Avoid! It’s a Snare.
Fellow folks, let me start by congratulating you for persevering the pandemic and your resolute will and resilience to succeed.
I will go straight to the point. On this side of the world, south of Sahara, I have observed one thing. We have amplified the control and influence by the politician on our daily living to such extent that his actions or inactions directly affect our lives and more often than not, in the negative.
We have allowed the politician too much of our personal space. It should not be so. It should be the contrary. Why so? Because you pay the politician’s salary, you buy and run his posh window-tinted car, you build the road, you pay for his big office, chase cars and everything he needs to function as mheshimiwa.
Many folks on this side of Sahara, have to our own detriment put so much hope and faith in the person of the politician. We have constantly deluded ourselves that our lives can only be better at the whims of the politician. We have swallowed the lie and are fallen into deception.
Since time immemorial, politician has never improved the lives of a community. He’s the problem. He will tax the people, burden you with tyrannical laws, steal from you, enslave your sons, coerce, and threaten you, laden you with heavy burdens, kill and maim your sons and daughters and literally strip you off your wealth. If you read the good book, Israelites once asked Prophet Samuel to appoint them a King so that they could be like other nations of the earth (1 Samuel 8:4-22). If you read the passage, you will understand that Samuel listened to their request but solemnly warned them that the king will take away their rights and oppress them.
The thought that a politician or a group of politicians will improve your livelihood is mythical.
Great human success is achieved through individual tactical planning, handwork, persistence, resilience and dedication to a just course or a goal.
Over time now, we have heard all manner of rhetoric from the politician wooing our votes. We are familiar with such slogans like ‘we are unbwogable, we are digital & they are analogue, wheelbarrow, hammer, hustler, dynasty must fall, pesa mashinani ‘etc. and you will concur with me it is all gibberish.
Herd mentality, euphoria, mania, phobia are all manner of tactics the politician will employ to whip your emotions and control your brain. Unfortunately, for you and me, the politician’s ability in this area is unmatched. We must wake up, think and decide what we want. We cannot entertain the politician’s rhetoric any more. Thinking critically is what will liberate us as African people.
Fast forward, 58 years since the founding of our country, we are still stuck with the theme that our forefathers set to achieve in their lifetime – to eradicate disease, poverty and ignorance. Fifty eight years and counting we are still stuck in a rut!
True success is experienced when individuals take liberty to self-improve their lives, earn good education, choose an occupation and progressively work to satisfy one’s needs and wants. It means hard work. The politician will never serve you this on a platter. You must work to earn it. By no means will any government, however well intended, will ever be able to provide this to its people. There is no substitute for hard work on the part of citizen.
We must dissect the kind of lies that are hurled at us every electioneering year, bundled as campaign manifestos. We must refuse from being hoodwinked in to political thuggery. Manifestos eventually become the basis of driving the government agenda. Heavy taxation, inflated public expenditure, outright theft of public funds, pilferage, embezzlement, white elephants, wanton waste of public funds are all common practices by our public institutions and agencies. What robbery exceeds such practices?
We must put more emphasis on self-reliance, self-improvement, faith in God and creation of economic opportunities to improve our welfare and loose ourselves from the politician as far as personal growth is concerned.
We however, must never shy off from holding to account the politician for this actions or inactions that go contrary to his oath of office. We cannot stand on the periphery as spectators. We must safeguard our homeland and preserve it for a posterity.