Politics: Where great men embrace the stigma of service

The righteous politician is a needle in a haystack, but he endures. He carries out his calling, knowing that service chooses the Man & it is not the Man that chooses to serve.

He is stigmatized by all, stereotyped even by Kin as a deceitful being with deadly cunning, but he endures. His subjects castigate him without understanding the challenges he’s facing, but he forgives them, & looks after their interest regardless. Understood only by his Caller, he turns to him for succor. The sirens irritate his ears but the hope that his divine mandate will be rewarded by God quiets his heart, so he rides on & sacrifices his reputation on the altar of Service. As though a Prophet, he has no choice.

In the shadowed halls of power, where whispers turn to thunder & alliances shift like desert sands, the righteous politician stands firm, a solitary sentinel against the tide of corruption. He is not swayed by the glittering temptations that ensnare lesser souls—the allure of ill-gotten wealth, the seduction of unchecked authority, the false camaraderie of schemers who trade principles for personal gain. Nay, his vision is fixed upon a higher plane, where the ledger of eternity outweighs the fleeting balance sheets of mortal ambition. He knows that politics, in its purest form, is not a game of thrones but a sacred stewardship, entrusted to those whom Providence deems worthy. Yet, for this very purity, he is reviled. The masses, blinded by their own grievances, paint him as a villain in their narratives of betrayal. They hurl accusations like stones, oblivious to the burdens he bears in silence: the sleepless nights spent wrestling with decisions that could alter the fate of nations, the compromises forged not from weakness but from the necessity of preserving the greater good.

Consider the righteous politician’s daily crucible. He awakens before dawn, his mind already a battlefield of conflicting duties. The petitions of the poor clamor for relief, while the demands of the powerful threaten retribution if ignored. He navigates this labyrinth with a compass calibrated by divine justice, seeking not popularity but equity. But oh, how the world misconstrues his motives! The press, those vultures of verbiage, feast upon his every misstep, amplifying whispers into scandals & twisting truths into tabloid fodder. His kin, those closest to his hearth, murmur doubts in hushed tones, fearing that his pursuit of Service will devour his legacy & leave them heirs to infamy. Even his allies, those fair-weather companions, abandon him at the first sign of storm, lest the stigma cling to their own cloaks. Yet he endures, for he understands that true leadership is forged in isolation, tempered by the fires of misunderstanding.

And what of the sirens? Those enchanting voices that beckon from every corner—lobbyists with honeyed promises, ideologues with fiery rhetoric, opportunists with schemes wrapped in patriotism. They sing of shortcuts to glory, of bending rules for the “greater cause,” of amassing power under the guise of protection. The righteous politician hears them all, their melodies piercing his resolve like arrows. But he clings to his Caller, that eternal voice which summoned him from obscurity. In prayerful solitude, he seeks guidance, drawing strength from scriptures that speak of shepherds leading flocks through valleys of shadow. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” he recites inwardly, adapting the ancient words to his modern plight, “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” This divine assurance is his shield, quelling the tempests within his soul & propelling him forward on the path of sacrifice.

Sacrifice, indeed, is the coin of his realm. He offers up not merely his time or treasures, but the very essence of his being. His reputation, once untarnished, becomes a tattered banner, shredded by the winds of public opinion. Friends forsake him, family frets over his frailty, & foes revel in his perceived failures. Yet, like the Prophet of old who wandered the wilderness, proclaiming truths that fell on deaf ears, he presses on without regret. For he knows that Service is not a voluntary venture but a compulsory covenant. It chose him in the quiet moments of his youth, when ambition was but a spark & duty a distant drum. Perhaps it came in a dream, or through the words of a mentor echoing divine will, or amid the chaos of crisis where he alone stepped forth. Whatever the summons, it bound him irrevocably, transforming him into an instrument of higher purpose.

In this light, politics reveals itself as a divine drama, where great men play roles scripted by the Almighty. The righteous politician is no mere actor; he is the protagonist in a tale of redemption, striving to lift his people from the mire of self-interest toward the heights of communal harmony. He enacts policies that heal divisions, bridge chasms of inequality, & foster peace amid perennial strife. But for every victory, there is a volley of vilification. The envious label him elitist, the radicals decry him as reactionary, & the apathetic dismiss him as irrelevant. He forgives them all, for forgiveness is the balm that sustains his spirit. He looks after their interests not out of obligation, but out of love—a profound, paternal affection rooted in the belief that all are children of the same Creator.

Yet, let us delve deeper into the psyche of this enduring figure. What sustains him when the world seems arrayed against his cause? It is the quiet conviction that his mandate is rewarded not in earthly accolades but in heavenly approbation. He envisions a day when the veils of misunderstanding are lifted, & his sacrifices are tallied in the eternal courts. There, the stigmatized shall be sanctified, the scorned exalted. This hope is no idle fantasy; it is the anchor that holds him steady amid the gales of governance. He rides on, as the text declares, sacrificing his reputation on the altar of Service, for he has no choice. Choice implies alternatives, but for the called, there is only obedience.

History bears witness to such paragons, though they are often recognized only in retrospect. Think of Abraham Lincoln, that lanky lawyer from the prairies, who endured the barbs of betrayal & the anguish of civil war, guided by a sense of divine duty to preserve the Union & emancipate the enslaved. He was stigmatized as a tyrant by some, a fool by others, yet he forged ahead, his heart quieted by faith in Providence. Or consider Nelson Mandela, who emerged from decades of imprisonment not with bitterness but with a vision of reconciliation, forgiving his oppressors & steering his nation toward unity. These men, like the righteous politician of our discourse, were chosen by Service, not the reverse. They endured because they understood the prophetic nature of their roles—heralds of change in a resistant world.

In contemporary climes, the righteous politician faces even greater trials. The digital age amplifies stigma, turning private failings into public spectacles via social media maelstroms. Fake news proliferates like weeds, choking the truth & sowing seeds of distrust. Global interconnectedness brings pressures from afar—economic entanglements, ideological incursions, environmental exigencies—that demand wisdom beyond human ken. Yet, he turns to his Caller for succor, finding in divine communion the clarity to cut through the noise. He forgives the uninformed masses, who castigate without comprehension, for they know not the invisible wars he wages: against vested interests that undermine democracy, against demagogues who exploit fears, against the inertia of institutions resistant to reform.

Moreover, the righteous politician embodies a paradox: he wields power yet remains powerless before his mandate. He cannot abdicate, for to do so would betray the trust placed in him by the Divine. Instead, he sacrifices—his health, his privacy, his peace—on that hallowed altar. His kin may plead for his retreat, but he gently reminds them that true greatness lies in perseverance. His subjects may rebel, but he protects them still, enacting laws that safeguard the vulnerable & promote prosperity for all.

As we reflect upon this archetype, let us not romanticize his plight unduly. The path is arduous, fraught with pitfalls that claim many a soul. Not all who enter politics are righteous; indeed, the haystack is vast, & needles scarce. But for those who are, the stigma is but a badge of honor, a testament to their fidelity. They endure because they must, ride on because they are called, sacrifice because Service demands it.

In conclusion, politics, where great men have no problem with stigma, is ultimately a theater of the soul. The righteous politician, that rare beacon, illuminates the way forward not through flawless execution but through unwavering commitment. Understood only by his Caller, forgiven by few, rewarded in eternity—he has no choice but to serve. And in that service, he finds his truest freedom.

Muhammed M. Belgore Esq writes from Abuja.
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