The Peacock That Forgot the Gate: Anatomy of Power and the Arrogance of Governance—By Lanre Ogundipe

“Power rarely collapses from opposition. More often, it collapses from the arrogance it breeds.”

In the great palace of governance, there lives a creature every nation eventually encounters.

It does not arrive roaring. It does not storm the gates. It enters quietly—almost modestly—escorted by applause and expectation. When it first crosses the threshold of power, it bows to the people who lifted it there. Its steps are cautious, its voice measured, its promises generous.

In those early days, it speaks the language of humility.
It calls itself a servant of the people.
But power has an unusual metabolism. It feeds on attention and slowly digests restraint. What begins as authority gradually transforms into something else—something heavier, something brighter, something dangerously intoxicating.

The creature begins to change.
Its feathers grow.
Its stride lengthens.
Its voice deepens.
And soon the palace corridors echo with the unmistakable presence of the Peacock of Power.

At first, the transformation appears harmless. The peacock’s feathers are colourful, impressive, almost ceremonial. Visitors admire the spectacle. Courtiers celebrate its elegance. The creature itself begins to enjoy the attention.
There is nothing unusual about this stage.
Power has always loved decoration.

The problem begins when the peacock starts to believe the palace belongs to it.
For power possesses a peculiar ability to erase memory. Slowly, quietly, the road that led to the palace fades from the mind of the peacock. The dusty streets where ordinary citizens once cheered become distant and irrelevant.

The creature forgets the gate.
It forgets the hands that lifted it to the palace balcony.
It forgets the promises whispered during the climb.
Soon the peacock begins to imagine that it did not arrive through the gate at all. It begins to believe the palace was its natural habitat, its historical destiny, its permanent residence.

ADVERTISEMENT

Once that illusion settles into the mind of power, governance begins its quiet mutation.
The peacock stops listening.
Advice becomes irritation. Questions become insults. Criticism becomes rebellion.

Those who once spoke truth to power are gradually pushed to the edges of the palace where their voices echo but rarely reach the throne.

Inside the palace, however, a different reality unfolds.
The peacock discovers mirrors.
Mirrors are the most dangerous companions of power. They reflect magnificence without contradiction. They applaud silently. They never challenge, never warn, never disagree.
Surrounded by mirrors, the peacock begins to admire itself endlessly.

Its feathers appear grander each morning. Its voice sounds wiser each evening. The creature becomes convinced that the echo of its footsteps across the marble floors is the sound of national admiration.
But echoes are not applause.

They are simply the noise power makes when it walks alone.
As time passes, the palace becomes louder while the nation grows quieter. Convoys multiply. Sirens scream through crowded streets like declarations of authority. The peacock moves through the city escorted by speed and spectacle.

Citizens stand aside as the theatre of governance rushes past them.
In the early days, the peacock called the people its partners.
Later, it calls them its subjects.
Eventually, it calls them obstacles.
That is the moment arrogance fully matures.

Arrogance in governance rarely arrives dramatically. It grows slowly, like ivy climbing the walls of a neglected building. At first it appears decorative. Later it suffocates the structure beneath it.

Power that once listened begins to lecture.
Power that once consulted begins to command.
Power that once served begins to rule.

The distance between the palace and the people stretches wider each day until the bridge of humility collapses under the weight of authority.

Inside the palace, courtiers adjust quickly to the new atmosphere.
They understand the mathematics of power. Survival in the palace depends not on honesty but on harmony. The mirrors must never crack. The feathers must always be admired.

So the chorus begins.
“Your Excellency is visionary.”
“Your Excellency is unmatched.”
“Your Excellency alone understands the nation.”
The peacock spreads its feathers wider, convinced the entire country is applauding.
Outside the palace, however, the people watch a different drama.

They see a government increasingly absorbed in its own reflection. They see leaders surrounded by praise yet increasingly distant from reality. They see policies announced with thunder but delivered with hesitation.
The palace becomes a theatre.
Governance becomes performance.
Reality becomes inconvenience.

Arrogance, once established, develops its own vocabulary.
Critics are described as enemies.
Journalists are labelled troublemakers.
Opposition becomes sabotage.
Citizens who question authority are accused of misunderstanding progress.

In truth, arrogance is simply power that has stopped listening.
History offers a long gallery of palaces once occupied by magnificent peacocks. Their feathers dazzled their courts. Their voices commanded obedience. Their presence dominated the political horizon of their time.
For a moment, they appeared permanent.
Then history intervened.
For beyond the palace walls lives a force that rulers often underestimate: the patience of citizens.

Citizens are remarkable observers. They may appear quiet, but they rarely forget. They watch the transformation of power carefully. They notice when humility begins to fade. They recognise when governance becomes spectacle rather than service.
And they remember the gate.

The same people who once opened the gate of power possess the quiet authority to close it.
History is full of such moments.
One day the palace is filled with noise and celebration. The next day the corridors grow strangely silent. The mirrors stop applauding. The courtiers become cautious. The peacock suddenly realises that the palace was never permanent.
It was borrowed.

Power, at its core, is merely temporary custody of public trust. It is not inherited property. It is not royal entitlement. It is a responsibility lent by citizens who expect humility in return.

When that trust mutates into arrogance, the palace becomes fragile.
Wise leaders understand this early. They treat power like a delicate instrument—necessary, powerful, but dangerous when mishandled. They walk frequently beyond the palace walls. They return to the villages that shaped them. They listen more than they speak.
Above all, they remember the gate.

Arrogant rulers learn the same lesson differently.
They learn it from history.
And history has a peculiar sense of humour.
It allows the peacock to admire its feathers for a while. It allows the palace to echo with applause. It allows arrogance to stretch its wings across the corridors of power.

Then, quietly, it reminds the peacock who built the palace in the first place.
Usually without warning.
Usually without ceremony.
Usually on a day when the mirrors suddenly fall silent.
For when the peacock forgets the gate, the people eventually remember it.
And when they do, the journey back to the village begins.
It is a long walk.
Made longer by the weight of feathers.

Ogundipe, Public Affairs Analyst, former President Nigeria and Africa Union of Journalists writes from Abuja.