Those who unite only for selfish reasons are bound to fail. Making reference to John Lara’s The Samaritan, write an essay to support this statement.
Some people only come together for the common purpose of pursuing their selfish interests. Such people are always unsuccessful in achieving their goal. In The Samaritan, Mossi and other leaders only unite in an effort save their skins from the exposé on The Samaritan app in order to avoid possible conviction but their meetings end in disarray and ultimately they fail to achieve their common goal.
Mayor Mossi unites with other key leaders in the municipal administration with the aim of saving their skins in the wake of damaging revelations about them in the media but this unity proves futile in the long run. The mayor convenes an urgent meeting when he learns that the leaders had been exposed on the Samaritan app and newspapers such as “The Insight” whose headline screams: ‘Rot in Maracas Municipal Council Exposed’(P21). Mossi refused to launch the Samaritan app when he figured out the innovation may be a problem for the leaders(P23). The app can be used to expose corruption and other vices and agitate for prosecution of the culprits(P23). The main aim of this unity is to attempt to avert possible prosecution and conviction. Seymour suggests that they have a conversation with those posting on the app and pay them to stop(P24). He also suggests that Jaden helps them in case the issue escalates to court. Mossi insist that they must work together since they all have some skeletons in the closet(P29). Seymour insists they should mobilize enough money to fight any impending cases(P31). He avers that they should get their money from the municipal fund and Ted says they can use it to pay investigators, lawyers, prosecutors, and judges(P33). He says they could justify the reallocation by claiming it would be used to fix the waste disposal system which poses a health hazard but Mossi dismisses him saying it was against the law. The meeting degenerates into a spat pitting Mossi against Ted and Seymour. They accuse each other of several crimes. Seymour and Ted threaten to hound Mossi out of office but he cautions them that he is “The smoke that thunders”. Eventually, they fail to stop the Samaritan app or the prosecution since they are arrested in the long run. Clearly, coming together for selfish reasons bears no fruit.
Mossi brings together his dependable allies so that they could agree on the handling of the Samaritan crisis which had snowballed into a huge nightmare for them (P37) but this unity of convenience proves futile. Mossi, Bembe and Harvester meets in the Jungle room at the Madingo Golf Club. Each one of them is accused of many misdeeds and the purpose of their unity is to try and escape the dragnet. Bembe is accused of countless cases of corruption, violation of human rights, drug peddling and extortion(P38). Harvester is accused of many crimes of abuse of office including doing letters banning the use of apps and directing the ICT officer to take steps against suspect apps(P38). On the other hand, Mossi is accused of many crimes particularly municipal capture which is the worst form of corruption and abuse of office where private interests determine the direction of public policy(P39). Harvester is also accused of using public funds to purchase all newspapers following Mossi orders(P40). “The Caribbean Watch” newspaper alleges that Bembe’s hotel and home are built on Maracas University land and a lobby group is moving to court to have the land restored back to the university(P40). He is also accused of being a member of Ghettoboyz gang which robs people. He has further converted the municipal police force into his personal outfit for collecting bribes and his hotel which is now dubbed ‘Motorists Highway Hotel’ was built with bribes collected from motorists(P41). This trio convenes for several selfish reasons: Saving Bembe’s land from his repossession, saving Mossi from being ejected from office through a vote of no confidence, and escaping retribution following the exposure on the Samaritan app. They plan to arrange for press conferences to give the impression that the municipal council is running normally(P43). The most important and urgent problem according to Mossi is dealing with the vote of no confidence in him(P43). They raise a number of solutions including arresting the sponsors of the motion, stopping the move in court, mobilizing Mossi’s political base to defeat the motion on the floor, and funding gangs – Red Eagle Network and Ghettoboyz – and undercover police officers to disrupt the meeting at the municipal headquarters(P44-47). They plan to deal with the Samaritan by either talking to Ms Nicole or blackmailing her by accusing her of stealing school property including a computer or a generator(P47). They also plan to talk to Jaden to jail Ramdaye, Seymour and Ted(P47). They fail terribly. They are unable to stop the Samaritan, the judge dismisses Nicole’s case and sets her free(P100), Bembe is badly embarrassed when the fools he sent to steal the generator are unsuccessful in their endeavour, and he has been summoned to the headquarters in the capital by his bosses. The vote of no confidence is still on as Ramdaye and his group are regrouping to have a massive rally at Atobold stadium(P101). Also, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau is on to them(P102). Ultimately, they fail to stop the prosecutions as they are all arrested. Surely, coming together only for selfish reasons is pointless.
Hon Ramdaye, Hon Seymour and Hon Ted also meet to mobilize the entire municipal council to pass the no confidence motion against Mayor Mossi(P75). Ramdaye was also in talks with Basdeo who was is to work with them(P80). The purpose of this unity is to form a coalition for their own selfish reasons and also to avoid prosecution after being exposed on the Samaritan app. They meet in the Sky Room at the Madingo golf club. Seymour and Ted are accused of supplying air; there is public outcry over companies that bill the municipal council huge sums of money every month but do not render any services. These companies are linked to Seymour and Ted(P24). In order to fight the impending prosecution, Seymour suggests that through a reallocation of budget line items, they get money from the municipal fund. Ted says the fund can be used to take care of the investigators, lawyers, prosecutors and judges(P32). They end up disagreeing with Mossi who accuses them of notoriety over misallocation of funds: from regular travels with enhanced allowances, sitting allowances of unnecessary committee meetings, to loans, and mortgages(P34). Seymour and Mossi trade accusations over questionable deeds committed by either of them. Seymour insists that Mossi approves the supplementary budget or be ejected out of office(P35). This group is meeting to advance the no confidence motion. Ted is tasked with talking to councillors and Aldermen to seek their support. Basdeo is interested in forming a coalition with the trio and all members of the mixed ethnicity. His condition is that when Seymour becomes mayor, he should immediately appoint him the deputy mayor(P80). The group is planning to have a massive rally on Wednesday at the Atobold Stadium to rally the people against Mossi. Their alliance is a big failure since Ted is on the phone all night but gets very little support from the councillors and aldermen (P76). Even after canvassing, his overall assessment is that the situation is not very good. It is difficult to know which direction the vote would go(P79). The rally does not take place and they also fail to stop the Samaritan. They are arrested by Tajo, the head of Anti-Corruption investigations Bureau. They are all handcuffed bundled out and escorted to the anti-corruption headquarters for questioning. Indeed, uniting for selfish reasons is bound to end up in failure.
Mossi and Bembe come together with Jaden with a view to fight back against Ramdaye and company who are trying to remove Mossi from office but this unity is fruitless in the end. Mossi desperately tries to stop the move to eject him from office. He manages to send his goons from Red Eagle Network to abort a meeting of the conspirators at the municipal headquarters and plans to use the same method to stop a rally his enemies are planning(P101). When he leads the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau is also involved, he posits that Justice Jaden holds the key out of the mess. He intends to use the grain scandal to make the stiff-necked judge to cooperate(P102). Mossi informs Jaden that he needs him to help him initiate cases against Ramdaye and his team quickly and secure convictions as soon as possible, preferably in a day, in order to derail the plan to remove him from office(P103). Bembe adds that the judiciary is core in dealing with The Samaritan and Mossi is willing to grease Jaden’s palm(P104). Jaden is unwilling to play ball but they force his hand by alluding to the rats and other rodents scandal. They remind Jaden that he is also in the mess just like they, thanks to The Samaritan. They remind him of how rats were reared in Prime Orchard Farm and released into corn and rice fields(P105). The idea was to undermine the domestic production in order to increase demand for imported grains because Prime Orchard Farm was one of the largest corn importers in Maracas (P107). Mossi blackmails Jaden into an alliance with them by ordering Bembe to arrest the owners of Prime Orchard Farm(P105). Jaden and his mistress Ivy own the company as shareholders. Mossi and Bembe will only spare him on condition that he convicts Ramdaye and Basdeo for the involvement in the grain scandal and he jails Ted and Seymour for supplying air to the municipal council(P112). All this is a selfish attempt to stop his removal from office and possible conviction. They fail eventually since as much as Jaden eventually agrees to work with them, their union bears no fruit since they fail to stop activities of The Samaritan and are arrested by the anti-corruption boss Tajo. They are handcuffed and manhandled by two uniformed officers accompanying Tajo(P138). Surely, uniting in pursuit of selfish goals is clearly futile.
Justice Jaden sets up a meeting with Harvester for his own selfish reasons but he fails in the end. He is in a mess and it concerns The Samaritan(P114). He insists that they must find a way of helping each other since each of them is in hot soup(P115). Mossi has instructed the municipal council to file cases against Ramdaye, Seymour, Ted and Basdeo in order to forestall the vote of no confidence(P115). Jaden is in a dilemma because he is also entangled in the case(P116). He made a biased ruling and was paid using shares of a company the municipal council is suing. Jaden proposes an alternative dispute resolution. He says that Mayor Mossi, Basdeo and others come together to talk to one another since none of them is clean. He suggests that they secure a truce in order to deal with The Samaritan as a united force(P118-119). The leaders meet at the Chamber of the principal judge for a meeting convened by Jaden purposely to save their skins from the Samaritan(P120). Each of them is exposed on The Samaritan for engaging in a number of crimes. The leaders fail to agree on the real problems facing them and most of them give selfish responses, for example: Mossi says the problem is his impending removal from office, Seymour talks of Mossi’s refusal to give them municipal funds, Harvester blames the Samaritan, Bembe talks about the school kids, Basdeo alludes to the skeletons in the closet while Jaden says the problem is the risk of persecution(P121). The leaders come up with several suggestions in pursuit of redemption for example double jeopardy, temporal halting of the use of The Samaritan app(P123) and even offering Nicole a powerful position in the municipality(P125). Jaden is picked to speak to Nicole on their behalf(P127). To their dismay, their plan is unsuccessful since Nicole declines to take up the position of director general(P134-137). She says they don’t need new laws, positions, or offices but a change of heart or spirit among the people and especially the leaders. She blames the leaders for breaking the law and pursuing the selfish interests at the expense of their people(P137). A commotion ensues when the anti-corruption chief walks in. Their ploy fails because they cannot not stop The Samaritan despite their best efforts instead they are arrested and frog marched to the anti-corruption headquarters for questioning. When people unite for the sole purpose of securing their selfish needs they fail.
In conclusion, coming together for selfish reasons is pointless. The self-seeking leaders come together for their own selfish reasons but they fail. Despite their endeavour, their chickens come home to roost.
