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1. In reviewing ‘Bloody Independence – we wuz robbed! Part 1 [2019 Edition]’ – my beloved greyhead Editor, John Cornwall, remarked, “This is a huge undertaking…” I agree! It is indeed a huge undertaking because the blog raised two significant questions. The first question is: How do we persuade a people whose spirit and soul have been destroyed, and who are desperate to break free from the stifling yoke of a very clever, cunning and ruthless dictator; not to take matters into their own hands, with the likely possibility of sinking the country deeper in the mire of wanton violence and revenge? And the second question is as follows: How do we motivate a leader to emerge out of their ranks, to act not as a political saviour or messiah, not even to play the role of yet another freedom fighter; but to be a servant leader of the people, in order to lead them out of their political despair? The dreadful and tragic reality is that: The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara no longer enjoys an abundance of righting-thinking people; standing on tiptoe waiting anxiously looking to take up the baton as it were, in answer to the high call of leadership. All alternative centres of influence and authority in that country have over the last three decades, been systematically destroyed or undermined by the wily freedom fighter; so much so that for us to try to raise the expectations of a suffering people, causing them to entertain a hope that an alternative leader capable of wresting power from the dictator in the foreseeable future may exist, would in my view, be an astonishing act of cruel fraud and deceit.
There is nothing the right individual cannot do
2. But speaking with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn that, “One man who stopped lying could bring down a tyranny;” I am persuaded that it may be possible to influence a change in the general ‘mindset’ in the peoples of Mara, in order to avert a possible catastrophe which was referred to in the first part of this blog post. I believe it is possible to successfully influence a change in the said ‘mindset,’ that is, if we focus on managing the expectations of the people, by endeavouring to inspire just one individual. I of course have no idea who that individual is, and it really does not matter whether the said individual is a man or a woman; what is of chief importance is that he or she may be, by the Grace of God, a blessing to The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara; that is, be such a blessing by having their heart set on fire for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is worth remembering that great things throughout the ages have been accomplished by seemingly unassuming individuals; and I am here thinking particularly, by way of example, individuals such as Mahatma Gandhi, who brought down the British Empire in India; Nelson Mandela, who oversaw South Africa’s transition from apartheid to full democracy; and Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who led the civil rights movement in the United States of America. If we succeed in inspiring just one such individual, an individual to be a blessing to the benighted Pearl of Africa, then this ‘huge undertaking’ will have been successfully executed, and our joy will be all the more, the greater!
A humble servant of the people
3. Now I am fully cognizant of the immensity of the challenge which lies before the people of The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara. Moreover, I am further conscious of the complexity of the political dynamics which are playing themselves out at the moment both on the ground in the Pearl of Africa and globally. Thus discovering one solitary individual to answer the high call to leadership will not be easy. Indeed, a worthwhile undertaking such as this cannot be expected to run smoothly; there will be many setbacks including discouragements along the way; we must therefore endeavour to remain sober and realistic at all times. For resolving the problems now bedevilling Mara; unpicking ‘Gordian’ knots as it were, which have accumulated over many decades since her independence from the British in 1962, is going to be an exceedingly tall order. And, if I may be allowed a little indulgence as a true Israelite, the said individual must be such a one who places his or her hope in God’s sovereign triumph in all things; one who is willing to hazard all in the obedience of faith as a humble servant of the people.
If only it were that simple!
4. Indeed, there is nothing simple about Mara! Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn could not have articulated the challenge much better. In his book, ‘The Gulag Archipelago,’ he writes: “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” Truth to tell: the citizens of Mara are all of them caught up in a complex and convoluted web of deceit, it is impossible to tell who is innocent, and who is guilty; some of the most foul are our own flesh and blood. Thus when we broke off our discussion in Part 1 of this blog post, the whole citizenry in The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara were in dire straits, gasping like fish out of water for the fresh air of freedom. The question we must now ask is as follows: How can we, mere ordinary mortals, inspire just one individual, as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn recommends, to stop telling lies with a view of bringing down a rapacious and rampant tyranny now existing in The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara?
An opportunity is a golden gift
5. In answer, allow me to pray in aid an old Latin saying: “Opportunity has hair in front, behind she is bald; if you seize her by the forelock you may hold her, but, if suffered to escape, not Jupiter himself can catch her again.” I believe the continuing tragedy in the Pearl of Africa, is probably the best opportunity her peoples will ever have in the cause of democracy, freedom and the rule of law; because they have before them a parable making it very plain that the wily freedom fighter and his ilk, however loathsome they may appear to us, are, after all, not Mara’s most urgent issue. For the freedom fighter and his friends are but a mere symptom of a much bigger problem. The most urgent issue in Mara today, as is the case in the rest of Africa is, I would humbly submit, ignorance. It is an ignorance, which is borne out of a corrupt spirit, an attitude or mind set – take your pick.
6. Ignorance is the main problem which all right-thinking citizens of Mara must get a good measure of, that is, get to grip. And it is because of ignorance, that the citizens of Mara, it may be argued, are their own worst enemy. They must get the measure of the problem by pressing the pause button in their hassled lives; that is, they must summon up the courage to stand still in order to gather their thoughts. For as our common proverb has it, much haste is worse speed. The issue of ignorance must be searched to the bottom and not skimmed over, and that they do not make more haste out of their conviction than good speed. Thus by standing still, they will be in a better frame of mind to take a step back in order to see and observe with their own eyes; to see what makes for them, as well as what makes against them. And by ignorance I am specifically calling attention to the kind of ignorance that blinds people from seeing things clearly with their own eyes, stopping them from arriving at practical solutions that best answer their peculiar situation. The inability to see things clearly makes a people less able to define a problem in the first place, thus limiting their capacity to solve the said problem. They are thus susceptible to believing in fate or blaming all their troubles to fortune, while all the while, the answer is actually staring them in the face.
Fortune is not as blind as men are
7. And speaking of vagaries of fate, Samuel Smiles, in his book, ‘Self-Help,’ wrote about fortune in the following terms: “Fortune has often been blamed for her blindness; but fortune is not so blind as men are. Those who look into practical life will find that fortune is usually on the side of the best navigators. In the pursuit of even the highest branches of human inquiry, the commoner qualities are found the most useful – such as common sense, attention [to detail], application, and perseverance. Genius may not be necessary, though even genius of the highest sort does not disdain the use of these ordinary qualities.” Even the wily freedom fighter for all his many faults, if his life were put under a microscope, it will be found that, he does not rely entirely on fate; for the freedom fighter, if we are truly honest with ourselves, worked tirelessly in order to gain a greater understanding of the ‘tender parts’ of the peoples of The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara.
8. I know of no other leader in that benighted country who has studiously taken pains to again a comprehensive understanding of the citizens of Mara better; and, his deep understanding of the peoples of Mara may be the best explanation we have as to why he has remained in the presidential chair for so long. Indeed, I met him twice, in the days soon after the fall of Amin; even as a young boy, he struck me as a man who knew what he wanted despite his pronounced awkward demeanour. He very clearly displayed the capacity to apply the commoner qualities Samuel Smiles writes about; that is, those qualities of common sense, attention [to detail], application, and perseverance – when it suited him best. Thus when I discovered years later that he did not touch alcohol at all, I was not particularly surprised; it confirmed to me my initial assessment of him as a single-minded man with a clear eye upon his one aim in life: to rule Mara. It is for that reason that I am persuaded that he will most likely continue to rule as the dictator of Mara for many years to come. Accordingly, I think the time has come for all ‘right-thinking’ citizens of Mara, to take a leaf out of his book.
The worse kind of ignorance is wilful ignorance
9. Ignorance, in my view, is by far and away the biggest mischief in modern Africa. And, by ignorance I mean specifically, wilful ignorance. Let us consider one singular instance: whereas it may be considered a presumption on the part of ordinary barefoot citizens of Mara to pry into the great mysteries of government, and yet, it must surely be legitimate for the self-same ordinary barefoot citizens to expect those who are engaged in public affairs, to exercise the commoner qualities mentioned above, that is, to see with their own eyes; and, not to be satisfied with mere reports and representations prepared by others, especially the so-called investors or advisors from great institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. Accepting that hard times and hard hearts make the poor miserable; for it is impossible to miss the tears of the oppressed in Africa and the great hardships which those in power visit upon them. Many African lives are wretched and are pinched by poverty. The real reason these hardships go apparently unnoticed is because at the heart of the said mischief is the fact that those in public office do not consider what they see, not because they cannot, but because they will not.
Wilful ignorance aids and abets dictatorship
10. While we must accept that not all well-educated African elites are wilfully ignorant, and yet, the sad fact is that a considerable number of them are, hence the controversy. The controversy here is the appearance of the educated elite aiding and abetting dictatorship, that is, if we take The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara as a specific instance, they are actively perverting justice both in the letter and spirit that we may wittingly conclude that they have helped create a government of the corrupt, by the corrupt, and for the corrupt. And here is the disturbing reality: if a few sums of monies can win such as these that are corrupt, a little more will surely lose them; for what is to hold those that have made a shipwreck of a good conscience on the altar of corruption? Surely it must stand to reason that the hireling flees because he is a mere hireling; for they will fail even the wily freedom fighter himself if the price is right, in the same way they continually fail the citizens of The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara for a bribe.
Wilful ignorance is accessory to the evil outcomes of dictatorship
11. Moreover, if, for arguments’ sake, we accept that knowledge is power, a close examination of the fortunes of The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara, will clearly show that many well-educated African elites cut a shameful figure as they continually and openly jostle each other for preferment; aligning, as it were, their interests with those of the wily freedom fighter. They are, some might even say of them, hangers on; who take hold of the coat-tails of the wily freedom fighter, and would go with him only because they do not know how to make it in the real world (both at home and abroad) on their own, and are disposed to seek their fortunes through the good offices (if we may call them such) of the wily freedom fighter. We may properly say of them that they are accessory to all the evil outcomes of the wily freedom fighter’s dictatorship. They acquiesce in the plundering of the national treasury and natural resources; the diminution of public services; the corrupting of the three great pillars of state to serve their own interests; the destruction of the vital infrastructure, and we know not what.
Wilful ignorance is deaf to the miserable cry of the poor
12. And that is not the worst of it: much treasure is apparently spent on building up an elite army, including an expansion of other military armed auxiliaries and it is true there is no arguing with him that has an army at his beck and call; and yet, we also know that building up the country’s elite army ever so strong, so powerful, so mighty, is no protection from a fatal overthrow as long as the scandalously poor citizens of Mara continue to cry out for justice, and for a chance to eat their fill. What a dreadful thing it is to have the miserable poor cry against the educated African elites! While it is accepted that there is nothing new for those in public life to seek their own personal interests more than the public welfare, and to serve themselves at the public expense; yet, it is equally unconscionable to eat the bread of public office when the country at large is on her knees, as The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara clearly is.
Wilful ignorance devalues and cheapens education
13. And, knowing as we do, that dictators the world over are not always wise, and that it is normal for them to take pride in being careless and unconcerned about the plight of the little people and ignorant of their true circumstances; it is all the more shocking that the educated African elites, fail to speak up, that is, fail to prevent the worst excesses or even reform the wily freedom fighter, and are therefore charged with a high crime. If we take a single instance as an example: What kind of wilful ignorance is this, that fails to take advantage of a perfectly sound education infrastructure which was left behind by the colonialists; but instead adopts as government policy, universal primary and secondary education in which children are left more illiterate than if they had been left well alone? For all the educated African elite’s great education, they stand accused of deliberately failing their people. And, what is a good education for, but that it should enable a man to do so much the more good in his generation, and especially to those of his own country, if he have the heart to use it so!
Wilful ignorance is base ingratitude by another name
14. But there is more: the above crime is aggravated by the fact that, many educated African elites are the recipients of coveted scholarships and bursaries designed to equip their African countries with the wherewithal to help themselves; instead, we have a people that have an exaggerated sense of their own importance. They are, and how shall I put it, an entitled people. They must be addressed by their formal academic titles: ‘Dr so and so’ or ‘Professor Engineer so and so’ – emphasizing the grand academic institutions they attended abroad. They are a people who rather than make themselves serviceable for the good of the commonwealth of their African countries, show an extreme eagerness to become rich – getting rich by fair means or by foul means; careless of principle, merely intent on making money only. They are like the horse-leech: they cry, “Give, give!” Therefore, if the educated African elites are thus accused of this mischief, as here charged, it is because of the extraordinary influence their example have on the unthinking masses, of whom many, alas, follow in their pernicious ways. If, however, this charge of wilful ignorance is misconceived by me, and I am wrong to call it as such, let them protest and disprove the charge, and declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and I myself will be happy to stand corrected.
Is the charge of wilful ignorance unfair?
15. Now let’s face it, the charge of wilful ignorance which is drawn up in this post is very high indeed. But I am by no means proposing to play of counsel for the wily freedom fighter on that great day when he will be called to the bar to answer charges against him; we should let dictators plead for themselves if they must, but far be it from us that we should answer for them, or say anything in their favour. At any rate, they have the wherewithal to employ the best counsel money can buy. But it seems to me others are equally culpable, if not more. We should indeed think it possible that the wily freedom fighter, though in office, and rightly accountable for it, and may yet be hampered in the use of the power his office is entitled to. In other words, he is in office in name only and others though not in office, that is, the wilfully ignorant, are in fact the ones who are in power – the real power behind the presidential chair – after the manner of the power behind the throne. Wheels within wheels!
What use is education?
16. Now, I readily accept that many educated African elites are better educated than me and know as much as I do, and perhaps much more and to a better purpose. I acknowledge further, that many educated elites in Africa have understanding as well as I, a capacity of judging, and a right of judging these things for themselves; and yes, perhaps they are not inferior to me, but superior, and it is possible that they may be right and I in the wrong; and therefore I ought not to judge or despise them, nor pretend to be above them, while we are all Africans. But we must question what use is education if it is not for the mainstay of the commonwealth to which we all as Africans belong?
We must not suppress the truth
17. In my experience, I have found that great education without grace often makes men proud, which makes them careless of the poor and the weak. So in raising this controversy I am not in any way mocking anyone. But if I am mocking, then, it must be accepted that, I too am as one mocked. But it would be folly to think so: because faced as we are with unprecedented challenges arising from the phenomenon of globalization, the rise of populist and identity politics, which are now spreading right across globe and more specifically on the African continent, these criticisms seem warranted. I would be doing a great injustice to myself, to the memory of my dead father and his generation, and to all Africans if I failed to speak up knowing what I do know. We must not suppress the truth, however painful.
We cannot ‘Hop, skip, and jump’ to freedom, democracy and the rule of law!
18. So with regard to The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara, we have an instance in which education makes bad people more dangerous, that is, the wily freedom fighter is made all the more dangerous because the ‘wilfully ignorant’ educated African elites provide his dictatorship legitimacy, a fig leaf with which to cover his nakedness, casting a veil upon the truth. Carelessness will never deliver us from tyranny. Indeed, we cannot ‘Hop, skip, and jump’ our way to freedom, democracy and the rule of law! This is serious work. It therefore behooves all of us to ask uncomfortable and searching questions. For example: Must the educated African elites be remiss in the great work which is crying out to be undertaken, which is, the building up of viable and credible institutions in Africa when foreigners never seem to tire supporting us?
Where is the sense of obligation?
19. Is it really possible for the educated African elites to continue receiving without ever feeling any sense of obligation to do right by their own people? Should the native educated African elites grudge the pain and care about the continent while strangers, mostly foreign tax payers in the form of ‘International Foreign Aid’, grudge not the expense, be it in blood or treasure? I ask these questions with much feeling, and a little anecdote may now be mentioned here. After my world was turned upside down in 1988, a classmate at Cliff College, the late Mrs. Anne Gaynor, invited me to consider a regency spa town and borough of Cheltenham as a possible refuge; I removed to the town at the end of 1988, and it subsequently became my English home. One of the things about Cheltenham that warmed the cockles of my heart the most, and it is an experience that will forever be etched in my memory, was the day when my hosts’ took me to a small Church of England church, St Aiden & St Silas; where I encountered a group of aged congregants busy knitting little jumpers for an orphanage in Africa.
Must we continually plead for special favours?
20. When I curiously enquired about the particulars of the orphanage, I was moved to tears on learning that the orphanage was a memorial of Bishop Festo Kivengere, who was also known as ‘the Billy Graham of Africa.’ Bishop Kivengere had died of leukaemia earlier in 1988 and the little jumpers were their way of remembering him and his work. Now I never knew the good old Bishop, but I remember his friend and colleague, Janani Luwum, the martyred Archbishop of Uganda. I remember feeling a glow of joy come over me as I considered the sacrifice in both time and money these aged saints were making, helping orphans in a faraway country of which they knew practically nothing. It is worth noting here that these aged saints were not particularly wealthy, in fact many of them were poor pensioners, in a poor part of Cheltenham. Surely the suffering of others for our sakes ought to prick our collective conscience! Must the African, much to the shame of Africa, for ever go to foreign capitals, begging cap in hand, pleading for special favours? Must dictatorship, continually be the dead fly that spoils all that is good in the African pot stew of precious independence? Was independence in many an African country, after all a hasty fruit before the summer? Is independence in Africa like a moth-eaten cloth, which becomes continually worse and worse?
Must our cream hazard their lives and gifts abroad?
21. Must we continually suffer to see the cream of our youth hazard their lives in foreign lands, doing dirty jobs no one else is willing to perform, for a pittance in order to support their families back home? Only the other day, I read a disturbing story in one of the leading papers in an impoverished African state, telling of how the elite of that country are making great gain processing young African graduates in the thousands, to go to the Middle East and work in demeaning jobs for next to nothing. The story went on to tell how their employers are so heartless in their treatment of them that many, out of sheer desperation, prefer suicide to returning home in shame; they apparently take their lives by the hundreds. Their government in Africa is stone deaf to their appalling sufferings. Surely, must we give the cream of our flower an impossible choice to make, which is, to choose between run-down ‘hazardous’ social housing in European cities with very little prospect of a meaningful future on the one hand, and joblessness, poverty and hopelessness in their own African countries on the other? Is it fair on some of our parents to suffer agonies unimaginable; to see their beloved children, who incidentally often tend to be in the prime of their lives, drown in the Mediterranean Sea in a desperate hope of reaching Europe? Should our kith and kin continually languish in foreign gaols or immigration dentation centres, on a slim chance of a better life? What a shame that the best in Africa should fail to answer the high call to lead their compatriots, for want of courage!
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A people without a vision may lose their independence
22. What a pity, that we the Africans should need courage in the first place, and, if we do, what a pity that we should be without it! Never was a truer word said than ‘a people without a vision, perish.’ Africa is at a cross road, at which a decision must be formed by her right now; a little later, and she may have to groan within the tomb of slavery which she herself has dug, without the power of rolling away the stone. Unless there is an earnest change of attitude (‘mindset’ to you and me) among the educated African elites, in all likelihood, and it grieves me to put it on the record, that some Africans countries are on the cusp of losing their precious independence. It is highly possible that, in a not too distant a future, some African countries may indeed become colonies for a second time in modern history – colonies of a rising new super power to the East – which is on the prowl searching for vulnerable prey rich in natural resources.
Nothing shows blackness like the exposure to light – a warning
23. Coming events, they say, cast their long shadow before them: the chaotic presidency of Donald Trump in the United States of American; the continuing Brexit chaos in the United Kingdom of Great Britain; the reordering of European political centres of influence, following the sudden raise of populist movements; the resurgence of Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe; the emerging super power of China to the East; and to top it all, the recent outrageous calamities in Idlib and Aleppo, Syria; all point to a reordering of the global order as we know it – to a more dangerous world; and therefore, must stand as an ill omen to all of us. Idlib and Aleppo in Syria are now members of those melancholies of clubs: Rwanda, Srebrenica, Guernica, Oradour-sur-Glane, Warsaw, Lidice and, yes, the Nazi death camps in Europe; a club of places where the world looked the other way, failed to prevent monumental destruction and slaughter, where it cried out ‘never again,’ only to await the next failure, and the next slaughter. And, believe me, there will be yet another failure and mass slaughter of innocent people. Indeed, the civil war in Yemen is a shameful ‘slaughter’ of innocent people which is ‘in progress’ as I write.
Idlib and Aleppo of Syria
24. But let Idlib and Aleppo in Syria stand as a monument of warning; for the message is loud and clear: trifling with a dictator who enjoys the support of one superpower or other, is a desperately hazardous enterprise; for those who do so, shall be the unspeakable losers. A sponsored dictator now has a free rein to slaughter the infirm, women, and children at will; there is none to stop him, it is the new normal in world affairs. This new normal world order bodes ill for Africa in particular. The implications for Africa are stark. It means that unless a dictator is cast in the mould of a Hitler, that is, intent upon world domination, there are circumstances in which it may be wiser to endure him with grace. If we cannot bear the dictator who is here today but gone tomorrow, which is but the running with the footmen, how then will we cope with the terrors which are to come after the dictator has on a sudden vacated the presidency, which is the equivalent to contending with the horses?
Dictators are like mosquitoes
25. The rise of populist political movements in Europe, plus events in the Middle East reinforce the new reality that the 21st century is a tempestuous and politically unstable age; it means that we should be prudent to submit to the temper of our age. This requires us to be a discerning people; to have an understanding of the political times, public affairs, and the tendencies of present events. Moreover; it is worth remembering that foreign powers, as clearly demonstrated in Syria and Yemen, invariably act upon their own selfish interests rather than the interests of the people of other countries. That is why it is time we viewed dictators in much the same way we look upon mosquitoes; for we gain nothing by struggling with the net as it were, but to entangle ourselves the more.
It is sometimes better to suffer the dictator you have than seek a new one
26. Indeed, as I have written elsewhere, it is very sensible to suffer the dictator that is already upon a country, and let him suck his fill if he pleases; for if you drive him off in a hurry, a fresh new dictator that succeeds him is more likely to be a lot hungrier than him who is there now. Therefore, the harsh lesson from Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, is that it is sometimes better to be content with the tyrant you have, than seek a new one. The reason is very simple. Dear fellow Africans, expect no help from the Americans, or from the Europeans; most certainly expect no help from the Russians or the Chinese; these are no friends of Africa, they never have been, the African people in so far as dealing with their home-grown dictators are their own. But thank God change comes to all of us – dictators included.
Dictators are mere flesh and blood like you and me
27. Many will recall the humiliating spectacle of the despoiling of that great African king of kings, Gadhafi, in 2011; how he was chased, harried, and dragged away by the angels of death, much against his will; how he pleaded for his life; how he was loath to depart, but go he did; all of Libya was weary of him, and therefore was chased, as glad to get rid of him. Not that we should in any way revel in the death of a dictator, any dictator, but Gadhafi’s bloody demise, if anything, should be a sobering reminder that all oppressors are mere flesh and blood. Justice is debased when it is administered with wrath and bitterness, even wrath heaped upon such a one as Gadhafi. All his pomp, power, billions of US dollars, and policy, did not free him from the trembling cold hand of death, nor save him from the ignominy of an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere, in the Sahara Desert.
Fear blindfolds judgement
28. Indeed, it may be said of Gadhafi, the great African king of kings that he came in like a fox, ruled like a lion, and died like a dog. The dictators’ dust is not distinguishable from the common dust of any other grave. Death is, in the circumstances, an irresistible leveller: for what is man – whose days are like grass, flourishing like a flower in the field, but in a short while is gone, to be remembered no more. Truly none are more abject in themselves, or more abused by others when they are down in the dust, than those who were proud and shameless when they were in power. So we should not fear dictators: for fear blindfolds judgment and makes fools of all of us. It is far better to open the eyes of the educated African elites to the folly of wilful ignorance; that they may at the very least, reform or ameliorate the wicked influences of dictators now in place.
Be prepared – always!
29. Allow me to clench the nail with just one more thought, which should stand by itself here as the application of the whole: we must not fear the dictators’ power, that is, we should not unduly observe the political winds as we may not sow; neither will we reap, if we regard the political clouds excessively. It means that it is much better to prepare for that day when the dictator may unexpectedly vacate the presidential chair for some reason or other. Else, we risk running around like chickens with the shell still on their heads, just as the Libyans and the Iraqis clearly did, following the sudden fall from power of their respective dictators. I used to be a boy scout at school; the motto, ‘be prepared’ – seems appropriate in the circumstances.
It is the responsibility of all right-thinking Africans
30. As noted above, opportunity is a golden gift. A golden gift of liberty fell into the collective lap of both the Libyans and Iraqis, and they did not see it for what it was worth, because they were not prepared. It cannot be emphasized enough that the future of Africa does not lie in the hands of Americans, Europeans, Russians or the Chinese, but in the hands of the African people themselves. It is the responsibility of all right-thinking Africans to put the glitter back into the gold in the presidential chair, including removing thorns from the upholstery.
Anarchy is worse than any government
31. Suppose I were to play a prudent general but this once: I would, if I am permitted, recommend that now is manifestly not the time to draw the sword of conflict, but to sheath it. We should, if possible, and in so far as it depends on us, resist the temptation to resort to violence; for anarchy is worse than any government, even a government presided over by the wily freedom fighter. By so recommending I am in no wise suggesting that we should beat a parley with dictatorship, and make a treaty with a view of surrendering upon terms. But rather, we should make it our business to urge all educated African elites to be of good courage; and get to work cheerfully and patiently. It is needful to sacrifice private interests to the public welfare, and to lay aside all animosities among ourselves, that we may cordially unite against a common enemy, dictatorship. We should, however, not work confusedly, or in a hurry; but rather, we should take our time, and we shall be done the sooner or at least we shall have done the better; for if we work in a hurry, we shall do the job by halves.
Be willing to give way to the next generation
32. Cognizant as we are that many African youth are under the influence of Western cultural relativism and therefore are experiencing something akin to apathy, thanks to social media and what have you; it is critical that we apply our best endeavours not to leave the future of Africa to chance. We have already noted above, that predicament in which Africa finds herself has nothing to do with fate or fortune. It is therefore for that reason that we should start by accepting a simple fact that those of us, of a certain generation and older, our time has probably come and gone. We are now yesterday’s men and women. And, as such it behooves us to support those who are coming after us, that is, the next generation, and the generation after that.
Help the next generation by setting the wheels of change in motion
33. The next generation in particular is young; it has no experience. They are liable to make what we might describe as a ‘young person’s mistakes’; they may not apply themselves with sufficient rigour to the small but hugely important business of nation building. Unless we help the next generation to set the wheels in motion, there is a real danger that they will lose a great deal of time and may even repeat our mistakes, the rather because, being young and inexperienced, they may be tempted to put off or even underestimate the difficult undertaking which is before them; whereas, if we enthuse and equip them, and have resources ready to hand, the most challenging part of the work would be over, and this might encourage them to get on with the fiendishly complex work of nation building in the strength of their youth.
We must not act like ‘dumb driven cattle’
34. In preparing the next generation, we should look upon the task rather like building a house. As a school boy, I well remember how during my school holidays my father used to dispatch me to some building site or other; my father made his living from mainly the building industry, he ran a construction company (now defunct), Kitara Enterprises. One remarkable experience I remember was seeing how sub-contractors would work diligently laying foundations of a house, and how they would carry it up to a certain height; and that was that, they had done their work. The rest of the work fell to another group of sub-contractors; who carried up the wall, and put on the roof, and so forth. I believe we should do likewise. We should be content with preparing the next generation, that is, make it our business to gather the raw materials upon which another shall work. Yes, we may plough and sow; but it must needs fall to another to come and water the seed, and perhaps yet another to gather the harvest. By doing thus we will at least not act like ‘dumb driven cattle’ – driven this way or that way by one circumstance or other; rather, we should seize hold of this great opportunity occasioned by dictatorship, to reset the future of the African continent with a noble purpose, and pursue that purpose with all our might.
Cui Bono – who stands to gain?
35. But for whom is all this work? As I argued in a blog post, ‘Desperate times require desperate measures; we need to talk;’ the resounding answer is clearly: all the peoples of every individual African state specifically, and of Africa in general. If we take The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara as our guide, it is impossible to imagine a better cause; for we work for our family, our clan, our tribe, our race, our country and our continent; and yes, for our children and our children’s children. By whom are these exertions: all of us – we the African people – black, white and Asian! It is said that even a coward will fight when he is sure to be victorious. Victory is already ours because all that is dear to us in Africa is at stake; it is in this spirit we must rise as one and get to work with courage, else our tragic history may repeat itself; you never know, another chancer, a wily freedom fighter of sorts, seven times worse than the one presently in place, may just be waiting in the wings to try his luck!
Embrace the dictator as a special gift – waste it not
36. We should look upon all our dictators as a gift; a special gift that speaks to us as to what happens when we get things desperately wrong. For avoidance of any doubt, and it is worth restating this point: it is rightly said that the burnt child dreads fire; that the people of Mara with all the resources (both human and material) gifted to them by nature, came short of the wisdom of a child; for though they had more than once been brought low thanks to a number of dictators they have had over the years, yet under a deception of fundamental change to bring about a better future to their country, took no warning of their home-grown chequered history, but foolishly embraced the wily freedom fighter, and this time at a grave cost to themselves and their country.
37. Oscar Wilde wittingly reminds us, “To lose one parent maybe regarded as unfortunate; to lose both looks like carelessness.” Therefore, installing a wily freedom fighter in the presidential chair once may be regarded by many as unfortunate; but to install another wily freedom fighter in the presidential chair a second time is downright careless and stupid. If this were ever to happen for a second time in The Democratic People’s Republic of Mara, the citizens of that country may be considered as to have justifiably forfeited the right to cry, “Bloody Independence – we wuz robbed!”
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on 10th July 2017 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.