Resolve political disputes that give rise to strife, rebellion

In Summary

Rebellion in the populace is like sickness in our body, which is a result and symptom of infection by pathogens. The most effective mode of intervention is that which targets the causative agents and not the symptoms. Rebellion is in the minds of the people, not in the guns they carry.

In modern times, armed rebellion in Africa stemmed from the drive for independence from our colonial masters, when some nationalist across Africa took up arms to fight for self-rule. To date, many African countries are still held up in civil strife and outright rebellion not for self-rule, but to create political space and attain freedom from suppression and oppression by their own kith and kin.

Rebellion is an outward expression of the internal strife within the populace. It is a conscious response to irritating socio-political stimuli. Rebellion in the populace is like sickness in our body, which is a result and symptom of infection by pathogens. The most effective mode of intervention is that which targets the causative agents and not the symptoms. Rebellion is in the minds of the people, not in the guns they carry. Similarly, the most plausible way to tame rebellion certainly does not lie with wrestling it head on as seen today, but rather it rests with appropriately resolving the unsolved political equations that give rise to strife and consequently rebellion. This methodology is result-oriented win-win intervention and cost effective. It does not require rocket science for anyone to appreciate.
The thinking prevalent today that powerful armies and the guns will be the remedy to Africa’s, civil strife is shallow and demonstrative of very unfortunate stunted uncultured political culture. It is as if we shall have our brain cells damaged if we think otherwise about resolving our governance issues.

Everything about us emanates from within us. Our thoughts and actions are reflections of our mindsets according to which we analyse and interpret issues. The mindset driving Africa into building warfare states instead of embracing democratic governance is greed and self-imposed fear, the fear for accountability and retribution.
This mindset has brought us where we are. It will never get us out. We need to make giant strides in our thinking for a paradigm shift, to see issues from different frames of reference, analyse and interpret them using appropriate models. We need to think with both sides of our brains and with our hearts too. Rebellion is strewn in Africa because leadership is perceived as a game of survival, as a tool of domination and as a means to authority and affluence, but not as a duty and service to society.

Under such skewed setting, leadership succumbs to subjective, prejudiced sentimentalism which ultimately degenerates into intolerance, coercion and authoritarianism.
Rebellion is a conscious search for some unmet need by the aggrieved section of society. This may not be to say that all insurgents have just causes for their actions, but in all instances, there are always known triggers, however, unjust and flimsy they may be. When a socio-political trigger is ignored long enough, the irritation becomes chronic and unrelenting; leading to activation of protective, corrective mechanisms within the populace, and a rebellion gets born. This is a natural phenomenon.

For as long as the Constitution and the law around Africa continue to be used to curtail civil liberties, suppress and oppress alternative view points, for as long as arrogance and insensitive irresponsible language continue to dominate the political airspace, and for as long as the body politic continues to be characterised and driven by greed, as the majority are condemned to and wallow in abject poverty and hopelessness, it is a matter of reality that there is bound to be a limit beyond which the lid will not hold.

The dawning of independent Africa could have found us a little premature for self-governance, but we should not continue peddling this as excuse today in justifying blatant disregard for even the basic principles of democracy. Africa must give her people choices, with the freedom to make those choices, and guarantee respect for those choices.
The leaders Africa deserves will be such leaders who will deliberately make it unnecessary but not difficult, for their people to take up arms in search of their rights and freedoms.
odoiyoga@yahoo.com