The Rule-Or-Ruin Syndrome

There is a “dog-in-the-manger” or sadistic proclivity in humans, namely: “What you cannot achieve or enjoy, destroy or make it impossible for anyone else to get or enjoy it”. This human weakness manifests in various ways which include the dodging of responsibility, exploration and exploitation of points of lease resistance, letting others think and work for indolent  masters, and the use of intimidation, blusters and subterfuge to maintain the position of a macho-man.
In British history, there is what is known as the “War of Jenkin’s Ear” – you go to war if any buccaneer or interloper tries to dislodge your position or undermine your advantage. In Nigeria, a macho-man once said that if existing revenue sharing or allocation formula gets altered, his tribe would go to war. What an intimidation! Poke your nose into census figures which is one criterion for revenue allocation, the one having an audacity to do so would be told that a beer-brewer cannot be a census-figures brewer.
How does the rule-or-ruin syndrome work? It is a politico-military strategy whereby only two political parties exist, namely, “democratic” one (whether one of fifty parties) and the military. The military serves as the guardian-angel of the estate, while “democrats” practice the real politics.
When the estate or system is threatened and the status-quo placed in jeopardy, then the military comes in handy as the safety-valve of the system. If the military party is not invited voluntarily, then the party of macho-men would come in one a “War of Jenkin’s ear”.
You dare not threaten the interests or dinner of powerful interest groups who had been able to design and perfect a system upon which the principles of rule-or-ruin syndrome operate. We have a clear example of what is going on between Nigerian Senators  and Professor Itse Sagay or the Inspector-General of Police and a whistle blower, an ex-police officer, who exposed  some shady deals with respect to the hiring or deployment of police personnel to oil and gas companies. Is it true or false that each Senator gets a total of about 3 billion naira annually under various systems of a padding game? Is it true or false that the audacious ex-police officer was a “deserter” who forged retirement document?
What is the operational strategy of the rule-or-ruin syndrome? As a sadistic or dog –in-the-manger human propensity, the rule-or-ruin syndrome can be described as a manifestation of envy. One of the principles of the game is: If you cannot “make” it, fake it! To fake what you cannot make or achieve, use clever operators to work for you, and use “macho-men” to protect your interest and safe-guard your estate. Like counterfeit currency or any fake product, the game is usually full of dangers, fears and the ability to sustain the bravado and braggadocio, by force.
If you ask Machiavelli and his Prince, or the author of The Mafia Manager, with the name of V, you would get the “distilled wisdom of the men who have managed one of the  largest, most profitable and long-lived cartels in the history of capitalism – the Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, etc” Mafia managers are usually the richest people in the world but they are rarely the most productive or the most patriotic elements in human society. They are also ruthless and would hardly spare anyone who tries to expose them and their activities. Even when they appear in white garments and have the Name of the Almighty on the lips every moment, they would destroy whoever attempts to dethrone them.
They would hate the presence of highly perceptive, articulate and educated people of integrity who cannot be bought and sold. Rather they fish around for intellectual whores and influence mongers or attention-seekers who can run errands for them. Those who fall prey to their antics and who back out from the fraternity when they discover what is “inside” the coven, soon learn that the gun is mightier than the pen. Either you keep quiet thereafter or you get bruised beyond recovery. Upright people would never be allowed to emerge as rulers, and if any does who sets out to expose what is in the cover, then, hell would descend upon such audacious one.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer from Rivers State University.
e-mail:bamirize@yahoo.com.

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