Politics is a game! Only those with skills play it well. It is equally a battle, those whose armour, sheild and breastplate are good and properly placed, though the bullets and arrows would come, nothing would harm them.
I have said it one too often and it cannot be over stressed, politics isn’t for those who can’t take bullets. Certainly bullets would come , shelling in their numbers and hitting either the eye bulls or off targets.
In Nigeria and equally in some other climes , there is no limits to things that can be used as a political weapon to hit an opponents below the belt. The focus is usually on what would completely make an opponent weak and unproductive.
The 15 laws of the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene is always the compass.
Law 15. Crush Your Enemy Totally. This is the game plan of any serious and seasoned politician on attack. He attacks his opponents with the fiercest and deadly weapon, not giving chance to mercy, but poised to crush in an irredeemable manner.
He doesn’t look at the whiteness of “Eze Karty”( Catherine’ teeth) nor the roundness of ELIZA’ back views . He goes all out to unleash as long as the opponent in question would forever nurse the injury and lose focus and vision.
Politics is neither for the lilly livered nor for gentle men. The war is fierce , the war of words, the incrimination and recriminations trolling are at best description devastating, capable of causing stress and blood pressure.
Stay off if you can’t quell the storm and cool the heat without being burnt.
In politics anything counts. Nothing is too small to be used as a tool for political bullets. From ones cradle, wrapped in a swaddling cloth, the very actions and inactions of one could be a political tool against one.
We all have past, and nobody’ past is all spick and span. Living a life of lesser bagages of horrible consequences makes one adventure into politics less cumbersome.
In my view based on the various happening, as embarrassing and shameful some of them look, being deliberate and preparing early for vocation in politics would reduce some of these log and clog in the wheel of ones scandal free political journey.
Peter Obi, may not be the finest in character, in principles , in accomplishment and competence, he is though arguably one politician that seem to have planned his political adventure right from time.
Peter comes across as one who is deliberate about his interest in politics, conscious about the games and charades of manipulations that play out and of course aware of the nosing around , the digging and calumny that come, chasing one, once ones interest to play the game is made.
He tried to keep his life simple, sensitive to what he does, how he does them, not forgetting to keep record with life and its issues for verification.
With his rising political profile, his personality cult formation, his spiraling and forceful movement, his sagacious and deep knowledge of the challenge etc he would have become the pepper soup served in golden plate of damaging revelation of his shaddy past. As much as they tried, they could only find things that rather bloat his already burgeoning glittering profile.
My sincere take away from all these are 1) Be deliberate about what you want to do in life and prepare for it. Politics inclusive.
2) Politics isn’t dirty intrinsically, but those who play it for ingratiation have made it dirty.
3) The masses have eyes and conscience, once there is a good intention and willingness to serve, your fight and passion become theirs.
4) Politics makes one a public property, if for any reason ones Y**SH is not clean, stay off, else it would be exposed.
2023 is quite an interesting Political year with a lot of never seen before loading.
Game on!
Jarlath Opara
