By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel
Ever since we restored democracy, we have been governed by the same leaders who control the national politics and parties — be it Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Maoist Centre. People are fed up with the same old leaders who are bereft of innovative ideas and agendas.
In the present period of frustration, there is distrust, dissatisfaction, and anger among the people regarding the country’s politics, political institutions, and leadership in state matters. The roots of people’s dissatisfaction may be different, but the main anger seems to be directed towards the person or group that controls national politics.
A fair number of debates and discussions about the nation’s inability to kick off rapid economic growth are being held, and in those discussions, many of them are blaming the old incompetent leaders for all the flaws. They associate this problem with the number of incompetent leaders in the parliament, which seems ridiculous in the test of logic.
At present, there is no dearth of people who say that everything will be fine if ‘good governance’ is delivered and that rapid economic transformation is possible. They argue that Nepal will soon become a nation to reckon with, be it socially, economically, or politically. There is no harm in harboring such a perception, thinking that we will be a prosperous nation in no time. But as long as we are blessed with old and incompetent leaders, this is a far-fetched and imaginary dream.
Not only within the country, the people outside the country mock us saying that Nepal has just three leaders who control the politics and parties. This is manifested in the recent India’s visit of this author for personal reasons. During this pen pusher’s discussion with some Nepalese living in Eastern Indian states, the Nepalese diaspora mock saying that Nepalese politics is centered around three politicians — Sher Bhadur Deuba, KP Oli and Prachanda. Apart from these leaders, we do not have other leaders to lead the nation. Though this was a sort of sarcasm, this pen pusher could not deny the bitter truth.
In the name of holistic development, we promulgated the constitution through an august body — the constituent assembly. But these old and incompetent leaders have been leaving no stone unturned to manipulate the laws to remain in power by decree. It is imprudent to assume that there will be good governance laying the foundation for the overall development of the nation.
We cannot blame outsiders for the pathetic state of our nation. We also can point fingers towards any external actors saying that they do not want to see Nepal prosper. We are solely responsible for the pitiful state of the state affairs. During the election, these incompetent and old leaders bribe us with some gift hampers and cash. They offer us a laving lunch in a resort to vote in their favor. With some gift hampers and a lavish lunch, we lose our critical and rational thinking and as a result, we vote to elect the wrong person to suffer for the next five years.
Be it the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Maoist Centre, the old and incompetent leaders are the masters. The policies and programs are made by them without considering the adolescent leaders. If young leaders refuse to obey them, the young leaders will invite catastrophe for them ending their political career. Logically speaking, the old leaders are the authoritarian in running the party disrespecting the political and party ideology. Only in Nepal, we can find such unethical and immoral leaders.
Exception apart, we are endowed with leaders who have been governing us for generations. Neither do they have any substantial and innovative ideas nor do they possess any academic credentials which will make them stand out. Despite this, they claim that there is no alternative to them. What they generally possess is the sick mentality to loot innocent Nepali citizens in the name of politics.
In the case of Nepal, internal sensitivities, including geopolitical and institutional ones, have become so complicated that we do not know what will happen next. Can we still afford to create control chaos in the country by the external actors with a diabolic agenda? Can we allow our nation to be controlled and managed by external forces? The answer is a big no. The country belongs to all the Nepali. Should we ruin the country thinking that we are educated enough and our old and incompetent leaders are greater than the nation!
We have always created the false narrative that adolescent and young leaders will not be able to lead the nation. We should be swayed by such bogus narratives. At present, there are many countries which are efficiently led by young and adolescent leaders. Now we have to follow this suit. The sooner we come out of this slumber, the better.
No one has not committed a mistake here. We all are responsible for this sorry state of the country. However, if we do not learn from our past mistakes, setbacks and failures, we will not be able to hand over the nation to the younger generation in good shape- socially, economically and politically.
This country cannot be brought back on track by the ‘old and incompetent leaders’ If we keep trying, as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, we will end up in hell. And there too, we will fight about who is responsible for landing us in hell.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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