The narrow road to common sense

The Narrow Route to Common Sense! By Nimi Princewill

A typical African, gets really defensive and quickly irritated when the vast areas of his or her intellectual shortcomings are highlighted and compared to people of other races, who by the way, have proven to make better decisions at numerous spheres of national life. 

We’re quick to condemn criticism however sincere or polite, classifying it as racist, even if it were from a fellow African! Indeed, common sense isn’t quite common after all... 

From the overwhelming backwardness of the African continent, one can be almost certain to conclude that the bulk of Africans are ‘blessed’ with specially configured minds that rarely THINK! We just empower the brilliant and crafty few amongst us to do the thinking, while we tag along like abducted little children, lured away with sugar candies by their abductors after school.

THE EXPENSIVE LUXURY OF COMMON SENSE IN AFRICA

• It is the absence of common sense, that makes an individual continue to prioritize political party affiliation, far above the prospects of tangible development or the complete lack of it! It’s quite stunning how people continuously stay stuck to political parties that have either impoverished their country in the past(naively believing they’ve repented and turned a new leaf), or tag along still, with the political party that currently impoverishes them!  

• It is the lack of common sense, that grants an entire army of citizens the fortitude and patience to tolerate a flawed democratic system, that continually renews the tenure of a frail power hungry leader(of 92years of age) who has clung to power since independence(almost four decades of that country’s existence) and intends to carry along his exalted presidency to the grave! He’s already been endorsed as candidate for the 2018 elections! 

• It is the overwhelming deficiency in common sense, that prompts a large congregation of African Christian worshipers(comprised of both the ‘highly educated’ and the pardonable illiterate ones) to eat and drink toxic substances at the command of a weird and creepy prophet! In this modern time of knowledge and enlightenment, this can rarely be done anywhere but Africa!

If collectively as Africans, we cannot evolve our thoughts towards politics, religion and other socio-economic areas that truncate our growth, then we shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed to bear whatever nickname(regardless of how condescending) our peers from other races tag us as, because that’s actually who and what we are, until we decide to rebrand ourselves!