Hardly is any condition permanent. What makes a god (look) so powerful and invincible is the degree of reverence it enjoys from its subjects or worshippers; once the subjects withdraw their reverence, the god becomes irrelevant and obsolete. Does this analogy sound familiar to the African political domain and the leaders?

The news that Gabon's deposed President Ali Bongo announced he would quit politics and begged the government to release his detained wife and son, a year after he was toppled from power by a military coup, might sound strange to many who are familiar with the African political arena. However, to those who understand power and human psychology, it is a reminiscence of human powerlessness when cornered or faced with irreversible choices. Ali Bongo Ondimba, the 65-year-old deposed President of oil-rich Gabon, whose family had been in power for 55 years, is not an exception to this ugly reality.  

"I wish to reaffirm my withdrawal from political life and the definitive renunciation of any national ambition," Mr Bongo said in a letter addressed to the Gabonese people and called for the release of his wife and son, who are in detention awaiting trial on corruption allegations, following the 2023 coup, led by Gen Brice Oligui Ngeuma, which ended his Bongo's 14-year rule.

Really? Could this conciliatory and apologetic message be coming from Ali Bongo, who refused to give up power despite facing severe health challenges? Interestingly, Mr Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018, which left him visibly paralysed, a pitiful condition that had prompted many to call on him to step down as President to focus on his fragile health. He bluntly refused to listen to the honest appeals nor his visibly declining health condition; instead, he hung on to power despite spending most of his presidency in the hospital abroad, leaving the affairs of his country, Gabon, in a vulnerable state – the same country he took an oath as President to defend. Bongo's ambition and greed come before Gabon's wellbeing. What a tragedy.

While retaliating his decision to quit politics, Mr Bongo added that his decision also applied to his wife and children. This is a very interesting shift and development.

One might ask whether Mr Bongo would have been singing the tone of reconciliation if the army had not seized power last August after Mr Bongo was declared the winner of the election, which was disputed by the opposition. Would Bongo have decided to leave the political arena if the military junta did not crip his political wings? The military junta, led by Gen Brice Oligui Ngeuma, played a significant role in this power shift. Deposed and placed under house arrest in the capital, Libreville, a week after the military takeover, with his movements remaining restricted and subject to daily surveillance, suddenly, the once most powerful god in Gabon has become irrelevant because the subjects have withdrawn their support.

But that withdrawal of support for Bongo was not necessarily the joker that brought him to his knees and made him withdraw from politics. The detention and persecution of his family were the winning jokers.

Mr Bongo's call for the release of his family is not just a political move, but a deeply personal plea. He urged the military government to end what he described as "violence and torture" committed against them. Mrs Bongo faces money laundering, forgery, and falsification of documents; she has not publicly commented upon or denied those severe allegations. This call for his family's release is a clear indication of the personal toll the political situation has taken on Ali Bongo.  

It is not the intention of the writer to support the non-democratic transfer of power anywhere; far from that. The power must rest in the hands of the citizens, the electorate, not the military. Unfortunately, the masses have yet to appreciate how much power they have and the control they can exercise over their leaders. Politics is a game where all players must watch every player's move and action to avoid being defeated and rendered irrelevant. To win, one must study and master the opponent's weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That is the exact game the military junta in Gabon, led by Gen Brice Oligui Ngeuma, is playing, and the result is obvious. Ali Bongo Ondimba, who had once ignored his fragile health, the will of his people, and the declining economic, political and social situation of Gabon to stubbornly remain in power, has suddenly become the lonely voice in the wilderness, begging to go into political oblivion and exile. This shift in power dynamics underscores the influence the masses can have in political affairs.

Unless the masses understand and appreciate their power, their perceived powerful gods will continue to torment the subjects, instigating fears and an imaginary state of invincibility in their minds. Take a firm stand, put the winning joker, the game changer, on the table, and you will see how fragile, fearful and weak that once feared god has become. Yes, the degree of power and control a god has over his subject depends on the degree of reverence it gets from the subjects or worshipers; once the subjects withdraw their reverence, the god becomes irrelevant. I wish the African masses knew they had the last joker to their destiny. Understanding one's power is the key to enlightenment in the game of politics.