 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Momodou
Denmark
11708 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Oct 2020 : 13:46:25
|
The Minister
By Alagie Saidy-Barrow
The minister sat at his desk thinking. Thinking of how things have changed. Thinking of all the hardship he endured. To abandon the joy he enjoys today for the hardship of yesterday is a tall order. Yes, he will be called a traitor. Yes he has abandoned long-held relationships with people he fought with. Yes, he will be called unreliable. His old friends will think low of him. They will say he abandoned them midstream. But if he is to follow the ways of his old friends, it means letting go of the opportunities before him. He is a minister. He is at the very summit of a Gambian success story. He became a minister through loyalty and he was rewarded for his loyalty. He is almost like a fief to those who support him. They adore him. Sing ditties for him. He can have anything he wants now. He lives well and does not have to pay for fuel. He jets around the world and collects fat per diems. His resume is buttered with projects under his ministry. And his old friends want him to abandon that good life for a life in the trenches battling in a hopeless fight. He has sacrificed too much. It’s time to enjoy!
The minister was once a fierce and principled warrior. He has the battle scars to prove his bravery. He stayed in the trenches and fought alongside his comrades. They stuck by one another. In those days, consistency was the motto. In those days, they hearkened back to their ancestors who shunned betrayal and embraced death at the expense of shame. He too was admired for his consistency and for his principled stance. But the winds have since shifted. Life changed and his life changed. He is living the dream of many. He is admired by many. Not for his bravery in the trenches but for what he became: A minister! He is like a fief now. Adamantly guarding his fiefdom against anyone or anything that wants his place. If it means spinelessness, then so be it, but he cannot let go of the honeypot. He remembers the words of a friend who told him that in poverty, man is consistent and principled; test him with riches or opportunities and his consistency and principles go out the window. And for a land where the daily pastime is to find the next opportunity, consistency has long since wilted as a casualty. It is all about what is in it for me! If the man cannot get anything out of it, then he has no interest in it and that is, even if it benefits larger society. There is no consistency in the daily grind of individual opportunity-seeking. Some of his colleagues are facing the same challenges! They too fought in the trenches. But what people don’t understand is that we may have all fought the battles, but our reasons for fighting was to only replace the vanquished so we too can enjoy, thinks the minister. And to remain a minister, he must remain loyal! Unbridled loyalty cannot succumb to the dictates of the conscience!
The minister sat there and looked out the window. He saw the wrinkled face of the porter moving the heavy loads for the old woman following him ensuring he does not disappear with her goods. The minister saw the battered face of the woman hawking her wares haggling over the price with a man who refused to get out of his car less he be sullied. He saw the hopeless face of the child looking around for where to steal his next meal. He saw the polluted skyline of his country. He saw the pothole laden and dusty roads that await his million Dalasi car. He smelled the hopelessness that permeates the dry air that the man, woman and child breathe in, drying the insides of their nostrils. But the minister rides in a vehicle with windows up so he does not breathe the same air. The minister decided, there and then, that he would rather maintain things as they are than go back to the trenches. This is his reward for sacrificing so much! Being a minister is the epitome of civil service! The prestige, the traveling, the fame, the worshipping, the power! The good life! Why give up the good life for some principle that no one will remember in a few months?
Then the minister gets back to his office and found a letter from an old friend. The letter reads:
Honorable Minister:
We often hear people say the only thing consistent about a particular individual is their inconsistency. Meaning, the particular individual cannot be counted on to hold on to any position for too long or conduct themselves in any manner that is predictable. Such individuals swing along with the dictates of what opportunity is before them. If times are good and they foresee an opportunity of sorts, they will do all that they can to defend their position and ensure the status quo remains. But let things not look as favorable or they see another opportunity elsewhere and they will abandon their previous position for where they think the grass is greener. They forget the old warning that the grass always looks greener if you are looking at it from the other side. Often, the excuse for the change in position is that oh, I didn’t know any better, or I have been presented with better information. While that may be true for some, it is often just a vacuous bromide meant to paper over the serious character flaw of the opportunist! You Mr Minister, are the consummate opportunist! I hope and pray that you regain your old self because I cannot recognize you anymore and it is not even that dark yet.
Your Old Friend
Ansu
The minister sucked his teeth and threw the letter in his bin. Ansu is just jealous of me, he thinks to himself. In fact, anyone criticizing me does so out of jealousy. They have no idea what it takes to run a government. I do. In the end, all they want is to have my place just as I too only wanted to just replace those before me!
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
|
toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2020 : 15:22:28
|
SNIPPET:
"The minister sucked his teeth and threw the letter in his bin. Ansu is just jealous of me, he thinks to himself. In fact, anyone criticizing me does so out of jealousy. They have no idea what it takes to run a government. I do. In the end, all they want is to have my place just as I too only wanted to just replace those before me!"
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Politics again.
Still what a very brilliant thought out article By Alagie Saidy-Barrow
he should be recognised at the highest level for his artistry Thanks.
|
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
|
Edited by - toubab1020 on 08 Oct 2020 15:32:20 |
 |
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
© 2005-2024 Nijii |
|
|
|
The Minister
