By
Nze David N. Ugwu
Gluttony is often reduced to the image of overeating or crude indulgence, but in its more dangerous form it has little to do with food and everything to do with power. It is the psychology of never enough—a compulsive accumulation that defies reason, consequence, or even self-preservation. In the political economy of many African states, this pathology has assumed institutional form. In particular, gluttony has moved from being an individual moral failure to a normalized elite culture, shaping governance outcomes, distorting national priorities, and exporting stolen wealth to fertilize foreign economies.
This write-up examines gluttony not as a moral insult, but as a psychological condition—one rooted in insecurity, entitlement, impunity, and the intoxication of unchecked power.
Gluttony Beyond the Plate: A Psychological Reframing
Psychologically, gluttony is a disorder of appetite. But appetite here is symbolic: appetite for money, power, control, status, and invulnerability. Unlike rational self-interest—which has limits—gluttony is insatiable. The glutton does not steal to survive or even to live comfortably; he steals because stopping feels like loss.
Modern psychology associates such behavior with:
- Compulsive accumulation – the need to hoard beyond utility.
- Dopamine addiction – the neurological “high” from acquisition.
- Moral disengagement – the ability to neutralize guilt through rationalization.
- Grandiose entitlement – the belief that one deserves excess.
In political office, these traits become magnified. Access to public funds, weak oversight, and social reverence combine to remove natural restraints on appetite.
Power as an Appetite Multiplier
Power does not automatically corrupt, but it dramatically amplifies latent tendencies. When individuals with unresolved insecurities, fragile self-worth, or deep fear of poverty acquire authority, power becomes a compensatory drug.
The psychology is simple:
- Power reduces inhibition
- Impunity removes fear
- Access removes effort
Together, they create what psychologists call disinhibited acquisition syndrome (DAS): the individual no longer experiences internal brakes. Theft becomes routine, not exceptional. The treasury is no longer public—it becomes personal.
This explains why many officials do not stop stealing even after acquiring more wealth than they or their descendants could ever consume. Gluttony is not about need; it is about control and reassurance.
The Inability to Stop: When Enough Feels Like Nothing
One of the most disturbing aspects of elite corruption is not that people steal, but that they cannot stop. Psychologically, this reflects three interlocking conditions:
Fear of the Future
Many leaders come from histories of deprivation or instability. Wealth becomes an emotional insurance policy. No amount ever feels sufficient because the fear that once existed is never healed.
Loss of Moral Anchors
Repeated violations of trust normalize deviance. Each successful theft lowers psychological resistance to the next. Over time, stopping feels abnormal; stealing feels routine.
Identity Fusion with Office
The individual no longer distinguishes between “state resources” and “my resources.” The office becomes an extension of the self, and looting becomes self-care.
This is why exposure, investigation, or even public outrage rarely produce remorse—only better concealment.
Why the Loot Never Comes Home
Perhaps the most tragic dimension of this gluttony is not the theft itself, but the destination of stolen wealth. Very little of it is invested productively at home. Instead, it is:
- Parked in foreign banks
- Invested in overseas real estate
- Used to secure foreign residency and citizenship
- Channeled into luxury consumption abroad
Psychologically, this reveals contempt for the homeland.
The glutton does not trust the system he helped destroy. He does not believe in the future of the country he governs. He extracts, but does not build. His relationship with the state is parasitic, not patriotic.
This behavior mirrors what psychologists describe as disidentification: emotional separation from the collective. The country is a resource field, not a community.
Collective Gluttony: When Theft Becomes Culture
When “almost everyone who has occupied a position of trust” is implicated, gluttony ceases to be an individual pathology and becomes a social norm.
At this stage:
- Honest officials are ridiculed as fools
- Moderation is interpreted as weakness
- Public service is seen as a “turn” at enrichment
- Success is measured by how much one extracts, not how much one builds
This cultural normalization is psychologically lethal. It creates a feedback loop where each new entrant feels justified in stealing because predecessors did the same. Moral responsibility dissolves into historical excuse.
Gluttony vs. Development: The Economic Psychology of Loss
Gluttony is economically irrational. Wealth stolen and exported does not circulate domestically, does not create jobs, and does not build institutions. Instead, it:
- Weakens the national currency
- Starves infrastructure of investment
- Entrenches poverty and inequality
- Fuels public cynicism and disengagement
Ironically, the glutton undermines the very environment that produced his power. The more he steals, the less stable the system becomes—necessitating even more theft “just in case.”
This is the tragedy of gluttony: it devours its own foundations.
The Moral Blindness of Excess
Psychologically, gluttony requires moral blindness. To continue stealing at scale, one must:
- Dehumanize citizens
- Abstract suffering into statistics
- Treat public outrage as background noise
- Believe oneself immune to consequence
This explains the chilling calm with which looters defend themselves, litigate endlessly, or even seek higher office. Gluttony does not feel like crime to the glutton; it feels like entitlement delayed.
Breaking the Cycle: Can Gluttony Be Cured?
Psychologically, gluttony is resistant to moral appeals. Shame rarely works. What works are structural restraints that reintroduce limits:
- Certainty of consequences
- Swift and visible punishment
- Loss, not protection, of stolen wealth
- Social re-stigmatization of corruption
- Cultural redefinition of success away from raw accumulation
Without these, appeals to patriotism or ethics remain decorative.
Conclusion: A Nation Starved by the Appetite of a Few
The psychology of gluttony explains why corruption persists even when exposure is constant, poverty visible, and national decline undeniable. It is not ignorance. It is not accident. It is a deep-seated appetite disorder, fueled by power and protected by weak consequences.
Until gluttony is confronted not just as illegality but as a psychological and cultural disease, nations like Nigeria will continue to bleed resources into foreign vaults while their people pay the price at home.
The tragedy is not only that so much is stolen—but that so little of it ever learns how to stop.
Nze David N. Ugwu is the Managing Consultant of Knowledge Research Consult. He could be reached at [email protected] or +2348037269333.
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