STRIKER: A Year For Political Hygiene

THE sun rises and sets, as the earth rotates around its own axis in its inexorable journey around the sun. Every complete rotation heralds a new day as every complete journey around the sun heralds a New Year. The sun itself moves on in our galaxy, patronised by every object in our solar system, as our galaxy moves on in this universe of uncountable galaxies: everything in eternal motion, oblivious of the landmarks and timelines allotted to that motion by Man.

As timelines go, the Gregorian calendar, willy-nilly, has come to stay in our small corner of the Globe, impacting social orientation and development agenda. And so, the Yuletide songs are gone for now and a New Year heralded. Striker wishes its readers a productive, peaceful and blessed year 2021AD.

It is precisely that time of the Year again when the fabled “New Year resolutions” come into operation! For improved personal lives, individuals begin to commit themselves to their resolves on life-changing steps. Likewise, at communal level, major players and decision makers, especially the elites and politicians, have a New Year Resolution to which they are duty-bound in the interest of all: to return politics in our land to a state of hygiene.

Generally speaking, hygiene is “conditions or practices that guarantee good health and wellbeing and freedom from diseases, especially through cleanliness.” In 2021, everyone who seeks to come to political equity must pledge to come with a clean hand and good conscience. Hygienic politics is the ultimate and super-guarantee for smoothness, wellness and progress in every other sector of human endeavour, simply because politics determines government and governance, which in turn determine everything: be it economy, corruption, security, et al!

Politics is the highest concentration of economics; it is at that level of decision-making that all aspects of life are invariably touched. Messy politics not only under-develops nations, it does ruin them. The almighty democratic champion and ultimate “Rule of Law” lighthouse, the United States of America, is currently suffering the greatest setbacks in its centuries old democratic and political history, simply on account of inordinate commitment to unhygienic politics by powerful minority politicians. It is an omen like no other to forward-looking people and nations to make their best political New Year resolution a need and commitment to political hygiene. Attaining power and retaining it, as well as service to the people, cannot and must not be at all cost or a “do-or-die” matter!

From primal intentions all the way to statesmanship, the thoughts, plans and actions of our elites and politicians, across all divides, need to be for the common good; that must be their New Year political resolution, for which history will look at them kindly. Recession, pandemic, insecurity, crime and violence, infrastructure can all be turned around for good if all concerned come to equity with a hygienic political mind and commitment. There are no political ideologies or parties that openly canvas poverty, violent crime, illiteracy and misery as their cardinal programmes; certainly no religion does. 

It is nonsensical for us to raise our voices that “O God of creation, direct our noble cause… Guide our leaders right…” when ab initio our “leaders” have come to equity with soiled hands and poisonous minds. A clean political mind will direct clear and forthright governance decisions and actions. With such leadership sending good governance signals right from the onset this year, followership and citizenry across the nation will very likely pick it up for their own duties and responsibilities. It is the only way we will not come back in 12 months singing the same songs of lamentation like a broken national record. The earth, the sun and the galaxies move on in the universe. Time will tell.