Do Politicians Care About Who People Think They Are? -By Isaac Asabor

An online lexicographic website, www.Oxforddictionaries.com defines reputation as the “beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.” It further defines it as “a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular characteristic”.  It can also be defined as the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about a social entity (a group of people or an organization).

A good reputation, no doubt is an asset and it is the most favorable goodwill which any man ought to have. Jesus Christ at a point in his redemptive mission on earth asked his disciples in Matthew 16 verse 13, “Who do people say the son of man is?”

In the light of the foregoing, one is compelled to ask if our politicians carry out opinion survey from time to time in their constituencies to ask, “Who do people say I am?” Left to me, the answer to the foregoing question would be “No, they do not”. If they do, the trust which the people reposed in them would not have been betrayed as it is today. They would have at all times be conscious of their reputation by exhibiting responsible behavior. Since the beginning of the on-going democratic government, hardly a day passes without a politician getting into one controversy or the other thereby bringing himself into ignominy.

Party politics and politicians have been defined from various disreputable perspectives by world renowned thinkers, writers, philosophers and leaders. H.L. Mencken in one of his definitions of a politician said “If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinners.” Charles de Gaulle in his own definition said “since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word.” Analytically put, most politicians just mount the soap-box at campaign rallies and begin to make promises they can never fulfil.

It always beat me hollow each time I realize that many politicians do not care about their reputation. In Christendom, the need for people to be reputable is exemplified in the Bible. For instance, Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 1 says “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. In the light of the foregoing scripture, there is no denying the fact that many politicians have spoilt their good works and reputation through their anti-people activities. Be that as it may, given the definition of reputation that “It is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something”, how does an average Nigerian see a politician? Or simply put, how does an average Nigerian perceive a politician?

There is no denying the fact that an average Nigerian does not see a politician as a truthful, trusted or sincere person. He sees him as an unrepentant liar and schemer. You may say these are not kind superlatives to use in qualifying a politician, but they are the actual words which the masses often use to qualify a politician. The politician may not know this as most of them hardly interact with those they snobbishly refer to as common men.  If millions of Nigerians were asked to define a politician in their own words, they may variously come up with a plethora of definitions that may be considered befitting enough to be entered in any world-circulating dictionary.

Most people may define a politician as “One who promised to build good roads in his constituency if elected into political office but ended up junketing from one city to the other by means of air transport without constructing or fixing any road. “A politician is one who promised to build hospitals in his constituency if elected into political office but ended up seeking medical solutions in Germany, India, USA among other medically advanced countries for himself and family members at the expense of public funds.” He is also “the one who promised to build qualitative and affordable institutions of learning if elected into office only to resort to sending his children and close relations to schools in Europe and America.” To others, a politician is “the one that is entitled to a huge amount of money as security vote allowance even when his entire constituency is under the siege of insecurity.”

In the same vein, some see a politician as “the one that often prods his wife to host jamborees called First Ladies meetings and to accept civil service appointment even when his wife is not a career civil servant.  No doubt, a politician is seen from different perspectives by different people. In this part of the world politicians are not bothered about how the people see them.

In Europe and America, politicians are very mindful of their reputation that some of them cannot do without communication experts who are hired to manage their reputation. In fact, speaker or president of the parliamentary in the western world would with impunity, and in the hallowed chamber titillate fellow honorable members that they should be expecting the transfer of ‘enjoyment allowance’ to their respective bank account.

In my view, politicians are so important in the society that they should be very mindful of their reputation. No doubt, the conduct of a politician would determine whether he would have a good reputation or bad reputation. For instance, it is very sad for a politician that was once regarded as a man of integrity to suddenly become a man of “integreedy” while holding political office.

Politicians should avoid trouble, controversies, and scandals and serve the people that voted them into various political offices. The reason for this cannot be far-fetched as politicians are very important facilitators of national development, and they are the pivot around which socio-economic and political activities often revolve.

Meanwhile, I using this medium to encourage our politicians to begin to be mindful of their collective reputation. The reputation of a politician is the barometer which members of his constituency use in knowing how bad or good he is performing. Earning a good reputation is not by throwing money around but it is a function of good conduct.   Politicians should stop exhibiting an I-don’t-care attitude while in power as they would always go back to their constituencies to beg for votes.

In fact, the rationale for this opinion article became compelling for this writer when it is observed that the character of a typical politician in this part of the world has been marked with political dirt. Not a few Nigerians are of the view that our leaders lack honesty and seriousness, and that they lack seriousness in running public affairs.

Not only that, they are seen to only concentrate on the benefits they get out of political offices as they are more interested in the amount of money they will make therefrom. The foregoing public perception cannot in any way be pooh-poohed as our political elites do not care about the welfare of the citizens.

Without resorting to campaign of calumny in this context, our leaders have turned our country into a country of the few rich and the majority poor. They do not have the interests of the citizens at heart. According to them, it is all about me, me and me. They put their personal interests first. It is all about everyone for himself/herself and God for us all. The very leaders enforce unpopular policies in order to benefit themselves. Majority of our leaders have lost the concept of servant-leadership. Leaders aspire for leadership in public affairs not in order to serve the people but to serve themselves. Many of the so called leaders spend very little time serving the people. They spend most of the time doing their personal business. But when do they serve the people?

Given the foregoing putrid public perception of the politician, it is expedient to ask, “Do politicians care about who people think they are?”