Playing Games

After a string of speeches from both sides in the run up to the Ukraine invasion anniversary, the situation seems to be heating up. Amidst the striking images of President Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv, and his follow up speech in Warsaw where he raised the loud slogans “Kyiv stands strong” and “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,” Putin was also busy in commemorating the “anniversary” with back to back three retaliatory speeches in three days in which he announced the unilateral suspension of the New START treaty as well as announced to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year.

There is a Yoruba adage, which says that ‘ogbon odun yii, were emii ni.’ (The wisdom of this year is foolishness in the course of time). Talking philosophically, when one relies on an older matrix to work in the present, one’s failure is likely to be like Atiku Abubakar’s. Why? The dynamics of the present may certainly not be exactly the same with the past.

We all know we’ve let down our guard these past few days, or weeks. The tension and circus of political intrigues have made us forget who we really are.

James Madison, America’s fourth president (1809–1817), who made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, once said, and I quote, “No man can be a competent legislator who does not add to an upright intention and a sound judgment a certain degree of knowledge of the subject on which he is to legislate. Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms, cities, or economic interests.”