• Most voters know leaders are selfish but play along for comedic value
Image: REUTERS
If, as one-time US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac,” then hanging on to political high office no matter what the consequences must be the equivalent of that famous little blue pill and all its generic equivalents.
Political leaders suffering from what some have termed “electile dysfunction”, such as Donald Trump and all his ilk who refuse to go away despite being shown the door by voters, are the proof of this saying.
By the way, in case you were wondering, Kissinger was secretary of state when President Richard Nixon was the most reviled US president of recent times.
In the eyes of most people, Nixon, who was pretty crummy, has since relinquished this title to Trump.
It is said, by some who claim to know, that Trump, also known as 45 because is the USA’s 45th president, wasn’t really that serious about becoming president in the beginning and just wanted to have a little fun and show that if he wanted it, he could have it.
However, at some point, everything changed and everyone, including myself, who had scoffed at the thought of this buffoon leading the US had to eat humble pie.
But even then, I can’t say anybody really knew how crazy it would get and that the man would refuse to let go when the time came, as it comes for all of us.
Yet, even after what many assume was Trump at his most destructive as we saw recently, he still has popular support, and something tells me there will be more to come before he calls it a day. Watch that space.
This whole debacle reminded me that a dear friend of mine once told me why she should never be elected president.
She feared if she were to become president, she could only get things done by being authoritarian, and I inferred from this she was worried about how history would view her.
I have no ambition in that direction for a number of reasons, but mainly because I have never really felt that strongly about exercising power and authority over other beings.
Also, I have never wanted any job so badly that I would step on people’s heads to get it and then ruthlessly “finish” anybody else who expressed an interest in the same job.
Of course, as we know from the ridiculous number of candidates we always have in any election, not everyone feels the same way.
There are some who would cut off their own fingers just for a chance to grasp at the presidency, disown their parents to be a Governor or a senator, and sell their children into slavery to become an MP or even a member of the county assembly. And here I really wish I was exaggerating.
As far as I can see, many are in it for whatever they can get. More often than not, money. Let’s face it, many have proved over and over again, not just in Kenya but across the globe, that proximity to power is the route to massive fortunes.
A few already have the fortunes and just want to ring-fence them with political power and to create ways to amass even bigger fortunes.
Many insist they want to serve, but if you look closely, they really just want to be waited on hand and foot by the taxpayer.
I think on some level we, most voters, know these things, but play along anyway for a myriad of reasons, including silly ones such as comedic value. I mean, how else can we explain some of the electoral choices we have made through the years?
I’m looking at the people who elected recent governors of Nairobi and Kiambu, here. Of course they are not alone, but they're as good an example as any.