A good leader is aware of the power behind his enemy

The financing of a war is the strength that keeps the parties fighting. There is nothing like a war without a financier. The financier of a war is the power behind the war.

Who is the powerful person behind your enemy? That is the real person you are dealing with! A good leader knows that there is something powerful behind every war. Every war is fought by two parties and behind each party are the real makers of the war.

The power behind the Angolan civil war

In 1974, Angola became independent of Portugal. Soon after their independence, the country was plunged into war. The war was fought between two main groups: the Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-Marxist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) led by Jonas Savimbi.

These two groups fought a vicious war but could never have sustained their war without support from outside. Indeed, the MPLA, being a Marxist movement, was funded by the Soviet Union and Cuba. The UNITA, on the other hand, was supported by the United States and South Africa. However, when the Soviet Union broke up and the Cold War ended, these major powers were no longer interested in financing such wars.

In 1992, elections were held and the MPLA won and formed a government, but the peace did not last and by 1998, the war had fully resumed.

Every time a war erupts, you must ask who is behind the war. So who was behind this war since America and the Soviet Union were no longer interested in sponsoring it? The answer is simple. Since Angola was rich in diamonds and oil, multinational companies moved in and indirectly took over the financing of these wars.

UNITA’s main source of income came from diamonds, while the MPLA’s main source of income was oil. UNITA controlled most of the diamond production in the country and earned at least 3.7 billion dollars between 1992 and 1997. The MPLA, on the other hand, had most of its funding from the oil riches of the nation.

As you can see, Angola’s war was always financed by somebody. Initially, it was funded by powerful nations. Then after that, it was financed by powerful companies.

When war erupts, find out who is financing the war. That is your real enemy!

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, ‘Entice him, and SEE WHEREIN HIS GREAT STRENGTH LIETH, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.’” (Judges 16:4-5)

The cost of war

Did you know that a single bullet could cost as much as $30? Did you know that one AK 47 machine gun costs at least 600 dollars? Did you know that one medium-sized rocket launcher costs about $1,000? Did you know that a battle tank costs $8.5million? Did you know that a bomber costs$300 million? Did you know that a fighter jet costs as much as $211 million? Did you know that one air-to-air missile costs about $400,000? Did you know that one torpedo costs $900,000? Did you know that a destroyer ship costs more than $800 million? Did you know that a sub-marine costs as much as $2.5 billion? Did you know that one sub-marine -launched ballistic missile costs $65 million? Did you know that one inter-continental ballistic missile costs about $50 million?

To have thousands of men bearing arms and shooting indiscriminately is very expensive business indeed! It is almost impossible to win a war against someone who has more money than you. The person who has endless sources of income has endless sources of strength. These mysterious financiers of wars are those who are behind rebel wars and insurgencies all over the world.

This is how come poor men who live in the village are able to possess tanks and other sophisticated weapons to wage wars with. The real enemy heavily finances them. In real life, these people would not have enough money to buy even one bullet. There is always a hidden power behind the war.

If you are a leader, your real enemy is, therefore, the person who is dishing out the money to those who are fighting you. A good leader is not content to be ignorant of the power behind his enemy. A good leader finds out who wields that power and attacks the source of the strength of his enemy. Remember: the financier of your enemy is the main person who hates you and wants to eliminate you!

Writer’s E-mail :theaol@ymail.com
The writer is the Presiding Bishop of the United Denominations-Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC)