**10. The profitability and corruptibility of political leadership**

Political leadership represents the hope of the citizenry for societal progress and advancement. When political leadership is gotten right, no one misses out of the benefits. This calls for using crucial and well thought out processes to selecting such leaders. When the process is right, we can readily get the right political leaders in position. So also, when the process is flawed, we get to tolerate and endure flawed leadership. Political Leadership must be laced with the right leadership ingredients so as to get profitable outcomes for the citizens, location notwithstanding. Ingredients such as empathy, vision, uprightness, accountability, hard work, charisma, integrity honesty, mentorship, inter-relationship skills, conflict resolution capacity and so on.

There must be stringent laws, ethics and ordinances to guide all political office holders not to fall below the minimum expectation when it comes political positions. The outcomes of their political leadership must be made serious by way of regular accountability and consequences by law enforcement agencies for erring parties. This is crucial, as were the laws concerning political office becomes weak the political leader is at liberty to go overboard with his excesses. In the words of William Pitt "*Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know, my lords: that where laws end, tyranny begins".* This preceding act has been the bane of unprofitable leadership in developing countries.

To make laws weak or impotent, is to indirectly empower corruption. The weakness of laws and the justice system of any nation is what empowers corruption. Once corruption can thrive within a political leadership space, the productivity of such leadership begins to erode. Consequently, when the political leadership class of a country espouses corruption, it becomes difficult for it to act positively to the benefit of the state and its citizens [10].

#### **11. Case analysis on the corruption effect**

As defined simply by Lewis [11] the phenomenon of corruption is referred to as "an impairment of virtue and moral principles".

Because the scenario as obtained in developing countries has painted a picture were political leadership is the path to easy wealth accumulation, corruption has become a systemic and institutional issue in most of these countries. Take for instance the continent of Africa where you have a large proportion of developing

#### *Political Leadership and Financial Emoluments: A Case of Developing Countries DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97524*

countries, a detailed investigation analysis will reveal that most of its leaders (rulers) have occupied those positions for an average of not less than fifteen (15) years. Were the period is less than this, it is possible to have a leader who has lead sometime in the past but has again returned to power. More often than not, this insatiate disposition stems from the quest to acquire possessions inordinately using such office. They forget that they were voted in or appointed to be good custodians of the nation's resources. As regards the above scenario, the case of Zimbabwe comes to mind. There, you had a man who had ruled a nation for 30 years and counting, but was unwilling to relinquish power. What could make a man so stuck on a political position after three decades, if not corrupt practices. This does not totally exempt the developed nations of corrupt political leadership, but we can deduce that it is not to the degree found in developing and underdeveloped nations.

A country like Nigeria who at present, ought to be the economic and industrial giant of Africa, has failed to assume this position for no other reason than highly institutionalized and syndicated corruption. Right from the pre-colonial (before 1960) era till now, the phenomenon has kept rearing its ugly head unchecked. From laws that give immunity coverage to political office holders to skewed election outcomes in favor of those with large treasure chest and in control of the treasury, the spate of corruption in high places has gone on unabated. A survey on the level of corruption in Nigeria carried out in 2003 by the Institute of Development Research of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria ranked political parties in the country third in the list of thirty most corrupt public institutions in Nigeria [12].

It therefore means that if there is be any meaningful change in the political leadership outcomes of developing nations, there must be a head on approach to corruption; financial corruption as a matter of fact.
