Weekly Blogger: One luxury too many
By Omordia Efe – There is an attachment people have for tangible possessions. There is a buzz one gets from building or buying his/her first house. It goes way beyond any other emotion. It is the stuff romantic movies or blockbusters are made of. Houses are really attractive you know, especially for one who takes forever to buy or acquire one. For such individuals, their living space takes on a personality and becomes like a living being, one that they can’t live without. The house becomes symbolic. It depicts a whole new life, a life that is a step above the ordinary folks.
So why on earth do we then blame people in leadership positions after considering the afore-mentioned who cling tenaciously to the luxuries of their official abode and do not want to let go? Isn’t it the same kind of attachment they have for something man-made, for something symbolic, for something that makes them stand out? Oftentimes, after such a ruler is ousted and unceremoniously bundled out of the presidential palace (Did you notice Laurent Gbagbo and his charming wife’s agony as the pair realized that they would never spend a night amidst such luxury for the rest of their lives?), the Journalists swarm in like flies and gleefully show the world which consists of disgruntled individuals who cannot stand their cramped apartments or who have the elements as their closest bed-time companion, the luxuries that they would most likely not enjoy in this part of the divide at least.
With the economic recession hitting Nations really hard coupled with corruption in most Sub-Saharan countries, it is no wonder that the individuals who ever get the chance to ascend presidential heights find it mighty hard or even impossible to voluntarily leave office and when eventually they are dragged out kicking and screaming, one cannot help feeling just a wee-bit sorry for them.
