POLITICAL BLIND FOLLOWERS AND SERVICE BLINDNESS: THE EFFECTS ON CITIZENS
In every failing democracy, behind every underperforming political leader, there exists an army of blind followers; men and women who cheer injustice, justify mediocrity and excuse failure in the name of party, ethnicity, or personal loyalty. These are not just supporters, they are enablers of destruction.
And what do they produce? A system of service blindness, a society that no longer knows what good governance looks like, and has grown numb to what it truly deserves.
WHO ARE POLITICAL BLIND FOLLOWERS?
Blind followers are those who:
• Defend leaders, not leadership.
• Worship individuals, not institutions.
• Justify every action of “their man” even when it is criminal, divisive, or shameful.
• Attack critics as enemies, rather than engage in sober reflections.
• Vote based on identity, not performance.
Their motto is: “As long as it is our person, anything goes".
WHAT IS SERVICE BLINDNESS?
Service blindness is the normalisation of failure. It is:
• Applauding ribbon-cutting ceremonies, while hospitals lack medicine.
• Hailing boreholes sunk, while children sit on the floor in classrooms.
• Celebrating token gestures, while roads are death traps.
• Mistaking propaganda for progress.
It is blindness to the very reason government exists to serve the people.
EFFECTS ON CITIZENS
1. Collapse of Expectations.
Citizens no longer believe they deserve more. They aspire to crumbs instead of demanding their rightful share.
2. Erosion of Accountability.
Leaders perform for applause, not for impact because the crowd will still clap, even in darkness and hunger.
3. Societal Division.
Blind followers see critics as enemies. Constructive conversations are silenced, and polarisation becomes permanent.
4. Suppression of Truth.
When service blindness spreads, truth becomes offensive, and deception becomes strategy.
5. Permanent Underdevelopment
Nothing truly changes. Projects remain abandoned, lives remain wasted, and hopes die young.
CONSEQUENCES
• Democracy becomes theatre.
• Governance becomes deception.
• Progress becomes illusion.
• Citizens become beggars, not stakeholders.
A society where political loyalty is blind and service delivery is invisible, is a society marching proudly towards stagnation and self-destruction.
REMEDIES
1. Political Re-orientation.
People must learn to love truth more than they love personalities. Support must be earned, not inherited.
2. Performance Over Party.
Judge leaders by their impact, not by identity. If they don’t deliver, replace them no matter their names.
3. Educated Voting, Not Emotional Voting.
Elections are not tribal wars. They are sacred opportunities to choose direction, development, and dignity.
4. Citizen Empowerment.
Raise communities to ask questions. Let the people see the link between their taxes and their schools, their votes and their roads.
CONCLUSION
Political blind followers are the backbone of bad leadership. Their claps drown out the cries of the suffering. Their cheers embolden the corrupt.
But a day will come when hunger bites and hope disappears and they will realise: loyalty to failure is betrayal of the future.
Let us open our eyes, demand service, and honour leaders only when they honour their people. Anything less is slavery in disguise.
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