Since the second Republic of Liberia was ushered in 1980, we have now seen the emergence of a personality to a position of trust, intentionally determined to break with the past. The “Dillon Effect” on politics in Liberia should be seen by all Liberians as an opportunity to rewrite the values we ascribed to the true meaning of leadership, which are defined by character and principles such as integrity, discipline, humility, self-control, respect, maturity, faithfulness, etc.
By Joseph Jimmy Sankaituah, [email protected]
These values underpin leadership effectiveness. It is these values that current and past leaders in politics, business, not-for-profit sectors, etc professed to have but failed to live by them in our country. My most admired leadership coach, John Maxwell was very right when he said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership”. He went further to indicate that self-awareness is a keep factor for leadership effectiveness. And I added that the first principle for leadership success is “clarity of thoughts”. If you do not know it, cannot conveniently express it, then you cannot achieve it.
Before Abe Darius Dillon (ADD) rose to the senate, he was fully aware of the unbending desire of some citizens to resist any attempt to expose the culture of secrecy in the House of Senate. Yet, he repeatedly expressed the determination to expose everything in secret not in the interest of the Liberian people; discussed and or decided. He knew it, conveniently expressed it and is therefore able to achieve it. ADD has taken some unprecedented actions to stand by his campaign commitment including exposing the salary and benefits of Senators in the amount of $15,000 United States Dollars per month prior to taking up his seat. It took over fifteen years for journalists as well as FrontPageAfrica the acclaimed investigative newspaper in Liberia to know the actual salary and benefits of senators. He also exposed receipt of $6,500 by each Senator (he included) done in secret as part of their benefits and also challenged a senate resolution signed by majority members to pass the recast budget in which he alleged that those who signed the resolution received bribes. The actions of the Liberian Senate have been hermetically sealed in secrecy from time to time and Dillon’s determination to expose them is annoying and undermines the chances of most Senators returning to the Senate after the 2020 midterm senatorial election.
ADD has now become the Quin-tai-mbo of the Liberian Senate. According to oral history, Mr. Quin-tai-mbo was a Liberian witchcraft hunter whose presence in towns and villages made the “witchcraft kingdom” to crumble. The Quin-tai-mbo of the Liberian Senate seems to be even more determined despite the threats directed at him daily by some of his colleagues. The ‘Kingdom’ is shaken, and witchcrafts are in their own hot waters. The Liberian Senate can be described as a ‘Kingdom of corruption’ based on what we now know from Dillion’s unstoppable insights.
The ‘kingdom of corruption’ buried in the culture of secrecy has been struck by the Dillon Effect in recent times. Therefore, the reaction of the sorceries in the kingdom is of no surprise that we see a Senator writes to complain to the plenary about the impact of the “Dillon Effect” on their kingdom. There is no doubt that the kingdom is shaken, terrified, undermined and confused. The sorceries are now getting to know and understand that Quin-tai-mbo is serious about reforms in that kingdom. What then is the Dillion Effect? Before then, It is important to remind the Senate that you cannot hide your incompetence because it does not need your permission to expose you. ADD does not need the permission of the senate to expose wrongdoings.
The “Dillon Effect” is therefore a political revolution in which an individual sacrifice his personal comfort for the good of the majority even if the majority do not believe in his or her perspective. How will the “Dillon Effect” impact the politics of Liberia now and in the future? The “Dillon Effect “should now be the new normal and the standard by which those interested in politics, business, not-for-profit and leadership in general should be judged and graded. It should be the known characteristics found in individuals over a long period of time before awarding them the trust of their communities to represent them anywhere.
Despite his under one year in the Liberia senate, ADD has shown determination by publicly declaring his assets and slashing his take home salary to $5,000. The rest of the salary goes back to the county for development through a committee. He is the first senator in modern day Liberia to take this unprecedent action in fulfilment of his campaign promises. He is also pushing for an audit of the senate something that has not happened since 2006 and advocating that voice vote (“nay” and “yea”) be abolished in the business of the senate. He is also pushing for a cap to be placed on the salary of public officials in the amount of not more than $5,000. These actions bring personal pain to some of his colleagues and what they represent in the Liberian senate.
Principles for the replication of the Effect to the wider political spectrum
According to George Bernard, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they cannot find them, make them”. The apparent way to replicate the ‘Dillon’s Effect’ is to change our attitude toward politics and the choices we make in life. We should get involved and engaged and everything else should be of interest to us. Our curiosity should grow while our emotions decrease. This is especially true as we move towards the 2020 midterm Senatorial election and the 2023 general and presidential elections. The entire Country need to elect fourteen additional Quin-tai-mbo along with the existing one to finally upset and destroy the ‘kingdom’. There is no doubt that few Senators are being influenced by ADD and they have wakened up. However, there is no guarantee that some will not be swayed over if they have access to power and resources beyond what they currently have and enjoy. I might be completely wrong! According to one of the current Senators (name withheld), he stopped his fierceness of advocacy for good governance because as he indicated, he had access to President Sirleaf after he was appointed as Superintendent of Sinoe County. If we reinforce the ‘kingdom’ with more of this kind of individuals who sway away from doing things right simply because they have access to power and resources, we will undermine the ‘Dillon Effect’.
The same motivation that will be used to determine the outcome of the midterm Senatorial election, should be used to also influence the general and presidential elections in 2023 where at least forty-five individuals should be elected maybe including very few of the current representatives. Those individuals should be people who have opened a “trust of account” over a long period in their districts in which citizens have deposited the “currency of trust” and are confident that their account will not be dormant or depleted once they have access to power or money, if elected.
How can the Dillon Effect be spread across the governance system of our Country?
The definition of leadership in Liberia is key to the socio-political and economic problems the country is facing. Most of those we consider for leadership are indeed professional manipulators with oppressive spirit and the capacity to emotionalise their kinsmen. We need leadership in politicians and not politicians in leadership. To expand the effect, we need to have respectable individuals elected in the Senate with qualities of leadership including self-control, personal integrity, steadiness, humility, humanity, and whose determination to get it right has been tested and proven. If the Liberian people elect men and women of high repute and they enhance their oversight, representation, duty of care, due diligence, control of the confirmation of appointed officials, the executive will be constrained to also appoint men and women of similar repute to other branches of the government .
In his book Understanding Business Values and Motivations, Dr. Ira Wolf (2004) reminds us about the “Attitude Virus” which symptoms include indiscipline, lack of motivation, rudeness, greediness, self-glorification, etc. This “attitude virus” corrupts most Liberians when they have access to power and money. Therefore, Liberians need to test the character of individuals before trusting them with power – especially those who run for elected positions. How then do we test them to know if they do not have symptoms of the “attitude virus” before entrusting them with power and authority? First, we should examine their appetite for money and other resources. Secondly, do they have strong desire for fame? Are they willing to do the right thing even if they will lose their fame? And finally, examine how they use whatever power they had in the past and how the use of that power impacted those with whom they worked and engaged. In his book Attitude is Everything, Keith Harrell (2003) argues that “values are standards by which characters are formed and people gravitate toward what they care about or what they love”. If your incoming Senator has a high degree of appetite for food, drink, money and is a lover of fame and power, you might as well be on your way to regret again. “DON’T SAY I DID NOT TELL YOU”
Finally, the Dillion Effect is becoming a wave that might sweep across the political spectrum. It is the responsibility of my generation first and every Liberian to push across this wave and get involved by expressing our thoughts in writing, and by building and creating networks of support for a brighter future for our beloved Liberia.
Mr. Joseph Jimmy Sankaituah is a highly motivated and experienced leader in program management with strong expertise in implementation of conflict transformation projects in West Africa. He holds a Master of Science degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Liberia. He continues to contribute his thoughts to enhancing the political enlightenment of the Liberian society.