By Abubakar Sokoto Mohammed, mni
The Dual Emperor
Once upon a time there is a “Dual Emperor” in the coming millennium who aspires to dominate and rule the universe. By way of introduction, the “Dual Emperor” started by ruling two empires simultaneously like a dual- sim smart phone. He ruled the Bear Empire directly and the Eagle Empire by remote control through a puppet clown. The Dual Emperor invested a lot of time and resources to prepare for the realization of his ambition. He trained physically to be a top flight Judoka, He prepared mentally, academically and was thoroughly schooled in the dark cloak and dagger profession.
Having been born and bred in the land of Sunrise, he mastered the Oriental hemisphere adequately. Having worked intensively and extensively in the land of Sunset, he understudied and mesmerised the Occidental hemisphere. When he was ready to come onto the Forum, he subjugated the ancient Sickle and Hammer party, disorganised the new political aspirants and disgorged the noveaux riche produced by the new opportunistic dog- eat- dog system. The constitution of the old Red Empire became his canvass on which to draw his desires. He ruled the Bear Empire with whichever title he liked either as the Head of State or the Head of Government/ Chief Executive of the heavy state apparatchik after every Kangaroo election.
Imperial Rivalry
There had been a very long imperial rivalry between the Bear and the Eagle Empires. This ferocious, sometimes deadly combat both open and hidden extended into various endeavours: military, technological, industrial, business, arts, culture, sports and several others. In this keen competition the two empires alternated their leadership positions at various times in different spheres of engagement. There was a race to outer space, carving spheres of influence, direct conflicts and indirect destabilization subterfuges. The Eagle Empire seemed to have won the Arctic contest with the rise of the unipolar world. This was after the apparent dismemberment of the Bear Empire due to intensive propaganda, disinformation and misinformation campaigns by the state agencies of the Eagle Empire.
The Counter Offensive
After euphoric celebration of the Pyrrhic victory in the global contest, the Eagle Empire degenerated and decay set in. This is evident in the economic ascendancy of the Dragon Empire and the consolidation of the White Empire into a formidable economic block. The collapse of the safety net and the disruption in race relations were all symptoms of decadence notwithstanding the historic election of the first Negro leader after a period of over 200 years in the Eagle Empire.
The counter offensive of the Dual Emperor advanced through a meticulous subterranean war plan in the intelligence and political arenas. This provoked sharp divisions in the Eagle Empire along ideological, policy, racial, gender, property and other binary characteristics. The intrusion of the Dual Emperor into the political and intelligence machineries of the Eagle Empire empowered him to manipulate, demystify, control and dominate the racist, minority establishment from his Polar capital. The Dual Emperor also displayed his skills as a master strategist by intruding into the Exit imbroglio of the comatose Lion Empire to influence the outcome.
The Puppet King
The Dual Emperor had the last laugh by bringing the Eagle Empire to its knees in a very bitter and antagonistic election which changed the Donkey Group with the Elephant Group in the Casablanca Palace. As a product of the society where the grand masters are trained and groomed in the war game of chess, the Dual Emperor is both a visionary strategist and calculating tactician. He destabilized and dislodged the Queen in the intense political contest and captured the King as a pawn. The character of the newly “elected” King of the Eagle Empire did not help matters.
The Puppet King is reputed to be a failed entrepreneur, philanderer, leisure loving, semi-literate with neither public, legislative, judicial nor policy experience. A number of uncomplimentary adjectives have been used to describe the Puppet King: foolish, idiot, unlettered, inexperienced, untutored, uncultured, vulgar, raw, unpolished, compulsive, naïve, incompetent, gullible, unintelligent, incompetent, authoritarian and many more worst terms. These were the qualities that the Dual Emperor saw in the Puppet to warrant recruiting him in addition to blackmailing the clown for his Golden Showers wild womanizing debauchery.
To help run the affairs of the failed Eagle Empire, the literally naked puppet mobilized forces of nepotism, charlatanism and opportunism. Thanks to the ICT revolution, the buffoon, who neither reads nor writes, has the illusion that he could rule the World as the “Twitter King”.
As a Johnny Just Come from the Business City to the Public City, he came with the delusion that he could only stamp his authority on the throne by dislodging and antagonizing the “Landlords of the Swamp” better known as the “Beltway Bandits”. These institutions are namely: the Federal Bureaucracy, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the various “Communities” in the citadel of power: intelligence, diplomatic, academic, think tank, lobbyists and several others. Of course when he was elected (read imposed) he promised to run the Government as a Business. The only things he knew were to “hire” and “fire”. Notwithstanding how? when? and where? His major undoing is to take on the Fourth Estate of the Realm, which is giving him a good run for his money. After impeachment, the place of the Puppet King will be assured at the rock bottom of the dust bin of history.
The Dual Emperor can pop champagne because he is ruling a pompous rival empire without firing a single shot. This is the essence of intelligence and diplomacy. Not even the satellite systems are free from the strong undersea arms of the Red Octopus. To the Dual Emperor, “Power” is the ultimate crown in imperial rivalry, not money or luxury.
Future of the Globe
Beating his chest as a conquering gorilla, the Dual Emperor, has the future of the globe to contend with. The frightening spread and voracious appetite of the Dragon Empire must be a cause for concern to the Dual Emperor especially in the economic, technological, military and diplomatic spheres. The Asian Tigers and the emerging African Lions that have been condemned to the backwaters of global affairs should neither be ignored nor under rated. The continental block of White Hegemony and the smattering hitherto electronic and technological Samurai giant, that has been displaced to the Third Rank in the global economic hierarchy is also not a push over.
The violent conflicts, massive migrations, the Middle East wars, the Palestinian question, international terrorism, religious/ethnic bigotry, organized cross border crimes viz., drug and human trafficking, smuggling, proliferation of small and light weapons, climate change with catastrophic consequences are all yearning for rational and sustainable solutions. The Armageddon of the threat of a nuclear war between an exuberant youth and a foolish dullard has put the whole world on the precipice!
Mohammed, mni teaches Political Sociology at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and was the Acting Director of Research at the National Think Tank (NIPSS, Kuru).
