The Death of Diplomacy.
I studied International Relations (IR) until the doctoral level, yet earning my first degree in the field was not my first choice. I chose IR for many reasons, but mainly because my cousin, who was studying IR then, always had so much knowledge of IR to share with me, and I thought I would study it. Besides that, we both agree that it was helpful to do something first, even if not your choice, and I can return to what I wanted to do in the future. Notably, he told me what I would never utter, and then I decided I would be better off in the learning environment.
When I took classes on diplomacy, it interested me because I learned that the war of words (not only that) that led to several senseless wars was one of the reasons other forms of diplomacy aside from war became necessary. Particularly in the post-1945 world, the effort was to avoid war on a larger scale than we saw during WW2. Yet, scholars who track numbers alleged that more people have died in all the pockets of war around the world since 1945 than those that died in WW2. To be sure, diplomacy is not a post-1945 idea, but it assumed new dimensions, including creative diplomacies such as gastronomy or culinary diplomacy, sport, health, and celebrity diplomacy have come to occupy a significant place in cultural exchange, mediation, and conflict resolution. Yet every day, I ask myself if we have not returned or maybe never left the world where verbal violence paled in significance to all I have ever read or seen in recent times.
The university professor writes emails to junior faculty that must never be released or the democratic government that issues an order to intellectuals as though it is another military regime. Specifically, I have noticed the absence of a delectable decorum to speaking and communicating that kept me out of digital space for years until recently. I won't say my communication has always been without blemishes, but you have to push beyond boundaries to hear me speak a certain way, even with that not as a political office holder. Specifically, I am wary of how government officials communicate with the public. One time Madam Dabiri missed the opportunity to communicate what her agency was doing without profiling and stereotyping an entire ethnicity. Rather than seeking who can give the biggest clap back, can we communicate? In the most recent one, she said they were organizing students stranded in Sudan based on state of origin. Seriously?
I say all this to echo what people not choosing political correctness have said. Honorable Abike Dabiri could have done /do better in several of her engagement in recent times. I was one of the people who spoke within and outside of my circle a few years ago when we thought a minister was hazing her. Still, her conduct in recent years could be the credentials of her character, even if we don't doubt the credibility of her credentials. Can people be civil? Can public officials really serve the public?
One of the reasons I pray to God never to hold political office is because it is a tough job. You don't do it as though citizens are inconveniencing you. You have to do it because you love to serve. One thing my PoP said years ago that stuck with me was. PoP said, "Dog can bark at the moon, but if the moon ever responds to the Dog, there would be a problem". Further, he said, "once you reach a certain level, you can't be offended by other species who continue looking up from the ground! Once you get to a certain stature, you can't find nourishment in low places. Just because turtles dwell at your feet doesn't mean you should come down from your height and barter with, debate, or eat alongside them".
People come into my inbox, which I started checking lately because I discovered I miss important messages trying to avoid people who want a "genitalia meet up" even though I put all my degree(s) and work experience to be clear about who I am and what I do, so there is no mix-up. So rather than exchanging words with you once, I see hello, beautiful, sweetheart, and other appellations, and I block you.
I am overwhelmed at this time of the academic session, but I must say something about this. I have been following the update in Khartoum through an academic listserv; I hope to find time to pen my thought on that region and Africa broadly someday.
Posted on Facebook on April 28, 2023.
Image used under @ Creative common. Photo credit: Google
