|
Today`s Mr Clean, tomorrow`s villain
2008-05-08 09:53:07
By Chris Joe
Suddenly, the country is vibrant, I mean democracy-wise, and I mean our United Republic of Tanzania, which has just turned 44.
The people seem to have awakened from a deep apathy slumber; people who seemed to have been apolitical, that is, not interested in what was going on around them politically, are now actively participating in political debates and discussions. The press has discovered its voice, which had lain dormant for a long time.
Who has unmuzzled the press, if, that is, it had been muzzled? Or had the press muzzled itself? Whatever the answers are, I think we can safely say that democracy has grown a firm tape root in our country.
I also think that we can safely say that the local media has taken full advantage of the prevailing favourable political atmosphere to do what it was expected to do since its inception.
The civil society has performed wonderfully, I must say, in recent years in terms of mobilising, educating and sensitising the public on their basic civil and civic rights, their basic human rights and their obligations and responsibilities. The public`s response has been tremendously plausible.
However, this awareness momentum has, on one hand, been frustrated by a few selfish individuals interested only in amassing personal wealth, but on the other hand, these greedy individuals have acted as an agent for greater awareness and determination on the part of the people to expose them and hence, get rid of them. The latter is proving difficult at the moment.
The difficulty does not trouble me one little bit, because I know that the wind, no, the hurricane has just begun to blow.
The strength of the storm has also begun to show and the signs are not quite comforting to those plundering our economy without remorse. Their days are numbered on the fingers of one and a half hands.
Sooner, rather than later, the eye of the cyclone will get to them. Then, they will realise what made the guinea fowl miss feathers on its head.
A friend of mine once asked why is it so difficult to detect these impostors early enough to warn the people not to vote them in, or to alert whoever has the authority to appoint them into office?
The answer may not be easy to find, but as the great writer William Shakespeare said in his play McBeth ``it is impossible to find a mind`s construction in the face,`` meaning, you cannot read a person`s mind in the face.
Shakespeare said these words through his King Duncan, who was referring to his trusted General who had betrayed him by defecting, i.e., crossing over to the enemy.
King Duncan proved himself right sooner than expected by trusting McBeth, who he promoted to take the place of the defector, but later the same day, the trusted new friend General killed the king through greed for power.
Maybe this can provide the answer to the question why can`t we detect mafisadi before they assume high offices. It is not easy at all. Only the Almighty God can tell what is in the mind of a person.
Perhaps psychologists can, in a very limited way, also tell what is in your head. The rest of mankind can only guess what a friend is thinking about at any particular time.
So be it with us mortals. We elect people into office in good faith, believing that they are our colleagues that they will work for our common good.
We trust them sometimes with our resources believing that they would use the resources to bring about our set goals.
Some of them sometimes start off as good people with clean record and excellent vision and direction, kindhearted, enticing and so trustworthy that you can even vouchsafe for them. Suddenly they are different people.
Who would have thought some of those who are now embroiled in various scandals could be that vile? It may not be proper to mention names here because that would be compounding their already complex situation, and some of them could be innocent(?)
Indeed, it is hard to believe they have changed so much from being Mr Cleans to being mafisadis.
One cheeky local evening newspaper the other day carried the picture of the father of the Nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, sort of admonishing one of his trusted `students` now enmeshed in the scandals asking in surprise: ``…you, too?`` It reminded me of another of Shakespeare`s plays: Julius Ceasar when Ceasar saw Brutus, one of the Generals he trusted, raising his sword on him, he asked the same question: ``you, too, Brutus, then fall Ceasar.``
Ceasar realised that there was no point of fighting back because those he trusted as his lieutenants had turned not only conspirators, but also murderers.
Some of us may be confused as we see those we trusted to be examples of cleanliness are actually not that clean. But we should not give up like Ceasar. We should fight back with all our strength.
We may not know how or why they have betrayed us. Allow me to have a shot in the darkness. There is a common saying by chauvinistic (if you like) humankind to the effect that behind every successful man, there is a woman.
Could it be also true that behind every man`s fall there is a woman? Two examples: Our old girl Hawa, or Eve, coaxed our old boy Adam to betray God by offering him the forbidden fruit.
In our McBeth Play, it was Lady McBeth who had persuaded McBeth to not only betray the king`s trust, but also assassinate him. Please, no innuendo intended.
What I am saying is that people change, those we think are good today will smell like rotten prawns tomorrow, and it is possible for those who smell like rotten eggs today may become angels the day after tomorrow.
Those who are exposing the dirt of others today, will be exposed tomorrow.
What I am also saying is that we should not shy away from exposing mafisadi today for fear of being exposed tomorrow, because that is life, and it goes on like that.
We must use our newly acquired freedom of expression, and we must not weaver from our noble duty of ensuring that good governance prevails in this country, whichever political party is in power at any given moment in time. Hadi raha.
|
