That power is taken not given has emboldened many power conscious people into doing many things in its pursuit. The conquest of power is not a jamboree party so anyone desirous of it must take the bull by the horns, wrestle with the pigs, dine with the devil, and sermonize as a saint and be ready to do the wrong things. It is an art full of dynamism and stratagems.
The path to the acquisition of power of any form and magnitude is often not straight, having many bumps and detours. It can be imagined and visualized with ease but to get it is not an easy task. It is demanding and expensive. To wrestle power needs determination and uncommon courage that believe firmly in possibilities.
One peculiar thing about power is that it has the propensity to open up spaces and broaden one’s horizon. It calls for caution but can also lead consciously into danger. The drive for power activates one’s antenna for broad reception, instills a sense of urgency for result oriented actions. It thereafter lures into diverse temptations some of which cannot be resisted, especially when and where certain promises and commitments had been made.
The myopia of power does not only equip for maximum concentration but it also encourages risk taking, sedating those without conscience and making them idiots, focusing only on the imaginary advantages and benefits of power.
Idiocy becomes the norm when idiots are in power, and they can engage into rampant, irrational destruction; destroying what they are meant to preserve and protect. But the folly of such destruction is that they end up destroying themselves by indirectly empowering their opponents and enemies for stiff opposition and resistance.
The power game is laced with pretense and beautified with deception. The poor, hungry players pretend to be humane and dependable while the rich ones through the facade of charity hide their real intentions. A step into the corridor of power would bring out the true character, revealing the misanthropist in the philanthropist! A celibate can suddenly become a polygamist or even a shameless rapist with power!
In the struggle for power, poverty could be synonymous with piety but affluence brings about flamboyance in politicking. The rich smart ones have bees of admirers and followers – and coupled with charming oratorical public speaking prowess learned through extensive processes and practices, they become the darlings of the masses.
Their presence allures; their speeches mesmerize; their philanthropy gives hope that the masses may be cajoled or deceived into hoping against hope in a pure state of hopelessness that such character could be perceived as the long awaited messiah. They seize every opportunity to tell people what they want to hear without believing a word in their promises.
But behind corporate image and public appearance, there is more to power – the pursuit and conquest of power – that meets the eye. Some do dirty things – very dirty things.
For power, some people have done many abominable things including but not limited to joining secret societies and killing of fellow human beings for rituals or to silence opponent(s) and opposition! Some politicians have snipers and retinue of killer squads to deal with anyone that might stand against their aspiration and gross ambition.
But if one can deliberately put up with all manners of attacks and pains just to get into office, one can’t only but imagine what could be done in such an office. This is one of the reasons we have the type of results we get from our political office holders. After paying different prices, they can stop at nothing to abuse everything and all things within their reach, bringing about mediocrity and bad governance.
With many forces contending with the man of the moment, there is the possibility of losing one’s sanity especially if one is not spiritually mature. The opposing camp would likely test their opposing powers on him – and many have unknowingly been bewitched and jazzed!
Seduction is another dangerous aspect of the power game. Like a beautiful butterfly without matured wings that can rest on anything, most power seekers easily fall for seduction – sex and money – and with more exposures come addiction. There is nothing the high and mighty cannot do for, and with, sex – and it gets worse with the shameless ones that play God.
There may also be a threat to life that comes with a share of loyalty, silly competition or even betrayal – and some people have been killed in the process with some families wiped out mercilessly in barbaric manners. The fight for power can be rough and rude, and like in a war, anything goes.
Politics have some degree of emotional undertone so the power seeker among other things often goes out to play on the people’s emotion. They create chaos and then cash in on it. They may even sponsor insecurity just to get campaign materials and score cheap political points. They strategize to have a good grip on the people’s emotion and thereafter play with it.
When they succeed, they create dichotomy and divide their victims on ethnic and religious lines, using sex and class as useful tools. With this, they ignite and feed the flame of crises and insecurity just to keep the masses busy while the scramble lasts.
Using the problems they created as campaign tools, they will present themselves as the competent ones with lasting solutions. With the speed of light, they will promise to build bridges where there are no waters and make gardens in deserts. Even the sick and demented one can promise his audience perpetual youthfulness and immortality.
With blackmail and propaganda, they will brainwash the ignorant masses and establish a cult followership amongst them. They will tell people what they want to hear but will go back to work according to their master’s plans. And like zombies some of their followers and supporters can fight and die for them.
In the interplay of political power ploys, politicians can do anything – the good, the bad and the ugly – for power
