2027: THE POLITICS HAS STARTED

By

Shehu Bashir Esq.

The game of politics is not like any other game. Except for the continuous existential rules of man which is largely biological, the affairs of governance of man is largely based on political power play. It is the second most important part of human nature. The affairs of our lives are ruled by worldly politics. We can rarely escape it.

The game is complex, very complex. Even in monarchy, it is even more complex. In Democracy, the transition from one dispensation to another comes with the need for transitional election. The desire to determine the outcome of that election often comes with all sorts of manipulations – mental, emotional, social, financial and economical.

Unlike any other game, as soon as the last election is concluded, the activity leading to the next political game begins. That even comes with so much intrigues and intricacies. Those who lost out in the last contest are out to either align with the winner or form opposition against the winner.

Those who played key roles in the successful outcome of the last election but who are not enjoying the reward of their contributors are either accepting their fate and holding up in trust to be so rewarded at a later time or are defiantly out in revenge, to either spill the beans or spoil the show. Take anything or anybody for granted at your own peril.

Loyalty is then given conceptual definition. What is right to person A may not be right to person B. The purpose of driving a cause becomes a subjective matter for argument. It is either the interest is assured, guaranteed in principle or granted in advance. Politicians will not do anything for nothing.

Politicians don’t wait for the next election circle to begin their next move. Those who won are immediately out to consolidate powers, to retain control. Those who lost are also out to restrategize and grab power from the incumbent by all means possible. No politician who wants to retain power or take power goes to sleep after the last elections.

As soon as the last elections of 2023 were concluded, 2027 began. Infact, some characters are even looking beyond 2027, having their eyes on 2031 ball already. That is the game of political quest even though the final say is always in the hands of the Almighty God.

Now that the game has started, make your intentions known and be bold about it. Do not engage in hide and seek. Let the public know where you belong and don’t be hypocritical about your intentions.

The outcome of any political contest is either a win or a loss. The outcome is rarely determined by any certainty, the people will always decide. The outcome of their decision will be determined by the wave of their mood, sentiment and the sincerity of their assessment.

Rebellion against the subsisting government does not always guarantee electoral victory just as incumbency, on several occasions, has failed in forcing its power on the people. The game is like a sword. It can cut with either blade.

Politicians are already out, deploying their arsenals, strategizing and executing their plans to capture the minds and the hearts of the people. More often, you will see them parading our space like guardian shepherds, ready to “sacrifice” their lives for our collective safety.

They will be talking to us like angel and seeking our emotional support. Their words will be cold and their character will be humble. The level of their generosity will be above bar and they will take all manners of insult just to “let my people go”.

They will be more available than ever. They will offer all kinds of help like “Good Samaritans” and render all manners of help even beyond their natural capacity. They will fly like angel and hide the evil in them. Their desperation to retain power or change the status quo, (to take power from the incumbent) will make them look like an unborn child with no crime against its name.

Their sanctimonious behavior will make you mistake them for an angel. Their silence will only be louder in treachery when they get what they want.

Very soon, they will flood the entire atmosphere to be guests of all occasions. They don’t need your invitation letter to show face and render unsolicited help. They will knock at your door even when you are sleeping.

The occasions they will attend, the clothes they will wear, the prayers they will offer, the public donations they will make, the meetings they will attend and even the traveling they will embark upon will be used for political purposes. They want to be seen as the “messiahs” who mean well for the people. They will claim to be th best among the rest. All that they do is for the purpose of winning the next election.

For those in power, they will be so desperate to retain their privileges just as the opponents will be struggling to take the power from them. There will be seemingly no devil among them nor would they be angel. The subject matter of their trajectory will be based purely on their political ambition. Their truth will be used to gain sympathy just as they will lie to claim innocence. It is all politics. They will promise heaven and earth but will offer hell on earth.

The sincerity of their purpose will be clouded with their desperate desire to get to power by all means. They may not necessarily say the truth but their lies will be used to package their shortcomings. The game is the game.

Even though some of them might have failed at their last test, they will still be boasting and promising an A Grade in performance if given a second chance.

As the game is starting and the atmosphere is getting charged, it is important to sound the caveat to the interested aspirants that the game is the game. This is the time to make open your ambition and align with your interest. Be decent in your approach and eschew all forms of violence.

It is important for us to be reminded that no one cares about your interest but theirs. Even when a politician or a political associate appears to be helping you, he may not be doing so for the love he purportedly has for you but for the assurance of his personal political interest.

If he finds you worthy as a “good mercenary”, who can cover up his lapses and give him upper hands in the contest, he will project you. If he finds your voice to be sonorous enough to attract more votes for his victory, he will enlist you to his camp just to use you. Immediately after the elections, he dumps you and patronizes other people who may not have necessarily added any value to his victory in the first place. Betrayal is integral to political power play.

Open your eyes so that you will not be a mere accessory to someone else’s success while you suffer treacherous neglect afterwards. Politicians are rarely cautioned by conscience. You may appear to them like a “giant” before election, they see you like an “ant” after the election.

Therefore, there is no crime if you play your own politics as it may favour you. Be smart at what you are doing and don’t be a mere conveyance belt for other people’s luggage.

Nigerian politicians are very good at using and dumping anybody. You must therefore calibrate very well and have a decent sense of ambition. Otherwise, they will package you to no destination in deception. Experience is the best teacher.

When they want you, they will be running up and down, seeking your help as voters and loyalists. Immediately they get what they want, they will be your lord, “temporal and spiritual” in arrogance, snubbing and haughtiness. Your phone call to them will become a disturbance and your cv will become mere paper in their bin. You must know what you are doing.

They will see your legitimate request for opportunity consideration as an “entitlement mentality”. They will rather prefer to shop for your replacement from among the people who will not have that “entitlement mentality”.

It is reasonable to sound another caveat that when you want to align, you must know what you want and with whom you want to achieve that. Associate with those who have your interests at heart with the highest chance of you all succeeding as a team. Don’t just be a number in the midst of people who see you as a mere figure. Make a great value out of yourself and assert yourself in honour.

Your alignment may come with old friends and you may choose to have new friends. Your decision should be based on real, realistic and realizable political outcomes. Do not gamble with your decision if you have slimmer chances of succeeding in your adventure. A miscalculation may send you to eternal political morbidity.

Politics is local. You must understand your locality before you announce your candidacy. No two political environments is the same. You must know the reigning kite to fly before you thread.

Whatever position you wish to contest for, it is possible that you may win if you have the right environment even against the existing status quo. But if your political environment has the majority against your new encampment, you should not dare to waste your resources unless you are just on a show biz to do a publicity stunt.

As for the followers of events and the spectators of the game, please be consciously reminded that there is no reason for you to take politics personally. Support whoever you like and allow others make their own choices. It is called democracy. The players have little concern about what becomes of you if in the event the unlikely happens.

Do not stake your life into a game that you are not in the first eleven. Do not make yourself the torch that will be burnt to light up a room that you may not be able to live in. All those who will contest from various political parties are merely on self-surviving voyage.

Only a few are true to their conscience to change the life of others when they get to power. Majority are out to enhance their socio-economic and political status and hand over the baton to their next generation.

In the course of this game therefore, you will find some people retaining their old shirt playing for the same team through which they won the last match. Some other will go on loan-transfer to another team (conditional -temporary transfer). The desire to win champions league will make a striker go on transfer to other team where he may likely win. Porting to another team is never a guarantee of victory just as retaining the old team cannot necessarily stand against a likely upset.

Upset is a normal phenomenon in any match. The supposed underdog of Atlanta 96 event became the champion of the tournament. Again, take anyone for granted at your own peril.

Please note, politicians are not always stupid, but out of desperations, they often make stupid choices. The choice is always yours.

Time will tell.

GOD IS HERE