By Douglas Ogbankwa
Politics is the madness of many, for the benefit of few -Alexander Pope
The Nigeria game of thrones is a unique one that could marvel even the original creators of the game itself. It answers issues that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. It was Dr. K.O. Mbadiwe the intellectually audacious First Republic Politician and NCNC Chieftain that aptly captured the Nigerian Political Tragedy in the following aphorism:
Man is living a false lifestyle in a wrong society, a society, where morons are barons, a Society where thieves are chiefs, and a society, where monkey dey work baboon dey chop.
In situating the Nigerian Power Jigsaw, Professor Adebayo Williams who I must concede first used the title of this article posited inter alia thus :
Power in Nigeria is controlled by the 3 Bs: Bullet, Ballot, and Bottom Power
The Politician goes to a rally with some Youth and goes to the inauguration ceremony dinner with his children. How many times have you seen the child of a politician in a rally? But he or she is the major beneficiary of the process. During the election period, Youth are armed to fight for Politicians and after the elections, the politicians now run a system that put the youth in jail. That is why you see that after every major election in Nigeria, there is a major insurrection in a part of the country. Examples are the Odi Crisis, the Niger Delta Crisis, the Crisis in Benue, the Boko Haram Crisis, the IPOB Agitation, the Bandits in the North, the Kidnappings on our highways, Banditry in the North, the MEND Agitation, the ISWAP Fighters, they were all spurned up by our Political Leaders one way or the other. When you start a wildfire, sometimes you can not control it. So in Nigeria, the ballot, the bullet, and Bottom Power are the drivers of Nigerian Political Tragedy Contemporaneously.
It was Oscar Wilde that once posited thus :
Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power
The Bottom Power Element will surprise you. It will interest you to know that the June 12 Crisis started over an ego trip between the late Maryam Babangida and Kudirat Abiola, both wives of Ibrahim Babangida and MKO Abiola respectively. The Presidency or absence of the same was ultimately determined by passion. Every war that is worth its salt in this world, was caused by the struggle for a woman. The Struggle for a woman is an extended form of the struggle for power. If you were a young man, I would advise you to avoid women of power, or else the power of a woman consumes you. There are people that can leave their millions, cars, and houses with you, but when it comes to women: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
Forget about the fact the corrupt persons were after Nuhu Ribadu, Nuhu made a big mistake, he choose to struggle with a woman with one of the major elements of Shehu Yar’Adua’s Government.
It was Leonardo Di Vinci that said: Nothing strengthens authority more than silence
You do not see the real people that have power in Nigeria and you do not hear them. This Young man told Nuhu Ribadu how he will be phased out of power and his being phased out, followed every way he boasted about it. The same scenario repeats itself even now, all around the world. It was John Jesen that said:
History is past politics and politics is present history.
Be careful when some persons boast. There are those that boast but are empty, ignore those. But there are those that boast and they mean what they say and say what they mean. Ignore those at your peril. It was Renee Ahdieh that posited in The Rose & the Dagger, that :
The power behind words lies with the person
But there are those that do not boast at all but are very quiet. Their anger is depicted is in loud but gory actions. Most times when everyone has forgotten. They are those that posit that revenge is better served as an ala carte, while it is very cold . They are the Mafia Managers. An Anonymous Russian Constitutional Expert captured the Russian Dictatorship under Russian President Vladimir Putin thus :
Different Countries have their different Constitutions, but ours is absolutism moderated by assassination
Assassination is an Official Policy of many Governments of the world. In some countries of the World, those that kill, are also those who will do the investigation. They try to make it simple. It is like asking the thief to look for a missing item.
The Power Puzzle in Nigeria is a complex mix of the unimaginable. It is like Clint Eastwood’s Hollywood Blockbuster: The good, the bad and the ugly
When you engage those in power, be careful how you renege on your promise, change agreements, or squill classified information. You may never have another opportunity to do any of the above or make any amends. Also, give anything you do on the big stage your best shot, because: You do not have a second time to make a first impression.
Forget about the Razzmatazz of inaugurations: the rhetorical speeches and flamboyant parades. It is like the facade of a White Wedding looking glamorous, but far from the reality of marriage.
In summarising the Nigerian Political labyrinth, I anchor with this apt, but deeply inquisitive aphorism of Dr. K.O. Mbadiwe thus :
When the come, comes to become, what becomes of the come?
About the Author :
Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., @ Douglas [email protected]. , Lawyer Policy Affairs Analyst, and Writer is the Convener of the Intellectual Hub and the President of the Benin Writers’ Society.
