The menace of Boko Haram vrs African leaders

The laxity with which the Nigerian government displayed in response to the gratuitous abduction of the nearly 300 girls in Chibok clearly shows how apathetic African leaders are towards their people. The future of every country rest on the shoulders of the youth, if this old byword has anything to go by then the search for these abducted girls of potential ministers, presidents, lawyers, nurses, doctors, engineers etc must be done with all seriousness and alacrity without delay. They have been in captive for almost a month and who knows what might be happening to these innocent teenage girls. Where are they? What are they eating? Where do they sleep; in the forest or in hotels in the city? Are they humanely treated or they are subjected to brutalities.

Mitigating or quashing out the activities of militant insurgencies such as the Boko Haram, the Al-Shabab et al in Africa has become a migraine. It can be perfectly described as “the tsetse fly on the scrotum” phenomenon. Whereas you need to kill the tsetse fly that perches on your scrotum, you must do that with extreme care else you destroy your reservoir or endure the excruciating pain and stand the chance of getting trypanosomiasis commonly known as sleeping sickness. 

I am not a security intelligent or expert but I think any counter-attack or attempt to rescue these girls from their captors must be executed with similar carefulness and tact else anything can happen to them. These heinous and unscrupulous nonentities who clandestine their activities in the name of a religion they seem not to understand are penchant of inflicting anything on these innocent girls. So the question that readily comes to mind in this respect is has Africa such security intelligence experts and technocrats to deal with this vital life and death situation? 

The African continent has never been economically and politically independence. We only gain independence on papers. African Union has no security intelligence experts to deal with this situation. The continent has never been able to manage its own affairs since independence. Muammar al-Qaddafi who was sponsoring over sixty percent of AU`s activities and wanted a ‘United State of Africa’ never lived to realise his dream. His country Libya was raided, he was chased, stripped naked, shot and killed like a dog, whiles the voracious AU leaders snored under their pillows. What didn`t happen to Laurent Gbago of Cote d'Ivoire, what about Charles Taylor? Where is Mohammed Morsi of Egypt? What is the essence of AU and their security intelligence? They can`t solve their own problems. They are only experts in celebrating anniversaries.

A former president of Ghana recently cautioned Nigeria`s president never to succumb to foreign assistance to deal with Boko Haram`s activities in the country. That admonishment to me was misplaced and perhaps befuddled the president`s conscience into a dilemma. No wonder he was mute on the whole drama, he rather turned to arrest people who waged crusade against the barbaric kidnapping of the girls. But thank God he finally broke the silence that he has sought help from the US to rescue the girls and as well deal with Boko Haram.

For those who are harboring the notion that Obama and his allies have developed interest in this issue because of the oil and gas in Nigeria should have a second thought. They should retrospect their standards of living and equate that to the abundance natural resources in the country or in Africa and see if they will get a true reflection. The life of the 234 plus 8 girls in captivity are more precious than anything we can think of. The ordinary person is not benefiting from the oil and gas in Nigeria. What does it profit us to say Africa has huge natural resources whiles we live in poverty and deprivation. If the West or our erstwhile colonial masters can take charge and control our natural resources and improve our standard of living, develop our countries by building hospitals and schools, construct beautiful roads and houses, then ninety percent of Africans would have voted in favour of that.

The continent is beset with killings of innocent people on the grounds of religion, ethnicity, politics, and social status among others, with religion having the highest percentage of the causes. In fact religion is the number one causes of all the wars and conflicts in the world. Has religion done more harm than good? Or mankind is insane and lacks civility? The latter is more convincing to my ears.

African continent is described as the richest continent in the world yet its people are living in abject poverty, mental agony and servitude, all in the name of politics and power. The poor is becoming poorer whiles the rich becomes richer overnight by milking the tax payers` monies. The continent has more than what it takes to develop our countries to the likes of whatever developed nation you can think of but most of its people are living below the poverty level. 

It`s time our greedy leaders in Africa realize that a time has come for them to stop enriching themselves with the tax payer`s money and exploit our natural resources to the benefit of all. They must heed to the plights of the people and not only their families.

If I may borrow president John Mahama`s quote “If the Arab Spring has taught us anything, it is that, it is no longer acceptable to be ambivalent about the needs of the poor and marginalized in our societies–especially in our expanding and unequal cities”. If the activities of Boko Haram and Al–Shabab, et al have taught African leaders anything, it is that, it is no longer acceptable for them to continue siphoning our monies. It is that they should stop the lip-service development; it is that they should remember at the back of their heads that they were voted into power to serve and not to loot. It is that they have to see the development of their countries as the utmost priority and improve the lives of their people.

My mother`s word

I would have remained a truck pusher, a khebab seller, a kayaye or become a useless farmer. The kind of peer pressure life I was almost driven to, under the influence of poverty would have somersaulted me into a dungeon of endless worries and grief which I would have regretted much today. But for my mother`s word, today I know what social media is and I am sharing this with you.  A close friend of mine who I used to parasite because of his luxury “…has been sentenced to prison for the second time after his first rape case sentence”, I was told the last time I enquired about him.

My father who never stepped foot in class one yet spoke nine different languages including French and English, and worked in a reputable institution, never saw education as a window of opportunity but rather a lever to steal with the pen. My father never had the zeal of educating his children but my mother did. He never saw the importance of educating his children especially girl child. My father could spend endless time telling me stories of historical wars of our forefathers as if he wanted me to become a warrior. He will spend his last pesewa to buy me the most expensive dress he can afford during festivity. But he will walk over me if I should ask of money to buy a pen or pencil. I remember one day I asked him to buy me black shoe for school and he told me he will buy me disco shoes. I almost gave up schooling because of my father` attitude towards education. I was even more convinced that without education I could still get a better job just like my father.

But my mother looked beyond the horizon; she envisaged a future where without education my life will be miserable. My mother knew that education is the only tool that can alleviate man from poverty and hardships. She called me one night to her chamber and cautioned me with every single word she can for me to take my education serious and never follow my father` footsteps. Her last sentence to me, “dirty work doesn`t befits fair skin persons” [like me] sounded in my ears like one of the Akan drama talks on TV. I never attached seriousness to those words. I even forgot those words before sunrise. Little did I know that those words will haunt me one day.

Long after she had gone, I took to the street to make ends meet. I toiled and engaged myself in all kinds of menial jobs as a means of livelihood. I was inundated in my youthful exuberance and never thought of going back to the classroom so I spent every single income I earn lavishly each day. But one hot and sunny afternoon, my mother` words came to me like flashes of lights and I couldn`t believe the whole trance. I had retired under a tree by the roadside to rest; I was exhausted and breathing like never before, spots of sweats dribbled my body as I removed my shirt to ventilate my pores. I was perspiring profusely with headache and back pains. I took a quick scan of my visible parts and spotted some few dark scars which have inadvertently stolen my beauty and colour away. My skin colour looked like a charcoal seller about to go on retirement. The hot sun and heat had transmogrified my colour into unpalatable appearance.

As I bowed down my head and gazed onto the ground, my mother` words which I have forgotten so many years ago stared at me, it was an unbelievable flashback. I reminisced my mother` admonishment as if she was sitting right before me and her words, “dirty work doesn`t befits fair skin persons” took center stage in my mind. Was this what my mother meant by dirty work or something else?

That day was the turning point in my life to go back to the classroom so I saved every pesewa I earned each day for that purpose. My mother` word has rekindled my dying dream and awakens my spirit. I would have still been on the street but for my mother` word the story is not the same today. Mama, you were so special, your love and care was unique, there had never been your replica. You shall forever be remembered.

Happy mother` day to all mothers, you are wonderful!