The dangers of ‘yes’ men’

Aug 16, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – During the five-month period when Guyana was treading water while waiting for the elections results, I wrote a column about the signposts of dictatorship and warning that if it should return to Guyana under the APNU+AFC, parents should get their children out of the country as fast as they can.

I noted then that Guyana had found itself in its present predicament because the older generation – the same ones who like to lecture young people about what is right and wrong – condoned political dictatorship because of ethnic loyalties.

I recalled how the economy shriveled under dictatorship, corruption was rampant and discrimination was the order of the day. A return to those days is not something anyone should welcome, regardless of which political party you support.

I cautioned that it was important for persons to recognize the early-warning signs of dictatorship. It is important they understand how dictatorship incubates itself and the early symptoms which can point to the later emergence of this full-blown political disease.

I recapped that Walter Rodney in a speech-entitled “People’s Power, No Dictator” had provided some pointers. Today I just want to repeat two of those pointers, not because we are anywhere near political dictatorship but because we have to be on the lookout for certain tendencies that are common to dictatorship and authoritarian rule.

First, is the cult of personality in which leaders behave as if they are superior beings. Rodney noted that Idi Amin considered himself a physical and intellectual giant. Amin even once challenged the great Muhammad Ali to a fight. Eric Gairy, a Caribbean dictator, dabbled in the occult and harboured illusions of being an expert in science.

Burnham created his own cult of personality. His loyalists spread the myth that he was a superb orator, before Eusi Kwayana exposed his mimicry of Churchillian pauses. Burnham’s picture adorned the covers of exercise books which were distributed free to school children.

Dictators and would-be dictators are obsessed with pomp and pageantry. Burnham, for example, dressed himself, quite ridiculously, in a General’s uniform, even though his military skills could hardly command a boys’ scout.

Modern day egotists erect billboards. Wherever the people go, they are confronted with these huge images of the leader and the supposed good works that he or she does.

But perhaps the most worrying feature is the tendency to surround oneself with mediocrity, opportunists, lackeys, boot-lickers and stooges. Burnham had many of these around him who, if he kicked them in the butt, would thank him for the compliment. It is said that one Christmas morning he sent for the head of a government corporation. When the man arrived, Burnham told him he had a headache and wanted him to get some aspirin for him. This is how Burnham humiliated those around him and, in so doing, kept them in line.

Any leader needs advisors and confidants to help him or her make decisions. However, when politicians surround themselves with sycophants and “yes” men who cater to their leaders’ ego and desires, rather than providing impartial and critical analysis, they are doing disservice to their political masters.

Politicians who surround themselves with sycophants are creating an echo chamber. They only hear their own opinions coming back to them. This shields them from criticism, including constructive criticism, which they may need. Eventually and especially during period of crisis, the leader is being told what the ‘yes’ men want him or her to hear and in the ends up creating an alternative universe with alternative realities that is detached from the actual happenings.

The presence of “yes” men in a politician’s inner circle distorts the decision-making. This can lead to rash and ill-advised decisions that can have negative and far-reaching ramifications.

Sycophants are often motivated by their own personal interests. A good test of their loyalty is to withdraw their privileges perquisites and power and see whether they will remain faithful or begin to backbite.

When advisors prioritize personal aggrandizement over candid advice, they end up offering self-serving advice that hurt the fortunes of their political masters. They are more interested in currying favour than offering the right advice.

All political leaders, ironically including dictators have to be vigilant about surrounding themselves with ‘yes’ men and ‘yes’ women. The ones who should be more trusted are those that are fearless enough to not echo what the leaders claim or want but rather are prepared to go against the grain and to provide, at times, constructive criticism.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• APNU+AFC, dangers, Guyana, lecture, parents

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