Role of Character-Leaders in Development as Depicted in Swahili Literary Texts

Abstract

It has always been believed by the majority that elected leaders are a necessary component in the development of any country and more so in the developing world. This is so strong in that leaders are elected by their people through a competitive election because they believe they will influence economic development positively. Writers of literature are born and bred in the communities where they equally participate in the process of electing their leaders. Thus, when they write about the maxima or minimal roles played by these leaders in impacting economic development, they are believed to portray a true and to some extent a believable picture of the state of development in their respective communities. In this respect, this paper analyses the role played by the elected leaders in the realization of economic development in the third world as portrayed in selected Swahili literary texts. To achieve our main objective, the paper surveys the challenges of the third world and shows how the elected leaders tackle them to realize economic success. The paper concludes that elected leaders have downplayed their role in enhancing economic development and the result is underdevelopment experienced in the third world worse than that of the colonial leaders