Leadership by Subterfuge

It is not clear if leadership is a status or role desired by a few or by all. Given the way we all criticize or adore our leaders, it shows that there is something about leadership which goes beyond the surface of the skin. And this brings up the question of the various manner or style of leadership. How do our political, business, traditional, professional and religious leaders conduct themselves? Why are we always led astray by these leaders? What is in leadership that gives it its mystique and majesty? When shall the leaders carry along their followers or the followers emulate their leaders? Given our experiences in this part of the world, it will not be out of place to describe the style of leadership as one by subterfuge. Leadership by subterfuge? Oh yes! If not, why would leaders say one thing and ended by doing something completely opposite? When a leader – any type of leader-leads by deception, it means that he has a lot to conceal, would like to evade responsibility and so, aims at escaping blame. It follows therefore, that subterfuge is a deceptive stratagem meant to hoodwink followers to give their support and cooperation for a cause they believe in but one which the leaders do not mean to achieve. This is no doubt a secret and dishonest way of behaving or doing something. Leadership is therefore used to trick the followers in order for the leaders to achieve their personal individual goals. Let us examine the results of leadership by deception or artifice. The intention here is to verify the reason why leaders speaks from both ends of their mouth – at the same time. Here we go! Politicians employ various types of campaign strategy to canvass for support, endorsement or votes and in the process, make many promises for which the voters are supposed to hold them. How come that when we give them our votes, they end up never giving us what they promised? Is it that they are always hampered by intervening events which were not envisaged at the time promises were made? However, if all the possible scenarios were configured into the plan and there is no interruption whatsoever, then it can be concluded that the promises were never meant to be kept, but that a clever trick was used to deceive their followers into voting them into office. In this case, they can be accused of moral dishonesty and not keeping faith with the followers and so; their victory was by subterfuge. Religious leaders, who in their overflowing robe, preached one thing and practice another in a manner as if to tell their followers “do as I say and not as I do.” It takes a grand deception to preach peace and at the same time instigate your followers into war, after which we find you again championing peace efforts-meaning, that you are neither here nor there. Such religious leaders cannot be ordained by God for God is not a god of confusion or anarchy but of order and tranquility! In which case, their god must be a devil in whose footsteps they have taken. Where there are no honest leaders, there can be no honest followers and the whole society suffers the consequence. Is this what Nigeria is suffering from today? Traditional rulers are leaders who are expected to promote indigenous languages, cultures and traditions’ and to promote peaceful co-existence in their domains of all Nigerians living therein. However, if a ruler’s domain becomes a killing field where people are killed with careless abandon, such rulers could only be ruling by subterfuge. If in words, you appear to be a peace-maker, in looks and mien you exude majesty, in dress-style you are regal and distinguished but in actions or deeds done secretly you are a villain, you have ceased to be a ruler but a dishonest brigand. Rulers who forgets that their exalted stools represents justice, equity and fair play but who indulges in dirty deception so they could be perceived as royal fathers of all, gained their reputation by subterfuge or artifice. Many of our failed public or private enterprises were certified financially sound by audit reports only for those businesses to collapse few months after. Accounts were prepared which shows that a company is solvent with a projected growth rate which appears mouth-watering and, many investors got lured into buying its shares only for it to go into liquidation in a few months. This is a variant type of dishonest leadership by professionals whose expertise is expected to help others make a reasonable decision as to where to invest their hard-earned money. Any wonder that our economy has refused to grow or remain in coma for so long? No wonder many leaders in Nigeria are surrounded by perfidious followers! What a country!!