Politics of acrimony and the futility of smear campaigns, By ‘Lade Bandele

Every political culture develops habits of judgment. Some encourage inquiry. Others encourage suspicion. Over time, those habits become so deeply embedded that they begin to shape how societies interpret success itself. Achievement ceases to be understood as achievement. It becomes positioning. Service becomes strategy. Professional accomplishment becomes political preparation. The result is a subtle but consequential distortion of public life. A society that becomes incapable of distinguishing achievement from ambition eventually loses the ability to recognise institution-builders, while they are still engaged in the work of building institutions.