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Written by Prof. Mannixcs E. Paul, PhD, FCFIP, FCIML, FCECFI, FFAR
There is an old wisdom that says, “If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones.” It is more than a familiar proverb — it is a reminder that integrity begins with the choices we make when no one is watching. When public servants quietly build their wealth and secure properties far from the land that shaped them, it raises a serious question about their belief in the future of the very nation they represent.
Leaders who do this are not demonstrating confidence or foresight; instead, they reveal a deep uncertainty — a fear that their country cannot sustain them, or that the systems they influence cannot be trusted to protect them. It exposes a contradiction between the oath they swear and the decisions they make.
Patriotism is not measured by the length of a national anthem sung or the number of flags waved. It is measured by commitment — the willingness to invest in one’s own country even when the road seems rough. When leaders move their wealth abroad while their own people grapple with insecurity, unemployment, and failing public services, they send a quiet but painful message: “We do not believe in the nation we claim to serve.”
Public offices are never a license for entitlement. It is a sacred responsibility. Every leader owes a moral debt to the citizens — a duty to protect resources, strengthen institutions, and ensure that opportunities reach the many, not just the privileged few. When those entrusted with power divert public wealth for personal comfort, they are not only enriching themselves. They are stealing from the future — from the schools that should have been built, the hospitals that should have been equipped, and the communities that should have been developed.
But history has a long memory. Accountability, in one form or another, always arrives. It may come through a courageous generation, through institutional reform, or in the relentless judgment of time. What remains after all the wealth is counted is the legacy a leader leaves behind — whether one of service or of self-interest.
In truth, there is no substitute for home. The greatest expression of patriotism is not found overseas; it is found in the decision to build, invest, and retire in the place that first gave us identity. A nation becomes strong when its leaders choose to plant their roots in its soil, not uproot themselves for comfort elsewhere.
True legacy is built not by escaping one’s country, but by transforming it.
Courtesy of MEFoundation