The power struggle by Livy-Elcon Emereonye

The power struggle is neither a beauty contest nor a tea party. It is a battle for the strong-hearted where morality has no place.

Politics is a game of intrigues full of uncertainties. More like a Ponzi scheme, it comes with surprises – and one of the surprises is that the best candidate may not win the election.

In politics, propaganda is indispensable so sentiment rules over rational thinking. The more lies one can rebrand and repackage, the better because it is a game of falsehood where intelligent lies sell like wide fire. To prove a point, people will see black and call it white – and they can go to any extent to defend it.

The cheerful criminal with big pockets will most likely defeat the wealth creator that preaches creativity and dedicated honesty. In politics the end justifies the means. Some people don’t just sell their votes, they also sell their conscience to the highest bidder. It is a game most people play with their senses sedated.

Politics can be seen as the set of activities or the way the people living in groups make decisions. Ideally, politics should be about making agreements between people so that they can live harmoniously together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries but this is often not the case.

Worse than a fraternity, a political group can qualify as the gathering of a hypnotized people except that ideas and efforts are consciously tailored toward destroying an opponent to win the election. But for the greedy ones, the system can continue undistorted with the order obeyed to the letter. True party faithfuls are dependable allies but the black sheep like little foxes exist for destruction. They rape confidentiality and betray trust without blinking an eye.

Everything rises and falls on power – and politics is the means of getting and using power.

Politics is a thing of sagacity. It is a game of intrigue. Being a process towards governance, it is a serious business meant for the intelligent and smart ones.

Politicking is not only tough, but it is also expensive on all fronts. It takes time, money, and every other resource at alarming rates. Being very unpredictable, it can liquidate and crash the player. But it worth the effort if only one wins.

The dynamics, and the mechanics, of politics, are complex and temporal forces aimed at entrenching a current dominant interest. This is the reason for the view that there is no permanent enemy but permanent interest. With a common interest, strange bedfellows can converge and work together without putting aside their mutual suspense and distrust but may pretend they don’t exist again. However, anyone who believed this might live to regret it.

Ideally, power is meant to serve the common good but in reality, this is the case. There is always a personal or group interest to be protected. Real politics played in totality is like a double edge sword serving different purposes to different people at the same time. While the supporters are treated with benevolence, the opponents are met with rude opposition.

The existence of a fake is proof of the original. Because politics is the process through which power is sought, obtained and used, and done right it is worth the effort, misguided elements, and intelligent criminals can hijack it – and when this is done, bad governance with its resultant negative consequences dominate. Continued unchecked, things get worse and more people suffer. To avoid or curtail this, oppositions emerge. In other words, opposition should exist in every dispensation with freedom of speech that encourages criticism promoted.

Political ignorance is the worst form of ignorance, and being apolitical is the worst fate any man can bequeath to himself. Being indifferent to politics and political activities is like handing one’s life to an addict to abuse.

It pays to play active politics. Being involved in participatory democracy broadens one’s horizon and views, promoting absolute consciousness. To play politics, one must be conscious of himself, his environment, and his opponents. Rude politicians pamper their loyal friends but stop at nothing to deal with their enemies and opponents. It is dangerous to be at the middle point here.

We are political animals. We all play politics at least in the family and with ourselves. If you are not leading anyone, you are leading yourself. However, being a politician in the context of party politics is a different ball game.

A politician is a pragmatic fellow playing the game of sagacity in the enclosed world of permutation. More than anything else, he believes in the magical power of possibilities. He is always optimistic even in the face of the strongest and worst opposition. A good politician sees every obstacle as an opportunity such that every problem becomes a campaign topic. And when or where he fails, he fails forward, picks up the piece and moves on. Real politicians don’t give up.

The major characteristics of a politician the electorate should look for are competence and charisma. A good politician should be disciplined, creative, objective, courageous, reasonable, healthy, sound, intelligent, pragmatic, resilient, and humane.

Campaign is more of political marketing. A campaign is a planned set of activities carried out over a period of time in order to achieve something, in this case, political change. It entails among others lobby and propaganda. A good campaign strategy should be able to sell the politician, emphasize his charisma and competencies, publicize his laudable achievements, and popularize his manifesto. The politician must also undergo public speaking training and develop some degree of oratorical ability needed to address the public without losing focus. This way, he can be able to tell his own story by himself anytime, anywhere, if the opportunity comes.

The election is the climax of every electioneering process. Being the process of choosing and declaring the winner after a long period of the campaign, every singular mistake here spells doom for the affected candidate. It is during election results are falsified and candidates are rigged in or out so there is the need for caution and vigilance. An unserious agent and returning officer can mess up a candidate’s chances.

The true essence of power is to serve and solve problems but this is no longer the case as more problems than solutions have been created through the use of power by people of power. A fanatic in power will favour fanaticism and a terrorist in power will promote terrorism! When a mediocre is put into the position of authority above his ability, he will soil everything and everywhere with mediocrity, creating more problems – complex problems than he met.

The possession of power is the true test of life. Give a man power – absolute power and his true character will manifest. Nothing can bring out the worst in anyone than power.

Rational use of power for the good of the people is responsible for the meaningful development recorded in the annals of mankind. Good governance brings about peace, provides security and the conducive environment for meaningful economic activities and peaceful coexistence.

On the other, every abuse of power has contributed in no small measure towards making the state a sorry state. Every form of abuse has a way of producing a psychopath. And a psychopath with power is worse than a bull in a China workshop!