Seekers and Wielders of Power Will Never Be Faithful to You
By Ogiri John Ogiri.
Every time in each election year that a new political party or a new administration comes into power, a phenomenon, which many observers find both disturbing and disappointing, is set in motion. That phenomenon is the gale of defection. It hits every political party from all sides. No political party is immune to defection. Politicians indulge in it in order not to lose their closeness to the corridors of power. They engage in defection to the party in power for the purpose of interest alignment in order to continue to participate in the sharing of the largesse of power. " We are the ones in power" is a powerful self-assurance tool that every politician proudly brandishes before their contemporaries.
However, when they do this, most supporters who are emotionally attached to those politicians feel disappointed and betrayed. Others simply move with their leaders and life returns to normal. The second group has no emotional attachment beyond what enters and leaves their pockets. But a question usually on the lips of many is " why?" Why should politicians be so involved in political party prostitution that they forget the need to be ideologically inclined?
One of the possible reasons is that, in this part of the world, I mean Nigeria, many politicians may not understand the difference between an ideology and a 'pot of porridge.' This may explain why ideology usually ranks below the "pot of porridge" in their political choices. If, at all, they do know the significant difference between ideology and a pot of porridge, then, it means that they have chosen to ignore the necessity of having a strong ideology to fight for and to live by. Consequently, they cannot lay claim to an enduring ideology that gives them a strong reason to stay with a political party in good and bad times. In fact, the mantra " for better for worse" does not operate in power politics in Nigeria. It is a game of " what is in it for me?" and, "where and how can I get what I can get?" This is why I do not think that anybody should be emotionally attached to any politician; you will be disappointed if you do. To you, politics is an emotional phenomenon so you are emotionally attached; to the politicians, politics is a game of interest, so they are realistically attached. This is why every of their alignments usually tends towards the direction of such interests.
Finally, I think that politicians are not consistent because politics is, itself, inconsistent. As a subsystem of man's society, politics exhibits the perpetual characteristic of dynamism associated with a changing society. As a matter of reality, therefore, politics is associated with a continuous process of changing leadership. This has come to imply that those who play the game are always on the move in search of new opportunities for power. It is an endless pursuit, acquisition and utilization of power. So, man continues to drift towards power and wherever he can find it, he settles. I am tempted to call this phenomenon " Powertropism". (The suffix "tropism" was actually borrowed from the field of Biological Sciences. So I do acknowledge this). "Powertropism" for me is an act of moving towards power or being drawn to power.
It may be worth concluding albeit, appreciating that Man's insatiable appetite in the face of the limited resource of power available to satisfy this appetite is, invariably, at the heart of his inconsistent proclivity to seek power as a political animal.
The truth is, politicians will never be faithful, at least not in the foreseeable future. But be rest assured that they will always remain faithful to interest that drives their political choices. So, expect more carpet-crossing or party prostitution as our political progresses.
© Ogiri John Ogiri.
Ogiri John Ogiri is a student of Economics at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
#politics #PoliticalLeaders #partypolitics
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