Bogonko Achenchi

Leadership By Deception Bogonko Achenchi

We live in a world where we have been infected with ideas that we must always endeavor to maintain peace and stability among ourselves. The promotion of this culture is perpetuated by the application of peaceful co-existence principles. However, in this same culture where values of harmony and cooperation are promoted, we are trained to be peaceful but forget that we are also faced with systems that are perpetuating evil. To be able to survive in this systems, we must learn how to deal with these evil systems by the application of strategic maneuvers. The naivety of this belief can be illustrated by the Fable of "The scorpion and the frog." First, what is this fable about? The Scorpion and the Frog is an animal fable about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung during the trip, but the scorpion argues that if it stung the frog, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog agrees and begins carrying the scorpion, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is "its nature." The fable is used to illustrate the position that the natural behavior of some creatures is inevitable, no matter how they are treated and no matter what the consequences. It is also used to illustrate that a person (frog) is to blame for the trouble they are in if it was caused by associating with another (scorpion) they know to be no good. But, you might be wondering, is this fable really applicable in the present world. The answer is an affirmative yes. Our association with the people that we come across in life; work, home, and other environments potentially have the ability to either destroy us or build us up. In essence, therefore, the scorpions are all over and if we are not careful, we end up doomed. The persuasive nature of the "scorpion" is too alluring such that we are often led to the slaughter house even when our suspicion index is high. It is no wonder that most of us are suffering the wounds that are self-inflicted. The "verdict" is that we must always be on the look-out for these scorpions in our midst. These scorpions are the deceptive leaders, friends, and family members. Their alluring nature is predicated upon the concept that we have the duty and responsibility to maintain harmony among and between ourselves. Inherently, we are all selfish and are motivated by one desire; gaining and maintaining power by hook or crook. Sometimes, very smart people forget that some people are not their friends. The people can be your friends for a while and against your common enemies, but eventually they will sting you just as the scorpion stung the frog in the famous fable recounted above. This lesson seems to be playing out again today in an obscure work power play, and the lesson it contains should teach people that some people are not their friends and should not be recruited as allies.