Much Ado About African Leaders: James Ibori, Charles Taylor Et al.

This is the story of Life.  Life is a mother with many children; both male and female. She loved her children dearly and kept them securely in her little hut.

One day, Life goes hunting for meat and vegetables to feed her children, but came back to find all her children missing. She got infuriated and asked herself; who must have stolen all my children?

Life waited for days and nights without the return of any of her children, and she thought of the need to go on a mission to save them.  She needed to bring her children back home to care for them.

Life started on a journey in search of her children, but all she could see were people walking along, she could not see their faces as it was dark and they were not facing her direction. Life saw the back of a man who looked like one of her children and she picked the man up.

The man suddenly became famous and rich. He enjoyed the care of a great mother when it lasted; everything seems fine as Life lifts him up.  Life then decided to give her son a motherly kiss, she turns the man around to find out the man was not one of her children, this got her infuriated, she smashed the strange man on the floor and turned away.

Life goes searching again for her children, picked up a woman this time around, the woman equally became famous and rich,  everything became great for the woman, not until life decided to give her the motherly kiss and realized it was another strange person.  She again smashed the woman on the floor and turned away disappointed.

 Life continued on the same expedition for every other person she finds, lifting them up, caring for them to become famous and rich. Life smashed them on the floor once she realized they are not any of her children and turned away from them.

This story of life relates to African leaders; when Life lifts you up and you become rulers, famous and rich. You starts enjoying life and think you are untouchable, be reminded that Life will sure turn its back on you when it sees your face. Live a good life when it lasts, and stop stealing what belongs to everyone.  You can only have yourself to blame when Life turns her back on you.  You are not in your exalted position out of luck, but your will to serve, and serve you should do.

  

James Ibori, the former Delta State Governor of Nigeria had the opportunity to better his improvised-life when Life lifted him up, but he assumed he was bigger than Life, stole till his ill-gotten wealth started spilling out of his mouth.  But today, Life has just seen his face and turned away from him.  He is now a convicted criminal serving a 13 year jail term in the United Kingdom for corruption and money laundering. He believed he can hide all his stolen wealth in foreign lands like his predecessors, but his decision is now his downfall.

African leaders should learn from the embarrassment Ibori had suffered, this embarrassment is not just for Ibori, but to all of you his friends and cohorts who have aided and benefitted from his looting and ill-gotten wealth.  Know that your times will come, and Life will turn its back on you, this is not a curse, but it’s the rule of life.

 

Ibori dined and wined with men of powers, he received blessings from various religious leaders, he bought the best houses in various parts of the world, rode in the best cars ever made and flew in exotic jets.  He stashed money enough for even his unborn great-grand children.  Greed is never part of the attributes of a right life, it will catch up with you, and then Life will smash you on the floor and turn its back on you.

Great Ogboru of Delta state once challenged Ibori’s competence and records as a convicted petty thief while he worked in London, but Nigeria’s jeopardized justice system acquitted him as being a different James Ibori and there was celebration in his clueless support camp, they all saw Ogboru as the traitor, but we all know that even if lie lasts for a while, the truth will surely surface. Life will always fetch you out and turn its back on you. 

The warlord and former Liberian President, Charles Taylor was recently convicted of war crimes, he killed, sponsored rebels to kill and defame people.  He will be sentenced in a few days, the rest of the African evil leaders need not  rejoice, because the day of reckoning is fast approaching, if it does not catch up with you soon enough, know that your children may not escape. Charles Taylor’s conviction is a signal of changes to come in Africa. Laurent Gbagbo, the former Ivory Coast President is equally in jail in The Hague waiting trial for Murder, Rape and other inhuman acts.

This is a call on all African leaders to arise and do what is right. Use Africa’s money to develop Africa, not your foreign-fat bank accounts. Life will soon turn away from you as it has turned away from Ibori and others.  I urge all Africans to stop condoning the incompetence of our leaders; let’s cry out in our towns and wildernesses till they do what is right. All you religious leaders who are romancing this thieves in power because of the stipend they give you, rather than speak sense to them to do the right things and use your godly conscience to speak the truth, will have your lot in the lake of fire

Be warned, all you corrupt and manipulative African leaders, who are specialist in calling a black kettle green, it is time to do the right things, Africa needs to be reinvigorated, we have suffered enough neglect and being lied to.  Africans are now more enlightened than you thought, all your little schemes and stealing we understand, but know that he who laughs last, laughs best.

We want to eat from our inheritance.

We deserve more than poverty, wars, famine and death.

We deserve more than being a begging continent.

We are tired of you shedding our innocent bloods daily.

We are tired of begging for food and water.

We are tired of being pitied by the rest of the world.

We are tired of being made the definition of poverty in the midst of plenty.
We are tired of losing innocent children and our struggling mothers.

We are tired of your ridicule.

If we do not love ourselves in Africa, no one deserves to love us.

Africa Unite and fight for your emancipation. Africa Arise.

Written by Abiola Olaifa ( abiolla@gmail.com, www.abiolla.com )

The Bomb Is Ready To Go Off.

If you walk the high streets of New York to the slums of New Delhi or read the breaking news in Berlin to the corner streets of Lagos, you will find out that the news is the same.  There are disasters just happening somewhere. They range from terrorist attacks to unprovoked murders, fires, floods and hurricanes, then sudden shootings, riots and wars.  There are tsunamis, earthquakes and tornados. The world is experiencing a sharp rise in suicidal bombings and hatred to one another as a result of various prejudiced beliefs ranging from religious, tribal and racial differences.  Every day is a waterloo; there is a bomb ready to go off, somewhere now.

Everyone is worried and troubled by the new trend of looming disasters from all corners of the world.  A disaster is prepared and ready to come down every other minute and just as the world is expanding in technology, our life is equally getting less attractive.  Everyone is in the business of catching the new tragic-bug, while ignoring what makes our lives worthwhile like happiness, family, friends, good health, good food and love for each other.  


The animalistic competition for space and dominance has taken a dreadful dimension and we are getting trapped in these nonessential permutation.   Things that matter to us previously are now taken with levity and we are gradually breeding gangs of murderers, trigger-happy killers and manipulators, all with same aim; to kill and destroy. They are in the business of breaking the cycle of life; they decide who should live and who should die.

The new tragedies emerging are the types we’ve never envisaged and trouble keeps staring us in the face, these tragedies are getting closer to us individually daily.  The trends have reached a very dangerous level; leading to a disaster we now call a new world.  Our life is obviously losing its value.

The once beautiful world is turning into a terrifying place to live and the new trends are fast and dangerously reshaping our lifestyles.  We are becoming more security conscious, watchful and suspicious of one another.  We now live like the famous cartoon character scaredy cat, sleeping with one eye opened.  Gone are the days of friendship and love; it’s now a competition for the smartest and the meanest.  This is not the ideal world we want to live and I cannot but ask the question; why have we got ourselves in this mess? What is our world coming to?

The new world is anchored on the game of egocentrism, readily ignoring social stability or regard for communal interests, beliefs and countenance.  Everyone is in the business of proving a point, sadly often in a bloody and deadly way, while ignoring the menace these is creating to our world.  Must we shed blood to make our points known and must we cut off our nose to spite our face?   Can we not live in peace and harmony to help our children have a future they can call their own?  The sky is big enough for every flying bird; it is not enough to kill in order to make a room for you.  

Let us retrace our steps, we are moving far away from reality and now embracing a world of illusion, a world full of distortion and absurd irrationality.  We need to bring back the happiness that makes us human.  Let us reconnect to our roots, family, music, togetherness and every other thing that brings us joy and happiness.  Let’s co-habit in contentment and family togetherness to bring the best happiness we can get.  Let’s all return to the way of peace and happiness, putting a stop to these baleful trends.

How then can we stay happy and relaxed in these new hyped-up and dangerous times?  

It is important to take care of your body, mind and emotions so you are not drifted away as a result of the events all around you, it is equally mandatory to stay positive and live a stress free life.  Stress is the bomb that is ready to go off; if you let it get to you, it is fatal.  

Danzae Pace wrote that; “Stress is the trash of modern life, we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and take over your life.”

Stress can break your body, mind and emotions, so your response to it really matters.   A Chinese proverb says; “Tension is who you think you should be while relaxation is who you are.”   Do not be taken by the evil days, stay clear of  any emotional strain or tension as a result of the demanding circumstances all around you.

To identify if you are stressed by the happenings around you, below are some common indications.

• Poor sleep pattern.
• Lack of appetite.
• Craving for food when under pressure.
• Frequent indigestion and heartburn.
• Suppressed anger.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Constant Irritability with people.
• Loss of sense of humour.
• Difficulty in making decisions. 
• Feeling unable to cope.
• Inability to finish one task before rushing into another.

If any of the above apply to you, it is important to immediately increase your resilience to stress and adopt a new balance that will make a real difference to your life, try some of the following.

• Avoid excessive stimulants and caffeinated drinks.
• Listen to music, read books, and cut back on TV.
• Breathe once in a while, from the belly not the chest.
• Enjoy a warm bath.
• Do not eat all the time.
• Get romantic; find love, its healthy for you.
• Exercise or walk.
• Think positively.
• Chat and meet people.
•  Take up a hobby.
• Take adequate rest and sleep; relax every day.
• Be comfortable and organise your priorities.
• Give yourself time and space.
• Do things more slowly.
• Seek help, confide in a friend or talk to a counsellor.
• Know when your cup is full and stop.

Abiola Olaifa writes ( abiolla@gmail.com , www.abiolla.com )