THE POLITICAL FRIEND IN STUDENT POLITICS
Apart from the quest to gain academic knowledge to enable students become better players in the world of work and also by meeting global market demand for labor, another important area of University life is leadership. Indeed, the school is only a miniature of the larger society and aspects of the culture of the people reflect in the learning process.
The School is expected to churn out very responsible citizens that can hold the fort of responsible leadership in the future. That aspect of learning is salient but an enabling environment to the best of my knowledge is always provided.
Students have the opportunity to form or join sociopolitical groups. That is where a lot of learning about leadership begins to manifest. Students begin to widen their horizon on many issues that can be brought to bear in making society better. They gain the enthusiasm and zeal to take part in decision making. So begin to profess their leadership and political theories spontaneously.
At a glance of the activities of student leaders or politicians, you would think they are just some academic deviants or better till truants who refuse to engage their minds on their core mandates of being students which is indisputably, academics.
However, a holistic approach to their relationship, actions and inactions would lead us to conclude logically that learning transcends the classroom. For what use will academics have if it is not translated into practice in the area of work and leadership? Let everybody come to a point to reason with me, that the complexity of today's society as well as the growing global exigencies, require that every individual become a leader. Yes! You must be a leader within you, in your family, in your work place, your place of worship and other places where you may find yourself. That demand of leadership is a catalytic approach to ensuring self discipline and responsible citizenship among every individual.
Today if you don't possess those attributes of responsible citizenship, you may not be able to make life meaningful. You may not be able to take wise decisions that will inure to the benefit of you and your family. The point I am drumming home is simple. Student politics is very good and provides the platform to nurture future leaders and responsible citizens.
I must say that I have enjoyed student politics and have learnt a lot. It is not that rosy. It can start as a joke, comedy, friendship and in whatever form but the middle is always unknown and the end, too convoluted that it defers logical conclusion. A major player in student politics will gain friends and enemies sometimes unconsciously. Student politics ideally, does not wheel on political parties, ethnic affiliation, religious affiliation and other groupings. You must possess certain enviable personal attributes to penetrate the system.
In order not to bore you with any long narrative, let me zoom down to the principal theme of my write up which is political friendship.
The political friend in my considered view is a friend gained for political reasons. This relationship is mostly initiated by the one who has an interest politically. Sometimes, depending on the development of situations, a political friend can end up being a real friend but in many cases, political friendship is seasonal, temporary and in most cases unsustainable.
It most cases too, it does not rest on the shoulders of mutual relationship. We may call it "agenda pushers"
I wish to add that I do not have any abhorrence for political friends. We have made that relationship before and will continue to make. The motive for this piece is to expose those who are not student politicians and/or those who may be "naive" in student activism cum student leadership, to appreciate the relationship that exist between people of political interest and the unsuspecting ordinary students who are mostly not interested in the nitty gritty of politics and it associated activities. Knowing about such a relationship will help the ordinary students to know the extent of political relationship on campus. This is because many who have too much expectation from political friends who have made it politically end up frustrated. Such frustrated students tend to now paint a doom picture of student politics and subsequently, main stream politics.
It is imperative to know the dynamics, get used to the dynamics and get to know how to handle political friends and you are on the path of becoming a masterful, successful student politician or a responsible citizen who knows his left and right.
The season for political friendship is just at the corner. You will encounter so many political friends. Those who are particularly pushing an agenda to lead you will demonstrate to you that they have the best of care, love and compassion. Some will call you daily, give you messages, visit you and may be, spend money on you. This is to gradually subject your intellectual mind to psychological manipulation for political gains. Just understand them, they want something from you. Assess them and decide whether they have the competence to deserve your mandate and ignore the "false generosity". The generosity is only for the time being.
It would be suicidal to think that they will continue to extend such "strategic false generosity to you. If you hold that expectation, then you will be disappointed. This is because political friendship in most cases has expiry dates.
When they get the mandate, you may only begin to see what you have never expected. Disappointments and regrets will greet you every night. Hehehe. that is politics.
If you give the right assessment without considering false generosity, you don't regret and even when you do, it will be on justifiable parameters and that is responsibility.
Let us be responsible citizens, credible future leaders for mother Ghana. Our generation can't fail the future of this country. Let's revise and think about what we seek to do to offer support for progress and prosperity of society. That responsibility should move from the largess of political friendship to the ideal of principle life, critical appreciation of issues and above all, the spirit of nationalism in all we think and do.
The happenings of today where standards are obviously being lowered by current generations who have all it takes to turn around the fortunes of our society is far becoming a looming doom that we must solve now by sensitizing ourselves at every given opportunity. We need to redefine our conscience, reason above the bad precedents and set idealistic and realistic standards that can stand the test of time.
My best regards!
Barika
Ngmen-na-eng-fanga
Denis Andaban
denisandaban@gmail.com
Infact this is a good plan that will help our generation to understand what politics is. Let all hold it and make it a point to help buld better nation for our self"one can do all can do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading
Delete