Forget how condescending it might
sound, but truth is, Africa has had its fair share of rather curious political
leaders than the rest of the world. Consider Jacob Zuma, who thinks he can laugh
and giggle his way from being held to account, to chaps like Burundi`s Pierre
Nkurunziza who think they can alter the constitution to their advantage and
extend presidential term limits on a whim. Then there are the types of Laurent
Gbagbo, who will flat out refuse to lose an election even when the results are
glaringly clear. Africa has had these queer leaders in all shapes and sizes as
it were.
And if latest events are anything
to go by, America will likely have a taste of what it feels like to have
leaders in the same mold of what Africans have more often than not been exposed
to.
Enter Donald Trump!
Coming out of the recent Republic
National Convention where like always he managed in spectacular fashion to
contradict himself, lie, boast about his capabilities as a leader and as if
that were not enough, was engulfed in controversy – although to be fair, this
was on account of his wife delivering a speech strikingly similar to one
delivered by Michelle Obama previously - he is now leading his opponent Hillary
Clinton in the latest polls. Several polls place Trump at least five points
ahead of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, in the race for the White House.
Anyone who has even the remotest of interest in politics knows that polls are
often within the margin of error, and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Last month`s Brexit vote is a classic case, as polls showed the Remain camp
having the majority of vote to those of the Leave camp, but we all know what
happened there. The point is, Donald Trump now has a more than realistic chance
of becoming president of the “land of the free and home of the brave,” God help
us all!
To understand how America got to
this position, there is nowhere better to turn to, than the words of the
British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who said, “In politics, what begins in
fear usually ends in folly.” This is exactly what has happened to America. A
land bogged down by fears of religious extremism from Muslim migrants, fears of
jobs being lost to Mexicans from across the border, and even fears of a rising competitor in the form of China, challenging it to the
title of the world`s foremost economic superpower. These fears might very well
be genuinely placed, but the meteoric rise of Donald Trump from virtual
political outsider, to potentially being months away from occupying the White
House shows that fear has absolutely no
place in politics.
By stoking the fears of Americans through
uttering reckless and unfounded comments with zero or little attachment to substance
on every subject from the economy, religion to terrorism, Donald Trump has
managed to ensure that America is at the brink of heaving a would-be despot at
its helm. Richard Nixon with all his Watergate marred reputation has nothing on
this guy. To Donald, judging women based on their looks, name-calling and
hurling insults to opponents, inciting public violence and utterly disregarding
facts, lying on national television are all part of a day`s work, and he could
not even be bothered in the slightest bit of the consequences of such actions.
That a person fitting this description even has the slightest chance of being
head of state, is baffling. Folly at its
inglorious best!
This is perhaps why South
Africans for instance, keep voting for corrupt officials of the liberation
party ANC because they fear that voting for another party, the DA for instance,
would signal a return of white supremacy rule. In fact, this might be true not
just in South Africa`s case but in most African countries which still retain
the liberation war movements in power when they have clearly failed to govern
in some instances. The unfortunate bit in all this is that incompetency is
fostered and society is the biggest loser ultimately. Politicians the world
over seem to have mastered this concept, so much so their default response to
political opposition is engraining fear in the minds of people. No wonder there is a lot of folly not only in
Africa`s political arena, but the world over. It is because politicians have
mastered the art of manipulating people`s fears to their own advantage. Richard
Nixon once said, “People react to fear, not love.” While history has proved
this to be true, it need not be the case, because as history has also shown, indeed,
when it comes to politics, what is motivated by fear almost always turns to
folly, and whole nations suffer in the long run. Instead of choosing fear, go
for reason and logic instead! They are well yet far better alternatives!
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