By Debo Akinbami, PhD.
The relationship between politics and morality, throughout history, has proved to be as knotty as it is testy. Too often, it draws dire debates and sprout divergent opinions. The debate, grim as it often is, has since lingered through ages; yet the query persists as to how these concepts are either inherently linked or mutually exclusive.
It is admittedly intricate. Thinkers dubbed it political ethics; otherwise tagged political morality – which questions moral judgments and the principles guiding political actions. In his treatise, Machiavelli sought to distinguish between public and private morality in suggesting that a ruler must sometimes act immoral for the good of the state.
Near Machiavelli’s is the ‘dirty hands’ notion which argues that certain events may compel politicians to act in ways considered as morally questionable in the interest of the greater good. This, too, premised on acute historical precursors, has fixedly advanced its own truths by validating immoral acts around power under varied guises.
Meanwhile, for the ‘realpolitik’ slant, it is emphatic to the extent that the demands of gaining and keeping political power necessarily conflict with moral principles, disregarding moral or ethical considerations, so that, under the pretext, whatever ploy a politician deploys becomes excusable; and, under the circumstances, the public becomes the victim- a pawn in the hands of those who control the means of manipulation.
This is how a web of deceits has weaved itself around Ondo’s political space, of late. A trend tending to undermine decency and decorum. It wears the realpolitik garb as a ruse and route; a means to an end. Marauders penetrating the hitherto clement space, wearing opposition’s insignia to sway sound judgements and make victims of the unsuspecting public.
Where it is genuine, the opposition provides a reliable barometer for measuring a government’s mileage and gauging the public’s mood. It is true that every civilised society deserves a virile opposition that serves as a crucial check on the government; a sort that scrutinises the government’s actions and holds it to account; one who publicises its flaws while offering policy alternatives.
On the contrary, the hawks hovering over Ondo aren’t patriotic critics interested in causing improvements on her health, but morbid power chasers seeking power for its own sake. They are Aiyedatiwa’s opposers; plunderers feigning pundits. They are flippant fault-finders and bad power apprentices who blindly fault a rainbow’s fate. At the core of their guts is a grouse; a ruinous hunger for power. These rustlers – in disguise -do not just want power, they want it by any means, even with haughty arrogance.
In the heisty hunt for power, they smashed moral sense; they, instead, learned to drink poison to lose good taste. By choice, the false purveyors, like their enablers, sold conscience for porridge, so that the massive infrastructural drive being championed by Aiyedatiwa makes little or no meaning.
They deaden their hearts so that the rehabilitation and overhauling of critical roads across the state, the opening up of communities to enhance mobility, and the repositioning of the state for greater economic prosperity do not count for something. It is a political game built on the goal to put a veil on the public face, to portray a competent Aiyedatiwa as inept; to give a dog a bad name and hang him.
Hard as traducers try, Aiyedatiwa is always a step ahead. While not dissipating energies to vanities, he places premium on the citizens’ well-being. At this rate, in good conscience, Ondo State is a business unusual; a reflection of sturdy, steady and responsible leadership. Aiyedatiwa has deepened governance with renewed vigour and commitment to continuity and expansion.
Aiyedatiwa’s administration has earned exceptional feats. It has given security, education, grassroots development, agriculture, industrialisation and youth inclusion a boost. Though con artists are on the prowl, the governor is being intentional with excellence, foresight and precision; and, in so doing, unraveling a web of deceits.
***Dr. Akinbami is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ondo State on Strategic Communication.
