David Cameron’s mesh of potage
Cameron’s statement struck and rightly too, the raw nerves of many Africans and their law makers. Apparently acting out of anger from David Cameron’s threat the National Assembly, in Abuja just last week enacted a law banning same sex marriage, as if to say Cameron can swallow his aid if it pleases him to do […]
Cameron’s statement struck and rightly too, the raw nerves of many Africans and their law makers. Apparently acting out of anger from David Cameron’s threat the National Assembly, in Abuja just last week enacted a law banning same sex marriage, as if to say Cameron can swallow his aid if it pleases him to do so, but Nigeria would not be blackmailed into following the UK on the path of social degeneracy and moral and ethical depravity it has found itself. Similar enactments have occurred in Ghana and many African countries. The point has however been made that David Cameron was merely posturing and pandering to the homosexual audience in Australia and that of the UK whose ranks have continued to multiply. It is like he was preparing the ground to attract their votes at election time, which may be sooner than later, considering the shaky position of the coalition government he is presiding over and its increasing unpopularity over his economic policies.
If that is the case then David Cameron chose the wrong issue to play politics with, and it exposed the paucity of his knowledge and intimacy with Africa, a fact that is hardly surprising considering the superficial personalities that attain high position of power these days. Had he bothered to ask for the input of his staff at the UK foreign ministry he would have been told that Africa, in spite of the onslaught of Western decadence still remains a bulwark, indeed a bastion against bestiality and acts that assault morality and human dignity. This notion was clearly enunciated by the former prelate of the Anglican Church, the Right Reverend Peter Akinola, in November 2010 at an Anglican conference at the UK when he threatened to pull out the Nigerian Anglican Church from the world body if the latter insisted on ordaining as priests individuals who are homosexuals.
The Church backed down at that time, partly because an African boycott might send it reeling to its eventual dissolution. The simple reason for this is that in Europe and the US, young people have since abandoned church going, only the old and ageing with their minds on other worldly matters find it worth their while. The African Church has still not withdrawn the threat and it is surprising that David Cameron did not allow it to guide him on how to proceed on the matter. The bitter reaction to his statement should tell him that Africans would not sell their intrinsic human nature for a mesh of potage.
Having been the cradle of human civilization, Africa is determined to remain the custodian of its prized attributes and possessions that differentiate human being from the lower beings. Same sex marriage, homosexual cohabitation and other sexual depravities such wife swapping and incest should be seen for what they are – a descent to a subhuman status or level of existence that should never be glorified and recommended as David Cameron seems to be doing. If the UK has descended into a moral and ethical morass and he has run out of ideas to bring it back to human decency, he should not impose its abject condition on other countries through blackmail and subterfuge.
Buhari’s Subtle Disclosures
Retired General Muhammadu Buhari, Congress of Progressive Change’s (CPC) presidential candidate, the other day answered the question on the minds of many of his admirers who may have been wondering what next for him after the debacle of the last elections and the not too encouraging judgements emanating from the courts. He told a gathering at an empowerment programme that he will not quit politics until ‘’good governance and sustainable democracy are entrenched in Nigeria’’ adding that at the appropriate time he will speak to the nation on the matter.
Well said general. There it is then, right from the general’s mouth, no pun intended. Those wishing that he will throw in the towel and throw up his hands and walk away from it all to take on a sedate life style in Katsina or is it Kaduna would be sorely disappointed. Anybody can walk away; the general is not for walking, for there is still more to be done, the detail of which he has promised to apprise us with shortly. The general has hinted that come the next elections he would not be playing the role of a party leader giving his blessings to a younger presidential candidate rather, he would be right there in the trenches contesting for the prized position itself–the presidency.
One does need a crystal ball to deduce this, particularly if he had to hang on till ‘’good governance and sustainable democracy’’ are achieved. Some mischievous minds would snigger behind the good general’s back and say that would be eternity, unless of course he succeeds in throwing out, democratically of course, the group holding the reins of powers now. But they would be mistaken and they are misreading the stirrings that may galvanise into a groundswell of a peaceful revolution that could sweep General Muhammadu Buhari to power. Evidence of which can be seen in the huge showings he chalked up in the last elections, which he is certain to build on tremendously if everything remains the same, which in plain words means if the Peoples Democratic Party government continues its heedless bungling ways.
For this to happen however, the general would have to come to the realization that the CPC as it is so constituted stands no chance. It has to find a way to work with other parties, particularly the Action Congress Party (AC), in forging a workable agreement for a common political platform. To be sure, firmness and fastidiousness to principles are edifying qualities in themselves, but they are not of much use if they stand in the way of a grand design to rescue society from the meretricious mendaciousness that has gripped it.