SIR; I am mad as hell! But wait a minute –that will not be the solution.
The recent outburst of a very important country‘s leader certainly catapulted me to this end. I was beyond furious, offended and yet received a frenetic bursts of energy to assimilate my thoughts. It is really beyond pale to hear this sort of language from the highest office of a country that I proudly call second home.
I must confess that, the pain of this type of ridicule was like a stab into my heart. I felt ashamed, and as a matter of fact, wracked by guilt after looking back to the country that gave me so much, almost a free education from elementary to the graduate level and yet I left that same country at the time I was to start giving back to another country which I have spent most of my productive years, contributing greatly to the society and now with certain bloviating ignominy calling my first country and continent a ‘shithole‘. I was indeed paralyzed mentally and physically for couple of hours before I regained myself.
How can one blame such an affront from a clue-less leader to a country/continent full of vagabonds and misfits controlling the affairs, even though it is very true that some African leaders are indeed making good stride in liberating their countries from the clutch of colonial hold despite the so-called independence! I will still argue though, that irrespective of how bad African leaders are perceived, this should not give any justification for an outsider to trample on the dignity of her people.
I do not feel outrage to this kind of name-calling from someone who cannot articulate his thoughts by any stretch of imagination, someone whose ideals are not shared by the majority of the people in his country (and I can vouch for this, that 80 to 85% of the people including those that supported him do not share this sentiment) should make Nigeria and African countries think less of America which I know is still the greatest country on earth at this time.
I strong believe this incident should create a firestorm in the heart of the African leaders who should use it to buckle up and aggressively pursue development and selfless service that will benefit each country and the continent. No one will respect a country/continent whose leaders are madly corrupt with a psychotic trait. Yes, there is corruption in every country but when that in a country /continent reaches an alarming state, for example, when individuals in a country are so corrupt to the extent of burying cash underground or even in a ‘shithole’ ( this can appropriately be used here as it is true), then there is something mentally wrong, I will argue!
I am convinced that African leaders can do better and must do better. We should shun resentment among ourselves whether within people in a country or between countries. It is time to sit up, especially the younger ones and take back the country/continent in a positive way, channeling energy towards relevant things. This is because the generations, probably mine in the 50s inclusive, have failed the young ones. For example, in Nigeria, the younger generation should stop respecting anyone/any politician that is obviously corrupt without human dignity but tap experience and get guidance from those politicians that are indeed progressive in their thoughts (I use progressive here is a very liberal way).
- Fredrick Oni, MD,
United States of America.