Now is the time to enter politics

Omotola Babalola

You might wonder that I am writing on this topic. The present economic ‘recessional’ state of my country, Nigeria combined with the absence of vibrant, sacrificial and purposeful leaders to navigate her through the murky pools of economic stagnancy necessitated this article. You might think that it is already late to join a political party since the Nigerian election is some months away. I will say now and not tomorrow is the best time to join a political party that aligns with your interest. Alas, scepticism might also dwell on your mind! Fallacies without adequate evidence to justify these feelings might cast cold waters on your hope for our dear country, Nigeria.

To counteract these feelings, I will like to change our mindsets that politics is bad! Politics is a deadly game! Politics is a dog-eat-dog game! Truly, I acknowledge your fears. The current state of politics that is being played in our country is dangerous and not for the feeble minded. But are we going to wait until things get to a precipice before we acknowledge our wrong doings? As the saying goes that to experience fear is not bad but for fear to inactivate us to do what we are meant to do is the worst thing that can happen to a man. Great leaders do experience fear but instead of that fear to incapacitate them, they acknowledge it and take action. The essence of this rambling is that the fear that people put in us about politics should not be sufficient to prevent us from taking action.

Look around our society, most of our leaders are either corrupt, inept or have some skeletons in their cupboards; unfortunately, the good politicians among them are too few that they are threatened, coerced or tempted to trade their good intentions for instant material wealth. I know that most enlightened people are sad by the current leadership qualities exhibited by our leaders. However, lamentations are insufficient. Complaining cannot solve the present situation. I will suggest that each person with good intention should seize the bull by the horns and join politics. In so doing, hopefully, the number of good politicians will outnumber the selfish ones. To the potential politicians, this article will address some characteristics that experienced and successful politicians possess regardless of their ethnicity, age and religion.

Firstly, a good politician must be influential. The currency of politics is in the exchange of influence for mutual benefit. Influence in this regard, does not relate to the ability of a person in the position of authority to make his inferiors accede to his request. This does not include for example, that of a father directing his household to do some activities for him; or the role of a boss over his subordinates. If a politician exhibits only that characteristic in his prime, such a person would be irrelevant in the long run. A good politician examines the structural hierarchy of a society and focuses his attention on those that have major influence over their subjects.

For instance, in a religious setting, a good politician does not need to meet all of his potential subjects to seek their support while clamouring for a position. That will cheapen his influence. A wise one meets with those that can influence his targeted subjects i.e. religious leaders for support in exchange for material gratification or prestige of association when he gets to the position. These respected leaders in the religious society will then exert their positional influence on their subjects to support their potential candidate. This strategy also applies to formal and informal sectors of the society. A voter who believes that he can bring about change with a swing of his vote is living in a fool’s paradise. A voter who has the ability to influence others in his area of influence is an unquantifiable asset to a politician.

Secondly, a good politician must be a good strategist. He must have the ability to plan by mobilizing his resources to align with his beliefs and ideologies. A politician that wants to remain relevant must start to plan three years into the next election. This differentiates him from numerous voters who only decide to cast their inelastic quantifiable resource called a “vote” a month or even on the day of the election. I wonder why most Nigerians were amazed that immediately after the 2015 elections; most politicians were already talking about the year 2019. To the uninitiated, 2019 is four years from 2015; to the experienced politician, four years is too small to mobilize material resources, outsource political influence and align with like minds. An analogy to this manner of preparation is the Olympics. It has been documented that countries that win lots of medals at the Olympics put in a lot of resources and commence preparations earlier than those that perform woefully at the Olympics. The Olympics is a game, whose influence is short-lived in the mind of citizens, and cannot be compared without the task of being a politician. Therefore, a politician that must remain relevant must be able to predict the future from now provided ceteris paribus.

Thirdly, a politician that wants to remain relevant must not be selfish. He must be able to give wisely. This trait is very useful in a society where 70% of her citizens are living below the poverty line. Unfortunately, material generosities are usually appreciated by most citizens. This state of poverty drives most citizens to appreciate instant material gratifications instead of long term infrastructural development. They have been disillusioned by fake and broken promises to think ahead. However, a good politician has to seek long term development and merge them with timely short term material gratifications. It is essential that while doing this, your publicity team liaise with relevant media houses for wider publicity that will boost your reputation in the society.

Lastly, another trait that differentiates an experienced and good politician from an amateur is the attribute of patience. This trait is useful in various situations. Patience in showing how you feel; patience in showing what you think. Patience is very important when an opponent want to encroach into your area of influence. An amateur politician warns an opponent off immediately when an opponent shows his hand. This gives an opponent an advantage to refine his methods and thereby deliver a more lethal blow. Meanwhile, an experienced politician waits, knowing the end results of the opponent’s manoeuvres, absorbs them slowly, then suddenly reacts aggressively which then delivers an element of surprise to the opponent, thereby checkmating the opposition. This trait earns the experienced politician respect and admirations from friends and foes alike. Patience is also good for political maturity. A green horned politician has to wait patiently to gain experience, influence and trust from his colleagues. This time of waiting is sacrosanct for growth and cultivation of good foundational platform for his survival. An exception to this is a green horn politician who is brought into the game to repay some old time debts.

I have discussed elaborately the need for good people to enter politics. I have also mentioned the attributes that a good politician must have to remain relevant. For Nigeria to be good, we, the youths need to seize the bull by the horn, change our mentality and organise ourselves or join a suitable political party based on our ideologies. Taking action will prevent our incompetent leaders from being recycled at the helm of our affairs.