Although Cameroon is currently going through multiple sociopolitical crises due to a wide practice of egocentric and authoritarian leadership which has led to widespread corruption, poverty, nepotism, ongoing violence, loss of life and destruction of property, it can break out of this vicious cycle through the practice of servant leadership. Servant leadership is a unique leadership paradigm which focuses primarily on the well-being of those being led/served. Unlike authoritarian leaders, the servant leader walks in integrity and intentionally seeks to serve those they lead , with the goal of empowering them to accomplish great things for themselves and the organizations they serve. The results of authoritarian and egocentric leadership in Cameroon so far, has been an increase in sociopolitical unrest, as government continues to fail to address issues in a timely manner due to a leadership paradigm which serves an individual rather than the people. One of the objectives of a servant leader is to empower those they serve, with the goal of achieving greater results through the creation of an environment of mutual respect, service and integrity. Cameroon would therefore benefit from true servant leaders, who put the needs of the people and the interests of the nation ahead of their personal interests. Quoting Ken Thomas, “Servant leadership turns the power pyramid upside down. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people. At the root of servant hood is humility” (2017).
Cameroon can solve its current sociopolitical crisis through the practice of servant leadership instead of the current widespread use of authoritarian, self-centered leadership. Whereas dictators (authoritarian leaders) rule by decrees and generally fail to take the opinion of their people into consideration, servant leaders seek to communicate efficiently, model integrity and show that they truly care for the people under their sphere of influence. Early on in the current crisis plaguing Cameroon, the leaders of various civil organizations requested for dialogue with the Government concerning among others, issues of discrimination, nepotism and corruption. Cameroon's centralized leadership however, roundly dismissed this, possibility perceiving it as an attack on their authority. The situation has now degenerated to a veritable crisis with international organizations such as the International Crisis Group sounding an alarm calling for an urgent dialogue between the Government and leaders of dissenting groups ("Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution", 2017). This call has so far been largely ignored by the Government, which opted instead for the use of force to quell down any popular uprisings.
Servant leaders seek to empower others by prioritizing the interests of those being served. In order to understand the needs of those being served, servant leaders need to grow in their ability to understand and empathize with them (Spears, 2005). Mahatma Gandhi was an example of a Servant Leader, who was able to put his people first, enabling them to accomplish great things. During his resistance "salt march" against British oppression, he demonstrated a deep commitment to the opinion of each individual he met (Tubbs, 2015) and not just that of his close collaborators. If Cameroon's leaders truly prioritized the interests of those being served, they would have humbled themselves to sit at the negotiation table with citizens who are worried about the direction of the country due to their leadership failures. Instead, they engaged the military to track down and quell every form of dissension against the government. This has only served to worsen the crisis as some citizens have now taken up arms in self-defense.
The most important reason Cameroon can solve its current sociopolitical crisis through servant leadership, is because servant leaders focus on others rather than on themselves. This is radically different from the self-serving egocentric authoritarian leadership paradigm, which is widely practiced in Cameroonian Government institutions. This ineffective form of leadership is generally focused on a single individual who wields and centralizes power and authority on themselves. The direct result of this form of leadership is slowness in execution of projects that can benefit the community as only one person or a small group of people, are empowered to make almost all major decisions.
In conclusion, although other leadership forms are equally valid, Cameroon can solve its current sociopolitical crisis through servant leadership for two main reasons. First, servant leaders seek to empower others but most importantly, servant leaders focus on others rather than on themselves. A natural first step will be for the current leaders of the nation to truly decentralize power and humble themselves to a sincere dialogue with the different civic organizations which have great influence over the people. This process of conflict resolution, will have to be preceded by emphatic listening which will help leaders consider the view point of others while helping them consider and evaluate their personally held biases (Zisa, 2013), which may be hampering peace.
References:
Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution. (2017, December 21). Retrieved from https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/cameroon/cameroons-anglophone-crisis-dialogue-remains-only-viable-solution
Spears, L. C. (2005, August). The Understanding and Practice of Servant- Leadership [Scholarly project]. In The Understanding and Practice of Servant- Leadership. Retrieved fromhttps://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/sl_proceedings/2005/spears_practice.pdf
Thomas, K. (2017, November 08). Leadership Advantage: Servant leadership. Retrieved fromhttp://landscapemanagement.net/leadership-advantage-servant-leadership/
Tubbs, R. C. (2015, April 19). Gandhi the Servant Leader. Retrieved from http://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2015/04/19/gandhi-the-servant-leader/
Zisa, J. (2013, June 20). Listen to Serve: Servant Leadership and the Practice of Effective Listening. Retrieved fromhttps://www.greenleaf.org/listen-to-serve-servant-leadership-and-the-practice-of-effective-listening/
