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Land of 'netas' not 'leaders'

Abu Afsarul Haider
SINCE independence our country has had many 'netas' but is suffering a leadership drought. Leadership can be defined as the process by which a person influences others or a group of individuals to accomplish an objective and directs the organization or country in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. A good leader is a person with good communication and inter-personal skills, who can work with a range of other people, regardless of political opinion, to achieve goals for the country.
Today's politics and leadership tells us a different story. What we see is for some people, politics is family calling; for others, just business, a means to acquire wealth through the preferential allocation of contracts once in office. It is a commonly accepted fact that politics is the best profession that one can opt for if one aspires to make lots of money in the shortest possible time. Politics as a career is becoming lucrative in our country, and more and more people are getting interested in this profession. These 'netas' often claim that their politics is for the people and for the welfare of the country but in reality what we see is that many of them serve themselves upon being elected to serve the people. And many, if not all, find themselves on a magical rise to the highest rung of the social hierarchy. It is distressing and frustrating seeing those who was once a part of the general public, seeking votes from door to door, once elected become inaccessible to those who put them in the 'chair'. People are fed up of these "self-serving" netas, acting imperiously where citizens, rich or poor emerge bruised and
bear the maximum brunt, sometimes with loss of precious life. Some of these 'netas' are capturing the system by taking control of their local areas and amassing fortune through tender manipulation, drug trade, shady land and sand business and by extorting money from transport sector and putting the ill-gotten money in politics.
We do understand that money (funds) is essential for political parties to survive, compete, and carry on their activities, both during and between elections. But, unfortunately, there is no guideline on how parties should be funded, or on the regulation of contributions, expenditures and public disclosures. Taking this advantage, people with questionable credentials are coming to the frontline of politics. According to Transparency International Bangladesh report of October 2012, ninetyseven percent of the 149 sitting MPs were involved in "negative activities,” including being involved in or supportive of criminal activities, misuse of government funds and influencing government decisions. And seventy percent of them were engaged in "criminal activities" such as killing, land and river grabbing, extortion, tender manipulation. It is a definite indication that political standards are going down to abysmal levels. Nowadays, a mere clerical job without college degree is rare, whereas for holding public office there is no minimum education qualification required.
Today's politics is mainly driven by two things - power and money. Money wins elections, and the winners enjoy power. It is natural to assume that when a candidate who spends lavishly in elections will only focus on recouping his/her investment or by returning favours
to those who funded him/her after winning. Money also plays a central role in determining whose voices are heard in the political process. From local to national, the representatives of the people are expected to talk on the key issues of economic development, health, education etc, but instead most of the time they are seen criticising and abusing each other using offensive languages and cheap arguments. The decency and decorum once considered inseparable from the public offices are thrown to the wind; these elected netas would stoop to any level, for achieving their personal political aims or the interests of their parties. And as such we do not see any healthy debate or discussions on the issue that touches our lives directly.
The prevailing trend is spreading fast and if not treated, soon the nation will face dire consequences of a leadership crisis. All political parties’ talks about change but mere mouthing platitudes will no longer work; a revolutionary change is needed. The field of politics nowadays does not attract committed persons; political parties can change this scenario, first by stopping criminalization of politics, second by promoting honest, educated, service-minded people with passion, vision and knowledge who will put national interest first, then party interest, and then self-interest. For the country to progress we need leaders. 'Leaders', who would adopt a highly committed approach to politics, weed out all the wrong practices, oppose wrong traditions and at the same time be able to resist the various lures of the political arena, and be able to take on increasing responsibility.
The writer is a businessman.