By Dr Ida Jallow Sallah
About the book
Reflecting on the depth, beauty and wealth of West Africa’s ocean and rivers, the thickness of its forests and the marvelous endowments of its soil and subsoil that had never ceased to tease the sophistication, ingenuity, creativity and bravery of the pioneers of her liberation whose footprints’ indelibility continue to amaze those who have taken the baton only to be lamenting and wondering for more than decades why more than half of it s population is still living below the poverty’s line? Why it’s land continue to serve as the dumping ground for expired and used products instead of enjoying their natural endowments and its governments continue to depend on aids?
The answer would, in one way or the other find shelter in interrogating the level political consciousness of its political leaders as the trustees of its sovereign people. Their overstay in power through constitutional manipulations and electoral bribery or inducement, bad governance, corruption, nepotism, tribalism and sectionalism, even if they know that they are not making a difference, is tearing apart the subregion social and economic fabric.
The sources of the sovereign wealth of their nations are being leased for with pittance in return for their people who are daily confronted with the high priced remnant fish, meat, imported food, poor health care services, and other poverty related challenges. Thousands of its good sons and daughters are crossing miles of the ocean and Sahara Desert just for few to succeed and others to perish. Still, they remain insensitive to the plight of their citizens, adamant in holding the leadership’s fort despite the social outcry, disenchantment, protests to the extent of causing coups upon coup to return the clock of democratisation and development process to zero.
An analytical focus on this rest the key rationale to this write-up.
Leadership is not a privilege or a right, rather it is a duty that one, who does not want to betray the trust and confidence of the electorates, has to perform with a sense of progressive patriotism and substantive democracy. This book explores the past and present performances of political leaders in all the West Africa countries and establishes the criteria for the testing of good quality leadership that should inform electorates and political leaders in West Africa to wake up to the challenge or face instability and conflicts forever.
Reflecting on the depth, beauty and wealth of West Africa’s ocean and rivers, the thickness of its forests and the marvelous endowments of its soil and subsoil that had never ceased to tease the sophistication, ingenuity, creativity and bravery of the pioneers of her liberation whose footprints’ indelibility continue to amaze those who have taken the baton only to be lamenting and wondering for more than decades why more than half of its population is still living below the poverty line? Why its land continue to serve as the dumping ground for expired and used products instead of enjoying their natural endowments and its governments continue to depend on aids?
The answer would, in one way or the other, find shelter in interrogating the level of political consciousness of its political leaders as the trustees of its sovereign people. Their overstay in power through constitutional manipulations and electoral bribery or inducement, bad governance, corruption, nepotism, tribalism and sectionalism, even if they know that they are not making a difference, is tearing apart the subregion’s social and economic fabric.
The sources of the sovereign wealth of their nations are being leased with pittance in return for their people who are daily confronted with the high priced remnant fish, meat, imported food, poor health care services, and other poverty related challenges. Thousands of its good sons and daughters are crossing miles of the Ocean and Sahara Desert just for few to succeed and others to perish. Still, they remain insensitive to the plight of their citizens, adamant in holding the leadership’s fort despite the social outcry, disenchantment, protests to the extent of causing coups upon coup to return the clock of democratisation and development process to zero.
Leadership is not a privilege or a right rather it is a duty that one, who does not want to betray the trust and confidence of the electorates, has to perform with a sense of progressive patriotism and substantive democracy. This book explores the past and present performances of political leaders in all the West Africa countries and establishes the criteria for the testing of good quality leadership that should inform electorates and political leaders in West Africa to wake up to the challenge or face instability and conflicts forever.
