Be the change!



What have African leaders learned from the history of the continent? Almost nothing. "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword". This is a cliche that almost all African leaders ignore and the results are always the same: sufferings, war, death and another leader who may just make the same mistakes made by his or her predecessor. The list is long; the DRC, Rwanda, Kenya, Madagascar, Cote D'Ivoire, Sudan, Somalia, need I go on?



What is it in us Africans that makes us kill our brothers and neighbours so easily? After living side by side with people for decades, how easy was it for Kenyans to wake up one day and kill their neighbours? When a power struggle goes on and on for decades as is the case in Sudan, at the end of the day does the prize equal the pay? When millions are killed and others die of starvation, is it worth the strugge? Especially as the same people who fought for the 'good of all' become even worse than their predecessors? We saw that in Liberia with Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor. And what makes one opposition leader better than the guy in power when the opposition leader will not leave his seat as chairman of his party even after twenty years?



Africans please wake up. We cannot blame our leaders because put in their shoes we may not be so different. A leader is only a reflection of the people he or she leads. We blame leadership for being corrupt but we forget that corruption is a symbiotic relationship. One person corrupts the other and the other receives. We all are guilty of that in one way or the other. Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if you refused to bribe officials? We all need to change. It has to start from homes and schools and then it can get to public offices. Teach the young ones honesty and patience and all the virtues we know of. That will not heal all the ills in the society, of course, but it is a start. While we pray for change from those in leadership positions, let us be the change that we want them to be.

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