Opinions of Sunday, 16 April 2017

Columnist: Nimi Princewill

Why every President is mysteriously hated!

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln

Over the years, it's been more or less, a traditional ritual for an incoming president to enjoy a rite of passage into power as a crowd pleaser.

Sadly, maintaining such romantic connection with the crowd after a little drive off the garage, seem to be a slight misfortune, as they suddenly tend to pick up the pace on the mockery and hate that follows up quite shortly!

Perhaps, it's safe to say- the same people who make a president popular, can as well turnaround to make him scandalously unpopular!

While you nod along in agreement, reiterating in your mind why a president deserves a regular backlash for his 'numerous' inadequacies, when do we come to realize we've been going round in circles with every administration?

We tend to breed so much hate and disgust for an outgoing president we once voted (who according to our impeccable ratings, have done the abominable), then we embrace a new president we likewise voted into power, only to hate on him in a similar fashion and draw a countdown for his exit, hoping for a better one to come by at the next polls!

I worriedly ask...

Are all presidents atrocious and insensitive, yet we chose them anyway?

Will the bulk of citizens ever find a president good enough for them?

I then realized, politics go much deeper than the loud cheers and applauses roared at electioneering campaigns from the majority of people who seem to approve.

It is the mystery of running the lives of millions of people who don't really care much about having a great country, but bother more on having a great home!

The moment the GDP can't be tangibly reflected any sooner in their lives on an individual basis, however thoughtful your ideas/policies are on paper, or how charming your smile is on camera, you become a clueless, ugly and corrupt monster from the woods!

Doesn't it feel a bit strange, how the same people who tarried and labored to win long arguments on behalf of a presidential candidate at barbershops and other public hangouts, before heaping large votes on him in trust of his goals and campaign promises, could suddenly swirl in disagreement of the same goals, or his methods of pursuing them?

Every policy, travels on a two-way street. While it gets accommodated by a few, it pisses a lot more off!

That's aside the discontent of a rival political party, who strategically oppose the president's methods, in order to continuously dim the lights of his 'street cred'.

Presidents are sometimes hated for no fault of theirs, although their unorthodox policies, alleged corrupt practices and high-handedness in certain cases, could give the citizens a sudden hankering for their blood!

They are no magicians to swiftly overturn the misfortunes of the people in a split second. Neither can they satisfactorily meet up with every expectation, or sort out the individual needs of every citizen. They can only do the best they can within a time frame and allow the work in progress be inherited by a different administration.

On the other hand, no one can blame the citizens for having several demands or growing a high expectation of their leaders who speak like magicians during election campaigns.

As a result, citizens may continue to be disappointed with every president's political inadequacy and the presidents alongside, will continue to lounge in the flattering quantity of hatred they enjoy!