Rivers Political Saga: Comparative overview of the idealist and realist perspectives
Politics from empirical point of view is described as all encompassing, all conditioning and all inclusive. There is barely any sphere of the society without the core influence or practice of politics. Including the religious settings.
The trending political conflicts rocking Rivers State in the South-South Nigeria, can be configured as the empirical representation of the practical policies as it is insightfully conceptualized by the two Greek Classical philosophers (Plato and Aristotle).
Interestingly, the later was a student to the former. However, they differed entirely in their ideological point of views and perspectives. Ditto to Nyesom Wike and Siminallaye Fubara, simply for their patrimonial interests.
The idealist or idealism as the case may be was the invention and fundamental political thought of Plato. It believes in law and morality as key influences or core values, rather than power alone. The Idealists school also believe that human nature is ‘good’ and human beings will naturally abhor violence, conflicts and wars. Like humans, state or society will also naturally eschew violence save for ‘unjust’ political system, which precipitates conflicts.
Several conceptual justifications were made to extrapolate his (Plato) in depth thoughts and positions on why a society and its governance’s style should be holistically based on ideological principles that is embedded of Just, Morality and Law. As chronologically accentuated above.
In a sharp contrast however, Plato’s student and the man classified as the father of practical politics: Aristotle, differed from his teacher’s point of view. According to him, Aristotle ”the essence of every social interaction is based on mutual gain”. Thus, implies that there is no sainthood in politics whether in Africa or in the West, with reference to the aphorism above.
The basic assumption underlying the realist theory is the perpetual existence of conflict among the individual in one form or the other. For Realists, political system is defined by anarchy the absence of a central authority. individual are independent minded and thus autonomous of each other; no inherent structure or society can emerge or even exist to order relations between them.
The realist school is also of the view that individual are bound only by forcible coercion or by their own consent. They contend that in such an anarchic system, state power is the key, indeed, the only variable of interests; because only through power can states defend themselves and hope to survive. And that is exactly what is being played out in Rivers States by Fubara.
In the Realist world sainthood absolutely in consequential in politics and that was evident in Nyesom Wike’s actions as he had consistently said it openly, the salient justifications for his actions over the trending conflicts in the oil rich state of Nigeria. Aristotle says man by nature is a political animal.
A man can not survive in isolations and perhaps the cardinal reason, it is pretty difficult to expunge or eradicate all forms of God-fatherism in politics, not just in the global South but the entire world at large. Also in the state of human nature, according to Thomas Hobbes, ”Man is simply evil, brutish and naughty, a man will always go for his own appetite against every individual.
In such a coincidence, I have heard and read where Nigerians interchangeably used and are still using some of the adjectives above by Hobbes, to qualify the two political heavy weights, Nyesom Wike and his political son Fubara in Rivers State. As this invariably, suggest the fact none of the two can be exonerated from this trending conflicts as innocent. from the Idealist and Realist point of view.
Above all, as concerned Nigerian, I wish to ask how governance is fairing in Rivers State. Especially since the crisis began. Can we say the innocent people of Rivers State has enjoyed anything so far at all? Except the back-and-forth conflicts which have seriously caused a huge socio-economic and infrastructural set back fort the state.
GOVERNANCE:
According to the Rivers governor, governance is about touching the core needs of the citizens, adding that he has chosen to be focused while under pressure. “As far as we are concerned, there are no political issues. I saw a movie many years ago, titled: ‘Devil’s Advocate.’ I believe some of you must have seen that movie too,” Fubara was quoted as saying in a statement by Nelson Chukwudi, his chief press secretary.
One of the starring characters: Al Pacino said pressure makes some people retreat or fail, and to others, it makes them become focused to succeed. We have chosen to be focused under this pressure. That is why we are moving ahead. That is why we are making a positive impact in the lives of our people. Governance is about the people. It is not about self. “Governance is about touching the core needs of those people we are leading, and by the special grace of God, we are doing it”.
If truly the governor has not lost focused and that the impacts on the life of the people as purported above have also been achieved and felt by the good people of Rivers State, I strongly believe that time will tell.
Hence, to so many Nigerians who have been closely following the episodic and conjuctural crisis in Rivers State, I advise you assess or make objective overview from the points of perspectives: Idealist or Realist, so as not to be carried away by unhealthy emotional sentiments.
God bless Nigeria.
Adekunle Alaye, PhD. Writes from the Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is Fellow, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and lecturer, Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.
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