Ghana's scarecrow leadership

A scarecrow or hay-man is a decoy of a mannequin in the shape of a human. It is usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/scarecrow)

In relation with the discussion I want to pursue, I define leadership as, a consensus to act in one’s stead. Based on the definitions given, a commonality by way of principle can be rationalized between a scarecrow and leadership; they both are a situation of acting in one’s stead.

A scarecrow is to, in the absence of the farmer, take charge of the affairs of a farm. Thus, deter all intruders that might want to prey on the cultivations of the farmer.  The leader consensually is to act and ensure that, the expectations of the masses whose trust have been entrusted in him/her could be achieved.

Characteristically, a scarecrow cannot be what it claims to mimic; the human being. It station goes not beyond where it has been placed. It only frightens, but not dangerous. It is just a mannequin of the actual human it cannot never be. This I refer to as the scarecrow syndrome.

The truth remains that, the significance of the concept underlining thescarecrow is never an optimised. A farmer comes the next day, just to realise his cultivations have been preyed upon. Sometimes even to the utter dismay of the farmer, cultivations much close to the created scarecrow equally has been preyed upon. The farmer will now realise that, it could have been better, if he did personally take watch of his farm.

The scarecrow syndrome has unfortunately taken grip of our life full human leaders. Leaders, who like the scarecrow, watch enormous wrongs happen, but they appear not to have a dint of solutions to them. In my reference to leadership, I do not only refer to political leadership, though they are worst of; but all and sundry.

Leadership at homes have become scarecrows in the upbringing of children. They feign ignorance to the wrongs of the little one,in the name of moral degrading rights of the child. The homes have become a haven for training “corrupt” future leaders; why then expect transparency where they lead (future leaders). “Why seek the living in the land of the dead?”

Parents are tight-lipped, even when their very much kleptomaniac figured off springs gets the chance at national leadership. Our leadership is very much reflective of the homes that bred them.     

In Japan, a scarecrow is known as kuebiko. Kuebiko appears as a deity who cannot walk, yet knows everything about the world. Without any malice intended to the people of Japan, this appears very much interesting. In our setting, the definition of Kuebiko perfectly fits for our kind leadership. We have leaders who appear to know much, but nothing. They are given the opportunity to act in the stead of the masses, and excuse and calculated lies are what they give in exchange for the inefficiencies.

Political leadership appears to have answers to the numerous challenges facing our nation; but not until they are out of office. How ironic.

Majority of so the called “honourables” are nothing less than an embarrassment to the title itself.

Corruption, erratic power supply (dumsor), rotten institutions … are few synopsis to how scare crowed leadership in our jurisdiction have become…one thing remains missing, the mimicked human being leadership.

Dzidula Junior/iNewsGhana.com