Armchair Politicians
By Omordia, Efe Alexandra – During major sporting events one gets to hear from ‘pros’ who seem to know everything from how to serve better than a Serena Williams serve-alike in a Wimbledon finals to how to score better goals than a Christiano Ronaldo score-alike in a World Cup equivalent. Opinions from such self-acclaimed experts often go a long way in making champions whom people have idolized for years to suddenly seem like pregnant women who are out on an afternoon stroll. In such heated moments, one would be inclined to become sanctimonious and join in crucifying the athlete or player in the radar but things could suddenly take a different turn if the critic is suddenly handed a Football or a Tennis racket to make good on his utterances.
Same it is in issues relating to governance and political leadership. From the University of Legon to Universite du Benin, From Dakar to Delta State it is the same story. On the pages of Fraternite Matin to the pages of the Ghanaian Observer it is no different, in every nook and cranny of the sub-region one is assailed by opinion experts who have a fair idea of how things should be run by the people in positions of authority. While the Sports critic can get away with not having enough time to keep in shape to stir the ship in issues relating to sports when he is thrown a challenge, we as citizens of our individual countries who are physically and mentally in-tune do not have that excuse. We have what it takes to lead and now is the time to help make a difference. So let’s pause for a moment on the criticizing thing and take a good look around us. We will discover that our Communities are in dire need of individuals who by their examples would galvanize inhabitants to action. A class teacher in a local community school is in a position to mentor youngsters to greatness. A local football champion can teach soccer skills as well as leadership skills to his group of fans. A reality show star can take a trip to his local community to engage in a developmental project that will help give meaning to lives. We all have a stake in making things better.
After we have contributed our quota to improving our immediate and the larger environment then we can now beat our chest and constructively or unconstructively criticize our mainly crappy leaders.
