A Beautiful Republic

There was a time in our societies when the responsibility to make progress rested on the shoulders of a single individual. That head determined our traditions, way of life and even our economy. In some cases we were the commodities of an industrious trade as long as this individual decreed it so and determined that it was the only course to progress. The African society was not complex and simple to understand then; we knew our position and dared never to oppose that authority of the decreeing fellow. 

Then came the western civilization with its involving kind of leadership, they spoke of things like democracy, voting and even opposition. Such concepts were blasphemous to the African citizen, for a former commodity of trade to know that there was a way he could choose against the owner of the trade was indeed farfetched. 

Even though this system was great in the sense that it handed much of the power back to us, its introduction left us largely uneducated on what it made the rest of us common men. The transition, even though painfully gradual, did not address the mindset of the African society. While the citizens were freed from the bondage of a single monarch, they were not freed from their dependence on that monarch. 

In recent times we have seen a growing strength of what we all call the opposition to the ruling governments in our societies. They have come up to oppose what they think is not right and they have also clearly stated what they think would be right. The challenge is that while they do that ever so passionately, it sounds to a keen ear that they are only pleading to the masses to place them in the seat of the monarch. It is not necessarily an opposition against principles and policies but against individuals and groups of individuals. 

With their ever increasing persuasion the oppositions have rallied citizens behind them to demand for services from governments. And while they have gained a lot of popularity doing so, they have failed to point out to the citizen that keeping a road clean is not necessarily the role of the ruling government, they have failed to help the citizen take responsibility in their communities and of their lives. 

It appears then that we have managed to shift from a demanding monarch to a society that demands for a monarch, which demands for services to be offered by a single individual and in some cases demands for personal favors. 

It is true that the African republic is far from perfect, but even more true is that most the Africans are yet to realize their role in the African republic. We have played this blame and victimizing game for long enough and now is the time to change tactics. Every one of us needs to realize that the government was handed back to us. We are that governments that keeps the roads dirty, that is corrupts, that fails to take children to schools or even make sure that we have proper places of convenience, the government is in our homes and we determine is aura. 

Yes, those in government have lessons to learn too but while they delay to learn, we the people of this republic need to get up and apply the small lessons within our reach. We shall get the government we deserve.