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 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 )
