Why Do People Defend Leaders Who Fail to Deliver?

[Otaibayomi]

I've been thinking about something in Nigeria's political space. The cost of living, unemployment, and the everyday struggle to make ends meet are real concerns for the majority of people. Yet, even when people complain about these difficulties, some will strongly defend the same leaders they were expected to address.

Why does this happen?

Is it loyalty to a political party? Ethnic or religious identity? The belief that things would have been worse under another leader? Or are some people simply willing to endure present hardship because they believe things will eventually improve?

I also wonder whether we sometimes judge leaders by the promises they make rather than the results they deliver. Political loyalty is understandable, but shouldn't every leader be held accountable, regardless of party, tribe, or religion?

The present administration promised uninterrupted power supply before the end of the first four years that is almost over and that is far from coming to reality. It also said if not, we should not vote her in for another 4 years. This is more than enough to hold any government accountable. I don't think we should be blind loyalist.

I'm interested in hearing different perspectives, especially from Nigerians who have watched successive administrations come and go.

At what point should loyalty to a leader end and accountability begin? And what should citizens use to judge whether a government is actually delivering?

[BIT-BENDER]

Even the worse leaders in history has or had strong loyalist and followers that should not surprise at all, there was a man in India who worshipped the king of England, that is his own believe and so long that he has the right to do so then no one can tell him otherwise.
There are long list of reasons why people defend bad leaders from race, ethnicity, religion, admiration, background and this list can be unending with several weird reasons.

There are some people who believes that there is no good leader so they rather suffer with the devil they know, but the most common reasons are personal gains, many people benefit from bad leaders directly through cash or kinds even though in the long run it doesn't make sense their greed always makes them support wrongly.

[Sticky Bomb]

I've been thinking about something in Nigeria's political space. The cost of living, unemployment, and the everyday struggle to make ends meet are real concerns for the majority of people. Yet, even when people complain about these difficulties, some will strongly defend the same leaders they were expected to address.

Why does this happen?

Interests.... People tend to defend even what is bad because of benefits they're either getting it hoping to get directly out indirectly from the leader. Most of them later are later disappointed, but they always cling to false hope and keep supporting what's actually killing them.

Poverty has made some people vulnerable and always ready to throw in support over peanuts, the leaders always exploit that advantage while pushing a divide and rule principle to use ethnic bigotry to brainwash certain tribes to choosing and supporting the wrong candidate simply because they are from their tribe.

[Rockstarguy]

Politicians will always have supporters, even bad politicians. They have supporters who benefit from them, and this is why these supporters will continue to support them even if they are corrupt, because they believe that if a good leader comes in, they may not have the opportunity to make the money they are currently getting from corrupt politicians.

This is why I think politics is all about interests, because people will only support those from whom they benefit. There are some people who are genuine and support good leaders. The reason for supporting them is that they know every little effort they make will bring a positive result, and this is their own interest in supporting good leaders. Everyone has their own interests; this is why you would see supporters of both good and bad politicians.

[Cointxz]

This exact situation is happening in my country. We experienced the most corrupted funds in our history with proof that the administration is the culprit yet no one is getting jailed or investigated further aside from jailing a small time contractor.

Modern corrupt politicians are using troll armies on social media to support them while they are using cash assistance programs as a way to pay people for supporting them.

Money make people like a loyal dog especially in a 3rd world country where minimum wage is very low while inflation is high. Being a blind supporter and troll is a very good side hustle or full time job.

[Jackkwalkerr]

I think people sometimes defend leaders because of loyalty or fear that the alternative might be worse. But at the end of the day, results matter more than promises. Every leader should be judged by what they actually deliver.