By Ekema Emmanuel Likine, Political Sociologist.
Whenever people live together in a community, village, town or a country, the phenomenon of power will always dominate their daily life. Power can be defined as the ability to cause others to do things against their will. That said, there are so many types of power that an individual can have within a given society. We have delegated power, intellectual power, physical power and spiritual power just to name a few.
What is of interest to us Sociologists is delegated power. That is, power given to an individual by another human being or a group of people. The President of the Republic is elected to the highest office of the land by citizens of a given country. In return, he or she appoints ministers and other State personalities thereby constituting a government that rules over the majority. The same goes with Senators Members of Parliament and Mayors. This explains vividly that man will always be a product of his society. Man will always live by man. As long as we live in a community, there will always be interdependence between human beings.
For those who have acquired power of any kind, the cardinal point is how you use the authority that has been bestowed on you. If you are in power, that may give you the latitude to do and undo because you command others but it is worth mentioning that everybody cannot be a leader at the same time. There are situations that you are the boss but a collaborator under you is better in the job than you so those in power should always learn to stay humble.
There is no time table as to when and how people have to achieve the things of life because our destinies are not the same. Some get the things of this world very early in their lives while others very late. Do not make a mockery of less privileged people because you are in charge. Leaders should be sad when those they lead are sad and vice versa.
It is a unique privilege to lead but that does not make you better than everyone else around you. When those in power think of how every member in their families should have good jobs, they should think of other families who do not have a single person who is working.
Those who are in power embezzling State funds are committing a crime against the State and humanity. This egoistic act of theirs is not only stagnating the country but it is also depriving the majority for a better life. Until those in authority put a human face in the execution of their policies relating to the positions they hold in government, the world’s problem will be far from being solved.
If those who are in authority embrace the human face of power, society can be void of so much suffering and hardship that so many people are going through. The human face of power means if those who are in authority have more than enough to eat, they should think of the common man who does not have even a plate of food to eat for the day.
While they are building mansions all over the country, they should think if the common man has even a room to stay. When they send their children to expensive schools abroad, they should think of the common man who cannot even pay his children’s school fees in primary school. When they fill their parking lots with all kinds of latest cars, they should think of the common man who is still covering kilometres on foot.
While they dress in very expensive cloths, they should think of the common man who wears one dress for months. Some of them cannot remember the amounts in their bank accounts but the common man does not even know the road leading to a bank.
The human face of power means we should feel for others as we feel for ourselves. Always put yourself in the difficulties of others and be ready at all times to bring change in their lives because you have been blessed to be a blessing to others. No matter how long it will take, one day we all must leave this world. Wealth, money and power cannot add your days in this world so why do you take all for yourself and nothing for the rest. As the bible says what shall it profit a man to own the whole world and lose his soul.