Dealing with a Post-Covid-19 Afrika
WHAT ARE WE LEARNING RIGHT NOW?
Everything that happens to us in life either gets a response or a reaction from us. This applies to both individuals and nations. And also concerning life and the things that happen to us in it, nothing lasts forever. Covid-19 will end someday soon but will we have learnt lessons worth taking into the future?
Like I have shared already on several social media platforms, Covid-19 didn’t so much come to destroy our lives or society, but to show us how to stop, re-look, review, re-plan, re-arrange and re-evaluate our lives both as individuals and as nations. We can, however, deal with the issue of the pandemic from the place of panicked reactions that create more problems than they solve while not learning anything new from the crisis, or we can respond accurately, in wisdom, which gives us the ability to learn through the crisis and to make the accurate adjustments that are needed for a better life after the crisis.
Reaction puts us at the same level as the action that life throws at us, while accurate response takes us above the situation, creating a different ecosystem for life and wisdom. A wisdom which is critically needed in Afrika at this time. I have seen through this crisis that Afrika still thinks that foreign nations are the only ones with solutions to general problems. I do not believe in such a thing. What I do believe is that, this crisis came to show us as Afrikans that we can actually deal with our own issues, using the original and authentic solutions we have in Afrika. It has given us the much needed reason to once again believe in ourselves as people who carry original solutions to this world’s problems. But how we respond to the many aspects of our lives that Covid-19 came to show us will determine if we are worthy custodians of the wisdom of the ages graciously given to us by God. I read somewhere someone wrote about the Covid-19 pandemic. It says, “World Health Organization says that the future of survival against viruses in humans is in diet fortifications with naturally available Organic Antiviral Immunity Boosters, using affordable, locally available food technology.” This makes a lot of sense whether it is true that the WHO said it or didn’t. The statement is still true on its own without WHO’s endorsement. No one needs the permission of WHO to seek natural solutions to their problems. It is just wisdom to find out, know and then use local and natural solutions that work for local issues.
What are we learning?
Concerning life’s issues and responses, Jesus never responded to questions or accusations from the level of where they were thrown at Him. He took all questions to the level of His own divinity. And that’s why sometimes when He was asked a question, He would answer with another question, thereby creating a new level of conversation.
I have personally had many reactions to life’s issues that I wasn’t proud of. But I love how God deals with such things, for when I go to Him with the pain of my reactions, He always gives a quick way out saying “next time, respond this way”. And by that, wisdom is learnt, confidence to deal with issues is gained and conversations are no longer wasted.
We as Afrikans and even the entire world will be fools if we do not learn true wisdom from this crisis that has shut down most global societies. From this same crisis, we have seen that it is possible; for the price of petrol to be reduced, without killing the economy, for taxes to be reduced without any damage to our economic lives, that home schooling is good for the child-parent relationship, that the world can actually care for each other without the usual foolish banter over race and nationality, that no one has to be in a church, temple or mosque to be spiritual, that schools can actually close and students will still learn, that fathers can actually stay away from drinking in bars and be fathers indeed at home, that mothers can actually breathe because older daughters are at home to help with the house, that governments can actually speak to their people on other matters away from political campaigns, that we can actually stop importation of second hand clothes from overseas into Afrika since it’s easy to transfer the virus through them, that the media can actually report other things apart from the usual, that social media instead of the usual madness that happens there can actually be used as a channel for people to check on others and then give financial support during the crisis, that we can actually seek God for help all over the world without anyone pushing us to do so, that we can actually be humans without our heads locked up in the clouds of our useless pride and arrogance! That we can actually be alive! It is amazing what a global crisis can do. But are we learning or will we come out of this crisis and go back to the usual ways of inhumanness?
Life must throw stones at us in forms of crises, and we can either cry over the stones or build castles with them. In this case, after Covid-19, what new policies would we come up with that will help our health system, educational system, transport system, family system, religious system, police system, military system and every other system we use daily? We have been given a good chunk of time to reflect on all these things and we can no longer give excuses for the things that have stopped us before. Afrika must rise on the wings of truth, originality and wisdom. We have no choice but to build great castles with the stones being thrown at us right now.
What's Your Reaction?
