Reflecting upon contemporary events in many parts of the world, one cannot help but wonder if indeed there is anything like responsible leadership!
If God created man for a purpose on Earth, how fulfilled is man in realizing that purpose? Have we been fair to ourselves, our neighbors and to all of humanity?
If the virtue of “Responsible Leadership” were to be scored on a 1 to 10 scale, what would our world leaders score for themselves in assessing what is happening right now in Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Malaysia, Egypt, to mention just a few nations of the world?
Why would anyone in the name of being a national leader take solace in perpetuating or supporting clandestine activities that hurt the collective consciousness of humanity?
I was not yet born when the horrors and cataclysms of the 1st and 2nd World Wars were perpetuated, but the mere reading about these events in our history books today send cold feelings through my body!
It would appear that our leaders still have not learnt any lesson from the horrors mankind experienced during these wartimes, and I begin to imagine if Mother Earth is gradually becoming a “failed state” even though man was ordained by God to have dominion over the Earth.
One of the greatest problems we face today in the so called civilized world is the absence of good leadership – responsible leadership.
Persons at the helm of affairs in their respective countries who still cling tenaciously to religious and political divide will soon realize how quick they are destined to fail as leaders.
The spirit of the 21st century and the collective consciousness of humanity favor purpose-driven leadership.
The energy for this drive does not reside in weaponry or the number of armies a nation can muster but derives from the strength of the spiritual nature of man.
We cannot be talking about successful relationships or mutual respect when all over the world, some leaders of various governments sponsor, aid or contribute to national and international instability.
What we see today is big nations bullying smaller nations against all established international laws and norms. Leaders who are expected to facilitate world peace fan the ambers of disunity and war.
The struggle for authority and power, acquisition of wealth and the frenzy desire to rule the world has become characteristic of these self – styled world leaders.
This posture to leadership, certainly, cannot be the measure of greatness or successful leadership.
Chesterton ones said, “The truly great person is the one who makes every person feel great,” not he who causes or inflict pains on others.
This reminds me of the story I read sometimes ago about Alexander the Great. When Alexander set out to conquer India, he stopped by to greet his friend, Diogenes, a Greek philosopher whom he had not seen for sometimes.
Relaxing comfortably in his arm-chair, while Alexander paced back and forth, Diogenes asked him what he was preparing for.
Alexander replied, I’m going to conquer Asia Minor first. “And where to after that? Diogenes asked his ambitious friend.
“I’ll then go on to conquer India, Alexander answered. “And then what?, asked the sage. “I will conquer the whole world”, answered Alexander.
With a bemused smile, Diogenes looked up at Alexander with a distinctly challenging look in his eyes and said, “Once you’ve conquered the world, what will you do then? “Ah”, said Alexander, “then I can rest and relax”.
This response drove Diogenes to hysterical laughter. He called over to his constant companion, a frail dog who was resting nearby; “Do you hear what this madman has just said?
Diogenes confided in his dog, “He is going to rest after conquering the world. We are already resting and we have not conquered anything except, perhaps, the desire to be a world conqueror”.
Then Diogenes turned to Alexander and said, “If rest and relaxation is your ultimate objective, why not join me and my dog right now in this comfortably room?
There is enough space here for all three of us. Why are you going to create so many disturbances all over the world just so you can come back here and rest with us?
You can do it now”. Alexander, needless to say walked away with great embarrassment.
The lesson here is that the greatest contribution world leaders can make to mankind is to give Peace a chance; at least leave this world a better place than they met it.
They should realize that they were entrusted with power to serve humanity and assist God as co-creators of Order, Harmony and Profound Peace on this Earth.
Certainly, not warriors but men of vision and integrity, who are most needed in this 21st Century.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Martin Luther King Jr. of America, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Prophet Muhammad (The Merciful and Compassionate), and Gautama Buddha made profound changes in the lives of their fellow men who lived in their times without the use of missiles, drones, chemical or biological weapons.
So soon the pages of history books have left stories of one – time ‘heroes’ who thought they could cling to authority for ever.
Most of them refused to hearken to the voice of conscience. No sooner did Adolf Hitler become Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 than he began secretly to build up Germany’s army and weapons.
The end result of his invasive tendencies in Europe is now history. Idi Amin Dada of Uganda terrorized his people with a barbaric, eight – year, despotic rule until he was ousted in 1979, saving the lives of countless prisoners and other victims of his unbridled violence.
The abuse on human rights was also demonstrated in Saddam’s Iraq. Reports have it that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented acts of imprisonment and torture perpetuated in Saddam’s one time “empire”.
It is also reported that his regime established severe penalties including amputation, branding and death penalty for criminal offences such as theft, corruption, currency speculation and military desertion, while government members and Saddam’s family members were immune from punishments ranging around these crimes.
The power of the people is often times underestimated. Responsible leaders must not take the loyalty of their people for granted.
In “Libya’s Gaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction”, Libyan political scientist Mansour El – Kikhia wrote: “The rules of the game in Libya continually change”, and Gadaffi’s “genius … is his ability to maintain and manipulate this chaos…, because the survival of his regime hinges on continued turbulences”.
Oliver Miles, a former British Ambassador to Libya, called Gaddafi a “conspirator who thought it important that “nobody could guess what he could do next”.
Gaddafi exploited his unpredictability to keep his enemies off balance, and he reportedly survived numerous plots and assassination attempts to become one of the longest-serving rulers in the world.
But when the chips were down, Gaddaffi’s last breath was snuffed out of him when fighters battling to complete an 8-month old uprising against his rule overran his hometown Sirte (where he went to hide), thus ending his 42 –years rule over Libya.
Are these few instances not enough lessons to learn from?
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called the fall of Gadaffi as a “historic” moment, but warned; “The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges”.
For more than 3 years now, the concept of responsible leadership has been on trial in President Assad’s Syria.
It is good news however, that Syria to a great extent cooperated with the visiting members of the Joint Organization for the Production of Chemical Weapons – United Nations Mission (OPCW – UN) in verifying and to destroy all of Syria’s declared chemical weapons production and mixing/filling equipment.
With about 100,000 dead and million citizens displayed from that country, one could still challenge any claim to responsible and sane leadership in Syria.
Also, if the Israelis and Palestinians and their international collaborators must struggle for land and supremacy, they must also remember to leave some space on Earth for peace to reign.
For the overall interest of the world, extreme politico-religious views and bias as well as strict economic considerations cannot continuously be allowed to be better choices than responsible leadership.
Let us for a moment reflect on the thoughts of Roya Rad on the characteristics of trustworthy political leaders.
According to her, a good political leader “does not support a sense of self-serving entitlement that has gone too far and is counter-productive for the society as a whole.
He stands above any specific religious or political views of his own and is independent of any attachment to a specific agenda.
A good leader should be able to move above and beyond any egoistic and primitive need for power, attention, or establishing his personal agendas and works with the intention of a good- for- all”.
“A leader that can be trusted does not take others down for himself to go up. He is more of a collaborator than a competitor. He tries to build bridges rather than destroy them.
He is a natural mediator rather than one that creates conflict, tension, and separation”.
Let me end this discuss and leave my readers with the comforting words of the 6th Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq.
“The human form is the supreme evidence by which God confirms His Creation. It is the book He has written with His hand. It is the temple He has edified through His wisdom. It is the gathering of all universes”.
So, men should seize or refrain from the politics of self annihilation, and allow Divine Peace reign profoundly on Mother Earth.
Dr. Jonathan Isibor is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State of Nigeria. He can be reached at: joe_isibor@yahoo.com
