For a start, hardly any member has knowledge of others regarding for instance, what qualities they may have that would be useful at the leadership levels of the organisation. Making distinctions between opportunists and those who bring genuine leadership and commitment to the organisation is a difficult task. Often, NGOs do not see it as their role to conduct a voter education exercise prior to the election. Yet, they expect the membership to elect the best leaders into office. The experience is not much different at the broader levels of local or national government in any country.
Opportunistic politicians make their appearances when they want to be elected.
They take advantage of the poverty that grips the electorate. In all this, hardly anyone gets to question what values these people are guided by. There are numerous examples in our midst of political leaders who in some settings are heroes while in their homes where their real characters are well known, they might be tyrants. Lately, for instance, there has been a proliferation of Human rights organisations in our midst. While there are a variety of internal as well as external reasons for this, many of them fall far short of the standards expected of them when it comes to observing the basic tenets of democracy and human rights.