It’s great to have this positive outlook that things in Africa can and will change soon. And if possible, change in our lifetime. But my goodness, the whole situation inspires very little hope doesn’t it? I’ve been back for less than six months and the hopelessness is palpable and waiting at the door.
It’s there when I see children as young as six with their begging bowls walking around town. In northern Nigeria, these kids are called the Almajiri. It’s said that their parents send them to the city for Islamic school but their masters let them roam the streets to beg. Someone tried explaining to me that moslems are obligated to help them so it isn’t like they won’t have food. This is true to an extent, but kids shouldn’t have to beg or wear tattered clothes and walk around unsupervised around town at such a young age! What does this say anout a society that’s too preoccuppied to protect its most vulnerable? Even if I gave them money or food, there’s always the lurking rumor that their masters require that they relinquish whatever money they make. This is an age old tradition and there’s very little I feel I can do about it.
The hopelessness is there when you hear that the Nigerian government is spending N10 billion naira ($670 million) to celebrate its independence while children in government schools have classes under a tree. You’d think leaders in Africa would be shamed into action. They just don’t care. How else could you explain why African presidents, ministers and senators are some of the world’s highest paid government officials?
The system is so ingrained that people who want to do the right thing are seen as the enemy. And it’s clearer by the day that no one is interested in doing right by the people they lead.
This feeling of powerlessness is so debilitating and I’ve found myself slowly shutting down and shielding my eyes from how messed up things are around me.
It’s a management issue isn’t it?
It’s a leadership issue isn’t it?
It’s western oppression issue isn’t it?
It’s an education issue isn’t it?
It’s a lack of personal responsibility issue isn’t it?
Its all these and more and the only way to come at it is to do something. Say a prayer. Sweep a street. Pick up litter. Be unnecessarily polite. Sponsor a kid through a semester, year, the entirety of school. Adopt an orphanage. Write a song. Write a poem. Write a book. Visit more often if you’re abroad. Open your eyes and dream larger if you’re at home. Speak up against injustice however small and within the limits of your courage. But speak whenever possible. Get frustrated but don’t lose hope. Wear Africa, rep Africa, own Africa. Just do something.
‘It’s a lack of personal responsibility issue isn’t it?’
That line strikes a chord. We usually get comfortable with the belief that since it was someone else’s responsibility,everything that went wrong is their fault. So as a rule, I now tell myself that as far as it’s up to me,(because I know I can only control my own actions) I will do the right thing.
The way I see it,the blame game is only enjoyed by people who did not have to make the hard decisions. Until one is faced with those choices, it would be a mistake to assume we would do the right thing. So my resolution is based on the hope that if I do the right thing in small everyday matters,I will be better prepared to do the right thing when (if) I’m called upon to handle weightier issues.
So far I’m doing alot of stumbling but I’m not giving up. And while I keep hope alive that it will one day be totally natural to do the right, I also keep hope alive that somewhere, someone else is making the same decision, because only when enough people do that would we have the difference we need.
This “The system is so ingrained that people who want to do the right thing are seen as the enemy”, reminds me of this: “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.” Isaiah 59 14-16
One sure evidence of decadence is that “judgment is turned away backward”. We persecute and in some cases prosecute the righteous and exalt the wicked. Don’t lose hope. The problems are big but God is bigger still
Good post. As I read this, I can’t help but think that a lot of these issues span outside of Africa. I have felt this hopelessness about the U.S. for the longest time as I continue to learn about hunger and food issues, lack of health care for millions, poverty, educational inequalities…the list is endless and it’s a bit overwhelming. It’s hard for me to stay hopeful when I don’t just pass one homeless person a day, but rather a dozen or so. What can I do? Like you suggested, doing something, no matter how small, will make a difference. And hopefully the “little” I do in my lifetime will help create a bit of momentum that can add to bigger change.
excellent piece!
the worrying thing is the system infects those who try to do good. you walk around abuja and see 30 year olds in political posts with apartment blocks worth millions.
its sad and rather depressing. i guess those of us who have been exposed to an alternative must just work harder!
I’ve been back for less than a week but completely agree with everything you say, particularly this: ‘be unnecessarily polite’. The lack of courtesy that’s routine here in Lagos is striking, and it undermines any attempts to see others as human beings and treat them as such. Until we respect the dignity of all people such oppression will continue, so inculcating a culture of politeness is actually very important!