Africa My Motherland XX

By A. Abeku Haywood-Dadzie?

Cry my beloved continent, the land of my birth. A land that flows with milk and honey, but its children are malnourished. A?land of prosperity and poverty, a paradox of paucity in the midst of plenty. In the abundance of everything, my beloved continent lacks everything.

My beloved continent and its leaders fit Prophet Isaiah's description of failed leaders in the Bible: A land whose leaders are blind and ignorant. A land whose leaders are like silent watchdogs, giving no warning when danger approaches. A land whose leaders love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming; a land whose leaders are ignorant and are like greedy dogs, never satisfied. A land ruled by leaders who act independently and for their own benefit and whose mantra is "let's buy some wine and have a party; let's all get drunk; tomorrow we'll do it again and have an even bigger party!" Isaiah 56:10-12[ paraphrased]

The tragedy?of?my beloved continent?is that we?"?are in the?business?of?canonizing thieves?and demonizing saints.". "Only?in?Africa will thieves?be?regrouping?to loot again and the youths whose future is being stolen?will?be celebrating it.". "We elect hyenas to take care of goats and when the goats go missing, we wonder why." Forgetting that "when a hyena wants to eat its?children, it first accuses them of smelling?like a goat." -To quote two illustrious sons of my motherland-Wole Soyinka and PLO Lumumba?

My beloved continent, the land of my birth does not deserve this. Africa deserves leaders who do not have a price at which they can be bought; who do not borrow from integrity to pay for expediency; who have their priorities straight and in proper order; whose handshake is an ironclad contract; who are not afraid of taking risks to advance what is right; and who are honest in small matters as they are in large ones. Africa needs more men and women whose ambitions are big enough to include others; who know how to win with grace and lose with dignity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and ruthlessness are the three keys to success; who still have friends they made twenty years ago; who put principle and consistency above politics or personal advancement; and who are not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion. Unknown Author.[paraphrased]

Cry my beloved continent, the land of my birth.