Son of Peasant

“It is too good to be true. Behind its glittering mask [Uganda] wears a sinister aspect----a sense of indefinable oppression------a cut will not heal, a scratch festers.
“[A] garden of sunshine and deadly nightshade”
Winston Churchill
---My African Journey, 1907

“Hard though it is to imagine now, Uganda was becoming self-sufficient -----It aimed to be self-reliant, free of aid by 1974.
“It was not policies that messed up Africa. It was politics. A deadly combination of internal competition for power and outside interference wrecked Africa.
“In the end, the greatest impact of European imperialism in Africa may have been neither political nor economic. It may have been psychological: the destruction of African self-belief.”
Richard Dowden
---Africa
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles, 2009


Son of peasant rises to the top
Or rather,
Bulldozes to the top
Rails against
Predecessor sons of peasants:
You killed recklessly
You killers
You hoarded power
Ruled with iron fists
Not unlike colonial overlords
Brought shame and miseries
No alternatives but
Mighty Kalashnikovs
To rid off pests

Son of peasant becomes hero
Grateful peasant brethrens’ adoration
Can do no wrong
Has the Midas’ touch
Every touch turns to gold
Tries this
Tries that
On the fly

Son of peasant hooks up with the devils
The perennial world masters for five centuries
Becomes their errand boy
The more things change
The more they stay the same
Sings their songs
Promotes their agenda
Natives’ interests are secondary
Lulled by sweet-nothing slogans

Son of peasant is put for life
Propped up by the devils
In the name of stability
Families and hangers-on
Assured luxury and privilege
His fall is their fall
Must maintain the gravy-train at all costs
But history repeats itself
All will peter and wane eventually
But for now
The sycophantic fawning
The rage in town

Another son of peasant goes off
The big city beckons
Thanks to missionary schools
Earns degrees
Lands a juicy job
Relatives flock from the woodworks
Allure of modern gadgets also calls
All chasing the relative meager wage
The shortfall pegged by bribes
Shameless dipping quivering hands in public coffers

All in all
Where is the compass?
A ship needs a compass
Lest lost at sea

Observe:
In the lands of the rising sun
The yellow peoples
In the Yangtze
Can run astray
But remember the compass
Rectify and prosper

In this dance
Rituals give guidance
Where are the rituals for adulthood?
For coming of age
Where are the rituals for honor betrayed?
Where are the rituals for conflict resolutions?
Individually and collectively
Where? Where? Where?

There are the Christian rituals
Islamic rituals
Religious images
Designed to affect consciousness
Have they sunk?
Will they ever?
Meanwhile,
Mayhems
Lying
Corruptions
Double-talks
Cruelty
Intolerance
Greed rule

A people sans organic culture
Radar less
Floundering
Desperate
Easy prey
Manipulated
Cheated out of resources
The dredge of human kind
Living in the immediate
Ensuring perpetual bondage

That’s son of peasant’s legacy
The first generation of post-independence
Operators spanning forty plus years
What’s the prognosis for the next?
Grandsons of peasants
Sons of presidents
Doctors
Teachers
Lawyers
Generals
Can the papaya fall far from the tree?