Page 95 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 16

Leadership

over the truth. Each time you chose they are mandating their people to
to turn a blind eye to the problems stick into their arms willl destroy
your new nation was facing, each the next generation even if they
time you ignored the niggling con- themselves escape now. Admit to
cerns about the vanishing liberties the people on the other end of the
you and your fellow citizens were phone that you failed when the time
facing and on and on and on. came. You failed to hold them ac-
countable because you yourself were
Now you want to sit down at your compromised. Fight now against the
desk in your study to quietly rumi- injustices you failed to confront in
nate on the days gone by and to the yesteryears, when you were try-
leave us a memoir of your days? To ing to build for us a ‘good life’. I am
tell us what opportunities we should here to inform you that there is no
take before it’s too late? To tell us ‘good life’, there is only a continua-
how to live? Please don’t. Don’t tion of the pains that you refused or
recline in your seat when those of failed to deal with, while you killed
your generation, the ones who know the ones who wanted to face them,
things are sick and broken are still and even if you didn’t have sword in
fighting alongside us to push back hand – you did it with your silence.
the darkness. Don’t abandon them
yet again. Don’t bounce your grand- Don’t leave us your memoirs on
children on your laps with pride, paper celebrating a life that did not
congratulating yourself for a job safeguard our future nor teach us
well done when the lives that face how to safeguard the future of the
them in the days ahead are nothing generations to come. We don’t want
but hell. Don’t rebuke your children them. Don’t write us your memoir
for following your weak and mis- of how great your days were when
guided exampled. No!!! you refused to teach us how to live
and eat clean simply because you
Put on your armor, sharpen your were caught up in the fantacy of
sword and fight alongside your shopping processed food and drinks
children and grandchildren, for the from the malls and supermarkets.
war is still raging. Pick up the phone It made you feel good that “devel-
and call the people who you still opment” had come to your nation,
know who have the ability to change but the reality is, it was cancer and
things or who will at least listen. Call the many other non-communicable
the ones you know who have the diseases that you opened the door
ability to connect you to the ones for into our lives.
who may have forgotten your name
but will remember you once you Let your memoirs be those of lives
speak. Call them and tell them that greatly lived for purposes bigger
they have failed us. Tell them that than you, that terrify you to face
they ought not to have learnt from them. Let them be of sacrifices
your generation how to engender made that ensured that the best
complacency, but they ought to version of the future had a fighting
learn from those who stood up to chance. Do not abandon us to the
you and your generation because at future you know does not exist…
least those had ideals that they were let us face the now with the fierce-
fighting for (and still do and still ness of those who came before us
are) that were for the betterment who fought with everything, every
of those who were around them. passion to create the possibility of
Tell them boldly and clearly that the freedom for Afrikans – but this
poison called Covid-vaccines which time, let’s finish what they started.

WWW.MSINGIAFRIKAMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 16 | OCTOBER 2021 95