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Kenyans Have No Idea What Leadership Is All About, Hence The Clowns We Elect As Politicians And We Keep On Suffering

BY Steve Biko Wafula · February 5, 2023 10:02 am

KEY POINTS

"A leader who does not take advice is not a leader."; we all know which leaders are these. They think they are the bosses yet we are the ones that elected and put them there. Now they are eating and vomiting in our faces, daring us to do anything.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

"A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."

I am of the opinion that we as Africans have the solutions to everything that ails us. We lack the right leadership to achieve this. We have picked western behavior and cultures that have created a serious conflict within ourselves.

Our moral compass is broken and the worst of the worst are our leaders, yet we cry every day that we are dying. Let me ask a question; if you pick a hyena to guard your sheep, will you have any left at the end of the day?

I believe our forefathers had the wisdom and the knowledge of what true leadership was and is all about. If we pause and read and look back into history, we will see nuggets of wisdom in idioms, sayings, and proverbs that we tend to ignore because we believe we are modern people who have no idea who we are.

True leadership is measured by the breath, pith, and substance of the sayings and proverbs that our forefathers left us with because it is in them that we find meaning, purpose, and direction of what we should do, what we should look for and what we should fight for.

African proverbs are often used to impart wisdom and provide guidance on various aspects of life, including leadership. Here are some of the top African proverbs related to leadership: Proverbs that I have used to gauge and judge the current crop of elected leaders in Kenya.

“A leader who does not take advice is not a leader.”; we all know which leaders are these. They think they are the bosses yet we are the ones that elected and put them there. Now they are eating and vomiting in our faces, daring us to do anything.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”; it is like we elected the most greedy and lazy lot in thinking because suddenly we are alone and cannot seem to find our leaders to share our problems and potential solutions.
“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”; We have leaders who are constantly crying and lamenting, you would think they are not elected at all. You can name names.
“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”; we have no leader who espouses this character or do we?
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”; We are reminded every day who they are, what portfolios they hold and worst of all, they remind us that we never voted for them but they managed anyway. Who will save us?
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”; I think the last politician in Kenya who knew the way forward for Kenya’s prosperity was the Late President Kibaki. The current lot seems to be out of depth. Am I lying?
“A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”; Can we say this is what KK is doing for us?
“A leader’s job is not to do the work for others, it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.”; our elected politicians ( they do not deserve to be called leaders) are all about PR, Blitz, women, booze, and cars. Am I lying?

These proverbs emphasize the importance of qualities such as humility, collaboration, vision, and mentorship in leadership, and can serve as useful reminders for leaders looking to improve their skills and make a positive impact. Yet do we have any leaders with any of the above virtues? Name one and I will give KES 1000.

Kenyans need to know and understand precisely what true leadership entails and what is it all about and why they must participate in the political process to ensure that they protect the future of their children. The only way to understand this is to look at how our forefathers looked at leadership through proverbs and sayings. True leadership can be defined as the ability to inspire and guide people towards a common goal while exhibiting qualities such as:

Integrity: Leaders who act with honesty, ethics, and consistency in their decisions and actions; in truth, we have no such leaders in Kenya. Do we? Especially with the elected lot, where 40% of them, from the top to the bottom are into the wash, fake money, money laundering, and witchcraft. Where is integrity here?
Empathy: Leaders who understand and care about the needs, feelings, and perspectives of their followers; How many Kenyans are dying daily over issues that our leaders can fix yet they don’t? hunger, famine, and malaria yet they are busy buying cars with money that could sort the healthcare problems we have put our heads so deep into their asses that we have become numbed to the rotting smell of their leadership. All politicians deserve to be shot in public. How can innocent be killed by thugs & we do nothing about it?
Vision: Leaders who have a clear, compelling, and inspiring idea of what they want to achieve and can communicate it to others; What happened to VISION 2030, for me the last visionary leader we had was Kibaki, despite all the bad that he did, especially in 2007, he remains the best. These ones here are blind, leading blinded followers.
Responsibility: Leaders who take responsibility for their actions and decisions, and hold themselves accountable for the outcomes; We have seen the current lot complain so much, I am afraid they have no idea what responsibility is all about.
Competence: Leaders with the skills, knowledge, and experience required to achieve their goals; Unfortunately in Kenya we hate anyone with competence and skills. We reward mediocrity and sycophancy.
Adaptability: Leaders who can adjust their strategies and approach in response to changing circumstances; 6 months since we had the last elections and it seems nothing will change. If anything things is getting worse. I am hoping that we wake up and we demand better.
Collaboration: Leaders who work effectively with others, build strong relationships, and foster a sense of teamwork; These crop of leaders said they won’t partner with anyone and yet they are unable to govern and get things done. SMH…

Ultimately, true leadership is about serving others and creating positive change, rather than just holding a position of power. May history judge this crop of leaders harshly if they do not wake up and serve the people of Kenya.

Related Content: It Is Kenyans Who Will Get Rid Of Bad Leadership

About Steve Biko Wafula

Steve Biko is the CEO OF Soko Directory and the founder of Hidalgo Group of Companies. Steve is currently developing his career in law, finance, entrepreneurship and digital consultancy; and has been implementing consultancy assignments for client organizations comprising of trainings besides capacity building in entrepreneurial matters. He can be reached on: +254 20 510 1124 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com