort to outright pillaging of treasuries, regardless
of whatever happens to them after leaving office. But then, why
institutionalised corruption in the nation's system? An unnamed
foreigner who has lived in Ghana for sometime was quoted as answering
this poser thus: "Becoming corrupt is almost unavoidable, because
morality is relaxed in the society (Ghana), and many people struggle for
survival without assistance from the state."
Mismanagement,
deceit, and unfettered greed simply remain the undying features of the
system, just as assumedly vision-oriented economic blueprints,
development plans meant for implementation
gather dusts on shelves. Yet, many questions all beg for answers. And,
concerned Ghanaians have continued to ask rhetorically: Where are our
leaders leading? To whom can we look for the direction we need in
respect of the actualisation of the much-touted Ghanaian dream? To many,
reviving the different sectors of the nation's economy for the benefit
of the generality of the people appears hopeless.
Effects of valueless leadership
The
self-serving nature of some leaders has led to more exigent problems in
the Ghanaian system in recent times. The continued maladministration
has not only entrenched a culture of corruption, impunity, political
rascality, mindless looting of treasury, sycophancy, personality cults,
purposeless leadership, and rampant disillusionment among the Ghanaian
people awaiting the advent of a new order in the current system.
Bad
leadership has also instigated all forms of corrupt activities
prevalent in
the country now. These, some say, include political, bureaucratic,
electoral corruption, embezzlement and bribery. Political corruption,
which takes place at the highest levels of political authority, is a
‘corruption of greed.' It affects the manner in which decisions are
made, manipulates and distorts political institutions and rules of
procedure.
What about the
direct effect of this cankerworm on the entire system? Corruption
tarnishes the image of a nation; perhaps, as someone puts it recently,
"that is why Ghana suffers more than most societies from an appalling
international image created by its inability to deal with bribery and
corruption."
Way forward to a value-based leadership
As
measures towards moving the nation forward through purposeful,
values-based leadership, the nation urgently, needs to get its acts
right, retrace its steps where it has long got it wrong: anyone who
aspires to lead others, irrespective of which aspect of the nation's
life should be one who legitimately understands the core essence of
selfless service in leadership, not individuals who actually don't
understand anything about leadership, but about how much he or she could
steal from the commonwealth.
It
also, should be realised that anyone who aspires to lead Ghanaians
without possessing such exceptional values and ideals as personal
integrity, forthrightness, fairness, belief in the eventual success of
the Ghanaian enterprise, accountability and trustworthiness, is probably
taking a stroll. The current crop of leaders should learn to lead by
example and instil hope in the followership for the emergence of a
better nation.
According
to George Washington in his inaugural address as a former President of
the United States, while encouraging fellow American leaders to shun
lip-services, he was reported to have declared: "... the
propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that
disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has
ordained."
Stressing the
need for integrity in proper and effective leadership also, John Adair, a
visiting professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey
and Exeter in England, once stated: "... I believe that holding firmly
to sovereign values outside yourself grows a wholeness of personality
and moral strength of character. The person of integrity will always be
tested. The first real test comes when the demands of the truth or good
appears to conflict with your self-interest or prospects. Which do you
choose?" A food for thought indeed.
Conclusion
Leadership
qualities combined with positional power magnify the ability of an
individual to attract the all-important followers. Though a concept,
some have described it as enlightened
self-interest that promises to move Ghana forward, people entrusted
with leadership responsibilities should always learn to pursue such
interests that align with the nation's developmental goals. As a friend
would say, "we will all benefit when we do things right."
