If there are two
things that everybody wants more of, it’s money and power. Both are intricately
linked. The more money you have, the more power you have and, it goes the other
way also; the money always follows the power.
Power makes things happen. Power allows
the wielder to act. Power is the ability to do. Power moves things.
There are different kinds of power –
physical power, chemical power, spiritual power et al. However, the true power,
the one that makes a difference in social relations is, political power. On the
macro-level, it is the force that arranges social hierarchy. In other words,
the rulers at the top of society and the slaves at the bottom. On the
micro-level, it is the force that arranges hierarchy within groups; it decides
who leads and who follows. Both on the macro and micro levels it decides who
does the sharing of resources.
In Africa, from antiquity, power has
always been an issue of great importance. It is not different from other societies
where the struggle for societal control dominates social life. In Africa of
antiquity, there were only two ways or, a combination of two ways, by which an
individual can acquire political power. First, through the agency of the
warrior and, second, through the agency of the shrine.
The agency of the shrine is the avenue through which all forms of
political leadership came into being. This is universal. All societies in antiquity
had been initially led by the priesthood class.
Those who had access to the unseen
realms or, claimed to have access to it, led all primary societies. This is
because early societies had limited knowledge of their environments. There
were so many things they did not understand. The man or woman who could rationalise
what was happening around them automatically led the group.
In fact, pretensions to democratic ideals in recent times has not changed this scenario. It seems that any form of political power sends the power wielder into a form of drunken madness. - Ayo Sodipo
Political power revolves around decision-making and the sharing of resources. Those who gravitated towards the
priesthood were naturally more intelligent and less intimidated by their
environment. This gave them social hegemony. Their power came from their
ability to manipulate the fears of the group.
However, along came the man of violence. His
natural endowments automatically made him feared in his group and, this gave
him rights in the acquisition of the group’s resources. The “priest”,
recognising the need for such an individual, both for the group’s survival and
their continued place of prominence in it; bonded with him to form the first
royalty.
In Africa, the surest path to political
power was through the agency of the warrior. This has always been how it is,
and the advent of colonialism did not change anything. The nature of this
power-matrix seems to be ingrained in the psyche of the African. This is that political power is transferred only at the death of the power wielder.
Thus, the moment the colonialists left
and self-rule was attained, practically all countries in Africa became
dictatorships. The educated elite that took over from the European overlords
suddenly dropped any pretence to democratic ideals and, wore the toga of
traditional demi-god royalties. Any form of criticism was frowned upon and usually
attracted harsh sanctions, and; any form of opposition to the government, the ruling party, or ruler was considered to be treason. The penalty for this was
death and, this sometimes included the family and friends of the erring party.
It is this rabid intolerance to any form of opposition that led to the many
and, continuing fratricidal wars and conflicts that have plagued the continent.
In fact, pretensions to democratic ideals
in recent times have not changed this scenario. It seems that any form of political
power sends the power wielder into a form of drunken madness. The nature of the
personality change is always immediate and radical. Campaign promises are
forgotten immediately. Predecessors are demonised and hounded into prison,
exile, or death. Moves are overtly made for self-perpetuation. And, the cycle of
demonic infantile rascality, conspicuous consumption of the country’s resources
and, egomaniacal personality shifts start over.
That disputes and struggles for power
have made Africa remain grounded in the quick-sands of underdevelopment, is
an understatement. Despite the enormous riches in human and material resources,
the continent has remained rooted in the contradictions of visionless
leadership. Leaders who espoused clear and meaningful plans jettison them in
drunken madness the moment they come to power. All their focus is now placed on
how to pocket the country and die in power. This is pathetic.
The great masses of the African continent
are left with little choice but to promote pro-democracy elements and, hope
they don’t become tainted with madness. The implications for the continent if
things continue the way they are are too dire. Already, masses of African youths
are risking their lives in perilous journeys to Europe rather than remaining in
the land of their births. These are some of the best and brightest. They would
rather chance desert crossings, slave selling gangs, and hazardous sea crossings,
than stay at home in hopelessness.
Things just have to change. I recommend
the administration of anti-mad dog serum to all political officeholders.
