Politicians should eschew bitterness, says Abe

Former Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Senator Magnus Abe has been accused of fraternising with Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But, the former Secretary to Government (SSG) says he remains a member of the APC. In this interview with Southsouth Bureau Chief BISI OLANIYI, Abe also reiterates his opposition against violence and injustice.

In spite of everything that has happened in the politics of Rivers State, you have remained calm and in good spirit. Do you ever get bitter?

Bitterness in your heart towards another human being is not a genetic inheritance from your parents, it is something that you learn, because you are taught. I have chosen not to be bitter towards anyone and not to teach bitterness to anyone.

Is it something that is just peculiar to you or you teach your supporters too?

I know that if I teach people that Mr A is the source of their every failure and poverty, I will absolve myself and them of all responsibility for whatever challenges and the difficulties that they are going through. Then, I can be a super leader, because I have provided a convenient scapegoat. I can absolve myself from scrutiny and free them from responsibility for their fate.

Whether it is the South African leaders telling their people that it is the fault of foreign nationals that they are poor or white people in the United States of America saying Mexicans and immigrants are coming to steal their country, the end result is always the same: bitterness, violence, misery, failure and more poverty.

What is your alternative to teaching people bitterness?

I believe that inspiring people and motivating them to reach within themselves and not to focus on anyone else will give them the will to examine themselves and their leadership in the areas in which action or inaction can be reviewed and improved.

This model of leadership is difficult, tasking and cannot provide you with docile followers who will do whatever you say, but it provides you with committed associates who understand exactly what is at stake. They cannot blame you or blame anyone else, because they understand exactly where they are going and why it is important to go there, and they know it is their responsibility to get there.

If I deviate from the course tomorrow, their journey will still continue, because it is their journey. This route is tedious and painful, but I believe that ultimately it stands a chance of achieving what bitterness and scapegoating others will never achieve. It can actually help move the society in the direction of unity, peace, progress and prosperity.

We must all realise our fallibility, and the fact that no matter how good we may be, we can be better and no matter how well we have done, we can still do better.

In my world, bitterness towards anyone is a sign of failure, it means you admit that the other person has the power to make your life. No one has that power over my life.

How do you prepare your supporters and those who believe in your course to face the vicissitudes that come with the kind of politics that we practise in Nigeria?

So, rather than tell my supporters of all the miseries, humiliations and attack that have been my lot in the All Progressives  Congress (APC), the party that we put our lives on the line to birth in Rivers state, rather than tell them about the oppression I am facing at the hands of the friend, for whose sake I wept on the floor of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I tell them that their lives is their responsibility, and that no man can alter their destiny.

It is our responsibility to identify what we want, where we need to be and how we can get there. I tell them (his supporters) to come and let us move mountains, if need be.

We will enjoy our journey, as challenging as it may be, and we will not just travel hopefully, but we will get there.

I do not know your destination, but I know that the ultimate objective of bitterness is violence. If you kill the object of your bitterness, it will still not get you to your destination, if you do not know where you are going.

This morning, a friend sent me a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson: “Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” No matter what anyone else may have done, we must start any honest and meaningful evaluation with ourselves. What did I do, what have I done and most importantly, what can I do better? Examining yourself honestly is not an automatic admission of failure, it is rather an opportunity to improve.

Money is important, but leaders should not be judged only by how much money they can give.