WHAT DRIVES YOUR LOYALTY?
The word “Loyalty” undoubtedly has become one of the most important and appealing words to an average Nigerian politician. They can reward it with fortunes, they would give anything to reward the loyalist. All they need is to be satisfied that you are loyal and there you go.
Rewarding loyalty is an antediluvian practice. In fact, God is the originator of this practice, he rewarded Abraham with Isaac and so on. So, it is very safe to say rewarding loyalty has the blessings of God. After all, a labourer deserves his wages.
Consequently, it has become an avenue for some people to rip off. A lot of persons now feign loyalty only as a means to an end. They pretend to stay with a cause just to get the reward for loyalty which more often than not comes big. That is the kind of loyalty that holds sway today, especially in political realms.
False loyalty!
False loyalty is driven by pecuniary gains and alimentary interests; it is characterised by sycophancy. It could last for as long as the patience of the false loyalist can bear. It appears in the similitude of true loyalty but furtively beneath it are selfish considerations. It is mostly exhibited by venal characters.
Every true loyalty is driven by Ideals, common recognition, similarity of purpose/interest and of course, passion. True loyalty is not driven by gains. It goes beyond what benefits that follow. It is voluntary, it is a selfless enterprise.
If he does not share same recognition, passion, ideals, interest and purpose with you, then he certainly cannot truly be loyal. True loyalty will change only when those ideals and values that drive it change.
As Mark Twain puts it; “Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it. ”
Yes, all true loyalists understand that loyalty to a cause is constant (all the time) but loyalty to a man is dependent on his disposition to the cause (when he deserves it)
The big question therefore is, What drives your loyalty?