In real life aren’t like the movies.Often you may be the only oneWho notices the changeIn the posture of your heartThe new track in your train of thoughtFresh streak of confidence in your stride.It may take a whileFor the rest of us to seeThe person you are becomingFor many a great masterpieceWas faithfully forged in […]
Read more "Comebacks"Post-colonial statesAre nations of miracles,With historical baggageThat is far deeperThan any one of us can unpack,And ongoing structural violenceThat seems to mutate itselfEven in the absence of an obvious perpetrator:Riddled with poverty,Overshadowed by inequalityDrowning in preventable diseaseAnd grappling a perpetual identity crisis-Post colonial statesHave enough pressureTo fully implode.And yet they don’t.They seem to find a […]
Read more "A nation of miracles"Are often fun to look atAnd beautiful to walk in.They are not too difficult to construct.With enough cashAnd the right peopleYou can erect quite a spectacle-A state of the art hospitalA beautiful mallA school that looks like Hogwarts.Much harder than thisIs to create a cultureThat brings out the very best out of peopleNo matter their […]
Read more "Fancy new buildings"The worst kind of tyrantIs the one who inflicts harm‘For your own good,’Believing that the axe they weildIs pruning dead branchesAnd not dismembering useful limbs,Casting doubtful glancesOver any claims of injustice,Calling indoctrinationAn educationAnd making reasonable argumentsFor unreasonable things.To be gaslighted is to be givenA meal of hungerA drink of thirstA real-world exerciseIn denying reality.
Read more "Gaslighting"Spanish for the posture you assume When the odds are against you from birth, When foreign aid assumes a permanent role In your community Because it seems unlikely that you’ll ever Prosper without it, When people celebrate your capacity To suffer, To be hard pressed and not crushed. Songs of struggle should not be sung […]
Read more "La Brega"Far too often, development in Africa Looks like a knock off of progress made in other parts of the world, Ideas that percolated in foreign minds That were tried and tested on (and for) foreign soils Only to be cut and pasted In a different context For different minds Different soil. Learning how others have […]
Read more "Second fiddle"For a version of the African story that’s more than Sentimental More captivating than a wildlife documentary Unfettered by directionless politics Bridling with economic energy Where the “average African” is prosperous Where education is not for show but for use And where the ambitions of our best and brightest Extend beyond personal lifestyle goals. The […]
Read more "Searching for Wakanda"What is it about progressThat takes us away from ‘the community’Only to come back laterAnd ‘give back’ to it?Some come back out of guilt,Others from a sense of dutyBut have you ever wondered why they had toLeave in the first place?What if the community itself was enough?What if the primary place we wanted to sow […]
Read more "On ‘giving back to the community’"Side by side.Accompany me.I fear that in your haste for progress You might try to pull me from the frontAnd lose sight of meAnd I will resent you for it.Or maybe you’ll try to push me from behindOnly to be surprised at how much I stumble,And despise me for being so slow.So if you really […]
Read more "Walk with me"In many respects, We live simultaneously the best and worst lives of any generation gone before us. The potential for greatness has never been greater Nor has the proximity of discontent ever been closer. Its easier to get more things in this life than ever before, Especially if you’re born in the right places with […]
Read more "Accelerator crisis"
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