Ardo Zubairu
11-26-2005, 02:43 PM
Many people say they don't like politicians because they disappoint the people who have chosen them as their leaders. I have a negative image of politicians, too, and here is a beautiful example of why: The two present Governors of Nigeria were sent to prison :o in London because they took people's money and used it for their own purposes. The amount of money was so huge that I cannot imagine how big it was. And, unfortunately, many politicians go to London because of their greed every year. These instances seem to indicate that there is no hope for Nigerian politics, and have discouraged me a lot.However67y, I did find a sign of hope when reading about American political history recently, and I think Nigerian politicians can learn from it, too.
I was especially happy to read about a very honest politician whose name is Ella Grasso. She became known as the first female governor in America and then served in the U.S. Congress. One of Grasso's former employees remarked that she has always been super honest. As a result, her nickname was ``Mrs. Clean.’’ Her success motivated me to think about Nigerian politicians. I think they should take a look at her life as a talented politician and learn from her about leadership, which Nigerian people desperately want to see. Grasso's 28 years as a public official, she never lost an election. I know how difficult it is to win every election, but she never lost because she was so constantly loved by many people. Why did people like her? I think that besides her honesty, another reason was that she was very friendly and outgoing with good communication and networking skills. She loved to mingle with people.
In fact, when Grasso was elected to the U.S. Congress, her office in Washington was called the ``people's lobby.’’ So people could visit her office whenever they wanted to meet her. They usually drank tea together and talked about social issues, and there were usually a lot of people in her office wanting to meet her.In addition, Grasso spent no extra time taking care of her appearance. She was a plain woman who wore simple clothing and no make up because she was more interested in serving the people than in making a glamorous impression. Also, she ran an extremely tight ship. Therefore, when she was in the office there was no playtime and there was never any political campaigning conducted during office hours.
But how about Nigerian politicians? Do they work extremely hard? If they do, why is it can we always find some politicians in luxurious golf clubs and bars? And to be elected again, they use much of their time to prepare for their future election campaign. But being in a top position doesn't mean that someone should use it for her or his own interest. In other words, it should be considered as a difficult but honored job, which is done for the people's benefit. I've never heard of any Nigerian politician keeping their door open for citizens. To me, politicians look so busy doing their own business they don't have enough time to take care of the citizens who want to meet them. But here is my question: Why are they our leaders? If they want to be leaders, they should know their people first, and when they know the people, they can listen to them people's requests and troubles. However, now it seems that it is easy for them to ignore the people's anguish, and they are even boycotting the National Assembly, most of men and who bothered to show up were dozing shamelessly in their comfortable chairs, which is supposed to open for people's interests whenever their interests suffer. I know that some politicians are doing their best for the people and the country. Unfortunately, the bad politicians make the image of all politicians negative. To get rid of this negative image, they should remember the two things people liked the most among Grasso's leadership features: one is honesty and the other is devotion. They are the key features Nigerian politicians should learn from her :)
I was especially happy to read about a very honest politician whose name is Ella Grasso. She became known as the first female governor in America and then served in the U.S. Congress. One of Grasso's former employees remarked that she has always been super honest. As a result, her nickname was ``Mrs. Clean.’’ Her success motivated me to think about Nigerian politicians. I think they should take a look at her life as a talented politician and learn from her about leadership, which Nigerian people desperately want to see. Grasso's 28 years as a public official, she never lost an election. I know how difficult it is to win every election, but she never lost because she was so constantly loved by many people. Why did people like her? I think that besides her honesty, another reason was that she was very friendly and outgoing with good communication and networking skills. She loved to mingle with people.
In fact, when Grasso was elected to the U.S. Congress, her office in Washington was called the ``people's lobby.’’ So people could visit her office whenever they wanted to meet her. They usually drank tea together and talked about social issues, and there were usually a lot of people in her office wanting to meet her.In addition, Grasso spent no extra time taking care of her appearance. She was a plain woman who wore simple clothing and no make up because she was more interested in serving the people than in making a glamorous impression. Also, she ran an extremely tight ship. Therefore, when she was in the office there was no playtime and there was never any political campaigning conducted during office hours.
But how about Nigerian politicians? Do they work extremely hard? If they do, why is it can we always find some politicians in luxurious golf clubs and bars? And to be elected again, they use much of their time to prepare for their future election campaign. But being in a top position doesn't mean that someone should use it for her or his own interest. In other words, it should be considered as a difficult but honored job, which is done for the people's benefit. I've never heard of any Nigerian politician keeping their door open for citizens. To me, politicians look so busy doing their own business they don't have enough time to take care of the citizens who want to meet them. But here is my question: Why are they our leaders? If they want to be leaders, they should know their people first, and when they know the people, they can listen to them people's requests and troubles. However, now it seems that it is easy for them to ignore the people's anguish, and they are even boycotting the National Assembly, most of men and who bothered to show up were dozing shamelessly in their comfortable chairs, which is supposed to open for people's interests whenever their interests suffer. I know that some politicians are doing their best for the people and the country. Unfortunately, the bad politicians make the image of all politicians negative. To get rid of this negative image, they should remember the two things people liked the most among Grasso's leadership features: one is honesty and the other is devotion. They are the key features Nigerian politicians should learn from her :)