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Conservatively, ten percent of politicians in Ebiraland are born, through no fault of their own, sociopaths. Sociopaths do not have the capacity for empathetic feelings or feelings of connectedness. This is a mental health disorder characterised by disregard for other people.
People who feel inferior often seek out positions of power to make themselves feel better. Whereas most people derive self esteem from accomplishments, intelligence or likability, some people lack these characteristics so they need to get in power positions to increase their self-esteem.
Some people actively go into professions that will give them power and control over others because this is the only way they will feel powerful in life. It’s like asking if prison guards become sadistic because they are prison guards or if sadistic people seek out jobs as prison guards. I think the answer is both. People who are sadistic need a platform to lord their power over others, so they seek out situations that will give them this power.
Ebira people are Republican naturally and can not be coerced to tailor their political choices based on the whims and caprices of any particular group or individual. The bitter and deadly rivalry between the then Action Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in England is a classic proof that the Ebiras are Republican in nature. Republic is a form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives.
The renunciation of violence was one of the defining moments of the political process, that earned Mandela and de Klerk the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Mandela’s biggest influence on the new South Africa was his personal determination that anger over the crimes of the past, including his 27 years as a political prisoner, should not motivate future laws and actions. Key to this was his 1995 establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated historic human rights violations and gave vent to grievances. The most powerful lesson we can learn here is that as democracy activists and political leaders, we must be able to create cohesion and unity within our society , and also bridge the divide between opposing groups, with a view to building the broad consensus and tolerance necessary for peace to flourish. In the words of Mandela, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”
Instead of resorting to violence and coercion, there is a more effective way of putting your political views across to people who do not agree with you. What happened few days ago in Okene was a painful reminder of our ugly past and a needless decline in the anal of our contemporary political histories as a people.
I want to urge upon all the Actors in that mayhem to give peace a chance except they are sociopaths who do not give a damn how the rest of us fare. Nothing lasts forever, even the world we live in will end one day. As powerful as Abacha was then, where is he today? Power is temporary and will not last forever. People in the position of authority should come to terms with this reality and be more circumspect in what they do and say.
– Mukaila Adeiza Maikasuwa
President, Forum of Sons and Daughters of Kogi State.
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