There is a level of authority placed on the shoulder of a leader, to exercise according to set laws and policies. The ability to overthrow every other decision made, and make a decision that feels like he/she is acting like jury and executional. To be a leader is not an easy feat, always considering and weighing everyone's decision and knowing when to make decisions that might be contrary to everyone else's, risking opposition and conflict.
The crown of a leader is definitely something admiring but what it takes to keep it is the real struggle. In order to make leaders capable of making decisions and take actions, authority is given to them, this is known as veto power. Which can only be wielded by a leader when necessary. The society we live in had put a lot of measures in place to prevent tyranny, hereby enforcing all manners of division of labor, with power vested in each sector and each sector have it's own head.
Despite this, someone still have to sit at the top of the food chain. People like the president of a state, people with so much authority that it's terrifies those beneath them. The thing about having so much power or authority is that, it is capable of corrupting anyone. This is why systems are put in place to check this power, to make sure that whoever sits at the top is aware of who or whom they answer to. Which is one of the benefit of democracy, making every decision made a collective decision.
But then, there are times when the final say lies in the hands of a leader, a time when everyone has something to say. A leader is considered as someone who must make decision without being bias, even if the decision does not benefits him/her in any way. That is what it means to seat in the position of power. In situation whereby a country needs to declare war against another or lunch a nuclear weapon, the final say is in the hands of the president, as the chief of army staff.
Everyone might say otherwise but at that moment, the one decision that counts is the one of the president. Because the moment the decision made causes any form of devastating effect, people will look toward the president to take responsibility for his/her actions. It does not really matter who advised the president or the leader to take the decision at that moment, the moment someone needs to take the fall, believe me, the leader head will be placed on the chopping block.
This is the weight of veto power placed in the hands of every leader, as admirable as it might seem, to have the capabilities to turn down the opinion of others based on instinct, It is also capable of causing the downfall of a leader. Too many wrong decisions will make people start doubting a leaders ability to rule. And we all know, everyone is gunning to be the top dog, so it is the kind of position admired by a lot of people.
Is it the kind of power that should be vested in the hands of a single individual? I would say it is necessary. There are measures put in place, to ensure the decision is made after careful consideration. A leader can't just make a decision based on assumption, to an extent, it will be based on fact. It might be hard to believe, that doesn't mean other factions in the government won't see a degree of sense in the decision. In a working country, no leader can make decisions based on fairy tales, claiming he or she is exercising veto power. The idea would be vetted and scrutinized before it is considered.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Veto power in hive learners community.
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