You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum! - Written by Field Ruwe | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Tuesday 24 January 2012

You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum! - Written by Field Ruwe

If you haven't read this article yet, do so...some serious stuff! Written by Field Ruwe, a Zambian journalist and author...
They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.
Please continue...



“It’s amazing how you all sit there and watch yourselves die,” the man next to me said. “Get up and do something about it.”
Brawny, fully bald-headed, with intense, steely eyes, he was as cold as they come. When I first discovered I was going to spend my New Year’s Eve next to him on a non-stop JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston I was angst-ridden. I associate marble-shaven Caucasians with iconoclastic skin-heads, most of who are racist.
“My name is Walter,” he extended his hand as soon as I settled in my seat.
I told him mine with a precautious smile.
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“Zambia.”
“Zambia!” he exclaimed, “Kaunda’s country.”
“Yes,” I said, “Now Sata’s.”
“But of course,” he responded. “You just elected King Cobra as your president.”
My face lit up at the mention of Sata’s moniker. Walter smiled, and in those cold eyes I saw an amenable fellow, one of those American highbrows who shuttle between Africa and the U.S.
“I spent three years in Zambia in the 1980s,” he continued. “I wined and dined with Luke Mwananshiku, Willa Mungomba, Dr. Siteke Mwale, and many other highly intelligent Zambians.” He lowered his voice. “I was part of the IMF group that came to rip you guys off.” He smirked. “Your government put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing, the dead, and the healthy.”
“Are you still with the IMF?” I asked.
“I have since moved to yet another group with similar intentions. In the next few months my colleagues and I will be in Lusaka to hypnotize the cobra. I work for the broker that has acquired a chunk of your debt. Your government owes not the World Bank, but us millions of dollars. We’ll be in Lusaka to offer your president a couple of millions and fly back with a check twenty times greater.”
“No, you won’t,” I said. “King Cobra is incorruptible. He is …”
He was laughing. “Says who? Give me an African president, just one, who has not fallen for the carrot and stick.”
Quett Masire’s name popped up.
“Oh, him, well, we never got to him because he turned down the IMF and the World Bank. It was perhaps the smartest thing for him to do.”
At midnight we were airborne. The captain wished us a happy 2012 and urged us to watch the fireworks across Los Angeles.
“Isn’t that beautiful,” Walter said looking down.
From my middle seat, I took a glance and nodded admirably.
“That’s white man’s country,” he said. “We came here on Mayflower and turned Indian land into a paradise and now the most powerful nation on earth. We discovered the bulb, and built this aircraft to fly us to pleasure resorts like Lake Zambia.”
I grinned. “There is no Lake Zambia.”
He curled his lips into a smug smile. “That’s what we call your country. You guys are as stagnant as the water in the lake. We come in with our large boats and fish your minerals and your wildlife and leave morsels—crumbs. That’s your staple food, crumbs. That corn-meal you eat, that’s crumbs, the small Tilapia fish you call Kapenta is crumbs. We the Bwanas (whites) take the cat fish. I am the Bwana and you are the Muntu. I get what I want and you get what you deserve, crumbs. That’s what lazy people get—Zambians, Africans, the entire Third World.”
The smile vanished from my face.
“I see you are getting pissed off,” Walter said and lowered his voice. “You are thinking this Bwana is a racist. That’s how most Zambians respond when I tell them the truth. They go ballistic. Okay. Let’s for a moment put our skin pigmentations, this black and white crap, aside. Tell me, my friend, what is the difference between you and me?”
“There’s no difference.”
“Absolutely none,” he exclaimed. “Scientists in the Human Genome Project have proved that. It took them thirteen years to determine the complete sequence of the three billion DNA subunits. After they
were all done it was clear that 99.9% nucleotide bases were exactly the same in you and me. We are the same people. All white, Asian, Latino, and black people on this aircraft are the same.”
I gladly nodded.
“And yet I feel superior,” he smiled fatalistically. “Every white person on this plane feels superior to a black person. The white guy who picks up garbage, the homeless white trash on drugs, feels superior to you no matter his status or education. I can pick up a nincompoop from the New York streets, clean him up, and take him to Lusaka and you all be crowding around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he’s a riffraff. Tell me why my angry friend.”
For a moment I was wordless.
“Please don’t blame it on slavery like the African Americans do, or colonialism, or some psychological impact or some kind of stigmatization. And don’t give me the brainwash poppycock. Give me a better answer.”
I was thinking.
He continued. “Excuse what I am about to say. Please do not take offense.”
I felt a slap of blood rush to my head and prepared for the worst.
“You my friend flying with me and all your kind are lazy,” he said. “When you rest your head on the pillow you don’t dream big. You and other so-called African intellectuals are damn lazy, each one of you. It is you, and not those poor starving people, who is the reason Africa is in such a deplorable state.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say,” I protested.
He was implacable. “Oh yes it is and I will say it again, you are lazy. Poor and uneducated Africans are the most hardworking people on earth. I saw them in the Lusaka markets and on the street selling merchandise. I saw them in villages toiling away. I saw women on Kafue Road crushing stones for sell and I wept. I said to myself where are the Zambian intellectuals? Are the Zambian engineers so imperceptive they cannot invent a simple stone crusher, or a simple water filter to purify well water for those poor villagers? Are you telling me that after thirty-seven years of independence your university school of engineering has not produced a scientist or an engineer who can make simple small machines for mass use? What is the school there for?”
I held my breath.
“Do you know where I found your intellectuals? They were in bars quaffing. They were at the Lusaka Golf Club, Lusaka Central Club, Lusaka Playhouse, and Lusaka Flying Club. I saw with my own eyes a bunch of alcoholic graduates. Zambian intellectuals work from eight to five and spend the evening drinking. We don’t. We reserve the evening for brainstorming.”
He looked me in the eye.
“And you flying to Boston and all of you Zambians in the Diaspora are just as lazy and apathetic to your country. You don’t care about your country and yet your very own parents, brothers and sisters are in Mtendere, Chawama, and in villages, all of them living in squalor. Many have died or are dying of neglect by you. They are dying of AIDS because you cannot come up with your own cure. You are here calling yourselves graduates, researchers and scientists and are fast at articulating your credentials once asked—oh, I have a PhD in this and that—PhD my foot!”
I was deflated.
“Wake up you all!” he exclaimed, attracting the attention of nearby passengers. “You should be busy lifting ideas, formulae, recipes, and diagrams from American manufacturing factories and sending them to your own factories. All those research findings and dissertation papers you compile should be your country’s treasure. Why do you think the Asians are a force to reckon with? They stole our ideas and turned them into their own. Look at Japan, China, India, just look at them.”
He paused. “The Bwana has spoken,” he said and grinned. “As long as you are dependent on my plane, I shall feel superior and you my friend shall remain inferior, how about that? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Latinos are a notch better. You Africans are at the bottom of the totem pole.”
He tempered his voice. “Get over this white skin syndrome and begin to feel confident. Become innovative and make your own stuff for god’s sake.”
At 8 a.m. the plane touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Walter reached for my hand.
“I know I was too strong, but I don’t give it a damn. I have been to Zambia and have seen too much poverty.” He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something. “Here, read this. It was written by a friend.”
He had written only the title: “Lords of Poverty.”
Thunderstruck, I had a sinking feeling. I watched Walter walk through the airport doors to a waiting car. He had left a huge dust devil twirling in my mind, stirring up sad memories of home. I could see Zambia’s literati—the cognoscente, intelligentsia, academics, highbrows, and scholars in the places he had mentioned guzzling and talking irrelevancies. I remembered some who have since passed—how they got the highest grades in mathematics and the sciences and attained the highest education on the planet. They had been to Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to leave us with not a single invention or discovery. I knew some by name and drunk with them at the Lusaka Playhouse and Central Sports.
Walter is right. It is true that since independence we have failed to nurture creativity and collective orientations. We as a nation lack a workhorse mentality and behave like 13 million civil servants dependent on a government pay cheque. We believe that development is generated 8-to-5 behind a desk wearing a tie with our degrees hanging on the wall. Such a working environment does not offer the opportunity for fellowship, the excitement of competition, and the spectacle of innovative rituals.
But the intelligentsia is not solely, or even mainly, to blame. The larger failure is due to political circumstances over which they have had little control. The past governments failed to create an environment of possibility that fosters camaraderie, rewards innovative ideas and encourages resilience. KK, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, and Banda embraced orthodox ideas and therefore failed to offer many opportunities for drawing outside the line.
I believe King Cobra’s reset has been cast in the same faculties as those of his predecessors. If today I told him that we can build our own car, he would throw me out.
“Naupena? Fuma apa.” (Are you mad? Get out of here)
Knowing well that King Cobra will not embody innovation at Walter’s level let’s begin to look for a technologically active-positive leader who can succeed him after a term or two. That way we can make our own stone crushers, water filters, water pumps, razor blades, and harvesters. Let’s dream big and make tractors, cars, and planes, or, like Walter said, forever remain inferior.
A fundamental transformation of our country from what is essentially non-innovative to a strategic superior African country requires a bold risk-taking educated leader with a triumphalist attitude and we have one in YOU. Don’t be highly strung and feel insulted by Walter. Take a moment and think about our country. Our journey from 1964 has been marked by tears. It has been an emotionally overwhelming experience. Each one of us has lost a loved one to poverty, hunger, and disease. The number of graves is catching up with the population. It’s time to change our political culture. It’s time for Zambian intellectuals to cultivate an active-positive progressive movement that will change our lives forever. Don’t be afraid or dispirited, rise to the challenge and salvage the remaining few of your beloved ones.

Field Ruwe is a US-based Zambian media practitioner and author. He is a PhD candidate with a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism, and an M.A. in History.

Thoughts?

78 comments:

Anonymous said...

Linda how come u hvnt broken d story about Alex Roldan being khloe k's popc? U r slacking oh

bloglord said...

which kain chaka d zulu photo be ds?

Anonymous said...

Na gossip I dey come here come find...no be literature. I no get power read abeg, e too long. Make I waka pass and anybody wey swear for me bc of my comment...back to sender!

Myne said...

With him hanging his degrees on the wall like this, I wonder if someone paid him an 8 - 5 salary to write this article? Just like the op-ed pieces from African writers and intelligentsia we see in the New York Times, Guardian UK and CNN.

Otherwise, food for thought.

Anonymous said...

Dang!! word sure goes round fast on the internbet my friend just sent me the link to this blog less than an hour ago and Linda has it, it may be insulting but true in so many ways here is the link to Field's blog http://mindofmalaka.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/you-lazy-intellectual-african-scum/#wpl-likebox

K said...

Very deep and powerful message which is 100% true for Nigerians as well. I approve this article.

mcyriuss said...

wow...i feel so deflated yet, energized. the lackadaisical manner with which we as Africans have accepted defeat is in itself a complete defeat. wake up calls as this will be taken as insult by the mere man but in retrospect, it is shame dat causes our expression of defense and anger...we need to make changes from our minds first..we really do.

Anonymous said...

U get strenght o@ linda..kptwwww

Sam Meera said...

Wow! That was deep. Made me think about my life and why am on this planet.

Otis Redding said...

I guess this is more of a fiction than a real life encounter. Bt truth b told, its high tym africans woke up frm sleeping and DREAMING. No one can change africa xcept africans. BTW, these white folks r not superior to us. Take a look at how d badt guys rip em of they cash daily n knw dat they r nt as smart as they tink n claim. We just got to put our intellects into improvin our society positively. And also pray for good governance cos a hungry n frustrated ppl wud rather tink of unholy schemes and invent bombs rather than invent airplanes.

Str8FrmDaHips said...

Tell me something we don't know already..the African Leaders are the scum of the earth..DO NOT BLAME THE PEOPLE!!..Nigerians had Doctors..Lawyers..Pilots and all sorts of ingenious people..that can hold their own..but what can u do when the Leaders decide to frustrate the intelligentsia..build no infrastructure..how can you thrive in a technologically driven world with no power supply for a start..no roads that link the hinterland..the villages in US/UK are some of the most pristine and beautiful places you would ever come across..but we leave ours in a desolate tattered state..
Useless African leaders that would fly abroad walk on clean pavements...not dust..enjoy the infrastructure and splendour..yet they go home and do fuckall..they rather give contracts to some so called Big Boys that people would worship shamelessly..and when u say the truth they say you jealous..all the so called "rich thief" people in naijja..u so worship..what have they really done..or achieved??..just name one!!

Ty_O said...

What the 'bwana' said was harsh. However, its the most honest and brilliant depiction of Africa. All the so called intellectual Africans, Nigerians in particular should be able to resonate with the 'Oyinbo's' school of thought, No matter how harsh the truth is, it is imperative for improvement.

Anonymous said...

this is really hard to admit. although the walter guy was a bit harsh but he was very truthful. the very painful truth.

Anonymous said...

I weep for Africa. We should cover our eyes in shame. All the same, it aint too late to begin to change things.

jay said...

Incredible piece.Reflects on how africans look at themselves.But there is a clause...Nigerians and africans think in a different wayi suppose,others might share different views.

Anonymous said...

Ouch...The harsh truth! It rily does hurt! The xposè of a failed continent,typically exemplified by Nigeria. Wake up Africa!

Yemi said...

This article should serve as a wake up call to the bitter truth, the intellectuals and educated have let their various African countries down by being apathetic to the plight of the countries. We need to rise up and force our leaders to provide an enabling environment to succeed and realize our immense potential.

Anonymous said...

I read this the other day and all I can say is "TRUTH!! What can I do to help?"

Anonymous said...

Africa WAKE UP.....Facts are in the writeup, sentiments aside, white colonialism, race etc. Its time to take the bull by the horn.

Anonymous said...

The white man is right. Until we start inventing (or simply transfering Know - how)and finding solutions to our problems we are going nowhere. The Chinese did this for so many years (replicating existing inventions)and they now finally inventing their own solutions. The challenge is so overwhelming sometimes,it is so hard to even know where to begin in such a country like Nigeria. The fear of returning home from the UK after 12years fills me with so much fear, even though I know the time is now and very near.

Anonymous said...

truth well described and shamefacedly accepted. i must commend you Linda for the diversity you bring into blogging.

Seun Akinsanya said...

The message is simply deep. Nigeria must change by fire, we must work on our orientation.

Anonymous said...

Never have I been humiliated and at same time challenged by something like this piece. Spot on mate.

Anonymous said...

Best piece read in while. Really made so much sense!

Anonymous said...

The guy is right, Africans are all the man said we are...being superior is just in the mind, and until Africans stop taking the white man's bull crap, and begin to take initiative and power into developing our nations, Africa will continue to be desolate. This article needs to be read by all African leaders, and just maybe, we might begin to see a change for good.

Ay said...

Nothing but the truth, and the white man forgot to add that all we do is go to church and expect miracles as long as we pay our tithes

ogunril said...

black man wake up this guy is trying 2 wake us up...we are bless with everything but my pple are lazy and selfish....we dont need revolution to mk it rite,we need to realise dat we are human beings are not diff 4rm d white pple.

grace said...

i am wowed! inspiring and thought provoking..oh Africa my Africa....

Anonymous said...

You all talk as if our so called leaders are not Africans.

Iheji Ifeanyi said...

This is the best thing I've read in LIB. Looking at our so called intellectuals and "activists" I cry. Intelligence goes way beyond grammar and certificates. When an engineer's only dream is to work in an oil company then u know we've lost it. Africans re just too lazy for adventures. I always give it to the business men most especially the ibos for doing something near innovative to better their live and by large the country. An Nnewi or Aba man knows that his destiny is in his hands and will always try to take the bull by d horn. I remember the shoemakers in Aba always doing their thing. So much dependence on paid jobs has robbed so make of us of our inventive minds. As kids, we built wooden cars n torchlight just for the fun. But now, we can't even remember how we did it cos we chose to get a "better" paid job so it dies naturally. It's high time we began to look inwards cos it lives in us.

jennietobbie said...

Linda, thanks for this post. I was inspired by every word. Time for a cold reality check for me and my Nigerian dreams. So help me GOD, Amen!

Maali said...

This is utter rubbish! Read it on some blog and kept hissing like the African that I am, this guy is a fictional writer and while I believe half of this is a lie, for him to sit through a plane ride and listen to this Bwana shows how much his many intellectual titles didn't help him at al. Just like I don't believe the bwana actually exists I am starting to doubt how he actually got his Phd,I am going to save my time and intellect for better things and not even waste my time breaking down all the things I think is wrong with the article Msheeeeew

Anonymous said...

HE ends it all by stating all his degrees, same thing his people were insulted for: hanging degrees on their necks, funny guy

OnileEre! said...

I feel so deflated. Like he was talkin to me. To think that the first thing i do at 5pm after work is to rush to LIB to look for the latest gossip and scathing comments. I need to change

ginaadigwe said...

This is just hitting the hammer on the nail and this time we cant keep waiting for our government because they may never come true. Thanks to Walter I needed that shaking truth. I hope many more Africans could see this.

teju said...

I read this piece a few days ago and i am happy linda isnt just about the gossip.i have also read all the comments above.majority have agreed thats its the truth in print so i am hoping we dont just go back to twuddling our thumbs.thats what the occupy nigeria is aLl about.it wasnt for the oil subsidy removal as some believed.its about adding our own to governance by demanding(not asking),what our elected leaders are doig to serve us.that said,we should also ask what we are doing to serve ourselves and the others around us.it doesnt have to be money.it should start from little gestures till we get to the larger ones.we arent all scientists and engineers but what i have i will give.God bless us,God bless the FRNigeria and God change our leaders.Amen

teju said...

@AY,thats the mentality of the lazy african man.you are so correct.for those that have the ears of their spiritual leaders,please ask them to step out of their comfort zones and speak out.islamic clerics should meet with christian clerics.come out with one voice against this bad leaders.the churches or mosques arent just for performing miracles and preaching riches,they are also supposed to serve man by counselling.i havent heard any of the big churches preach about the subsidy issues going on nor the boko haram incidents.please please come out.your congregation believe you are next to God and will listen.during the occupy nigeria,a well respected islamic cleric came on the podium to speak,the next day,the grounds was swimming with muslim faithfuls.that wasnt politics talking.this is the plight of nigerians.please everyone lets speak up as we are dying day by day by keeping quiet.ACT while PRAYING!!!!!!

naurwahala said...

Nigerians never cease to amaze me.how can you read this and still be thinking of gist and gossips? look around you.Do you see a child who is barely 6yrs old on the street hawking vegetables?if you don't,I do!Do you see childern everywhere you look on the express road hawking either groundnuts,purewater,garden eggs or oranges and more?if you don't,I do!Do you see that young man on the express road risking his life chasing after cars just to sell phone charger and what have you? in this case he doesn't look so young because when you look at him the first thing you notice are those lines of wrinkles,not because he is old but because that young man has a lot on his shoulder such as ailing parents,marriage which he can't even see in another decade as there is no financial means?rent issues,feeding?if you don't see all these,well I do!! but how many can one man change? the recent events of the past weeks has shown us truthfully what this author is talking about.I have a very good doctor friend who happened to be one of the best in his graduating class from the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN,he got part scholarship into harvard for his Masters,I remember him telling me of his classmates.He said all the brilliant ones have left the country.some are in the UK or US studying and working with no plans to come back and he intended to do same.And when I asked why?he stated the obvious..there is no facility here for us.and then asked,how much is a doctor's salary? some are 100k, some others between 150-200k monthly.but a doctor in the UK earns up to 800k in a week.I know this for sure cos I have a relative doctor in the UK.so what are we talking about? OUR LEADERS are our own nemesis.they would rather go for treatment abroad instead of setting up a good healh care system,pay good money to these doctors,build good schools and take the kids off the street by giving them free education.send young scholars abroad to learn and bring back home the secret recipe of the Americans so we can build ours.it is so sad.

Shadaybrity said...

Wow! Wonderful motivational piece. Mouth left ajar all through the read. The painful truth.

Nigerian news said...

He's wise, but should also know that he's talking about his mother land AFRICA and himself too!.
nigerian news

Anonymous said...

Walter, bi ko...

Thought provoking article, but message isn't new. It all boils down to having an enabling environment...which by the way the Chinese and Indian governments encourage.

I will not apply Zambia's example entirely to the Nigerian context. We are innovative and some of us succeed against all odds. I see it everyday in Nigerian. We always find a way around our road blocks despite the challenges that impedes development. So Walter is not entirely correct.

Quick and simple examples...a young Nigerian man was recently profiled on ALjazeera because he built an entire working land rover-looking vehicle from scratch. Really awesome looking vehicle and it was viable, can bas assed produced he said and he had passion.
Another simple example, because the cost of renting real estate is atstonomical, Nigerians have now devised a way to sell their goods by organizing mobile weekend malls.

We have many manufacturers in eastern Nigeria. Some of our brews...beer, are world known for their quality. If you give a Nigerian 1 Naira, he will quickly turn it to 100 Naira. In fact almost every Nigerian I know is enterprenurial in nature. We all have two businesses; not enitirely because we need the money, but because we are hard working in nature and we have a constant need to create, innovate and contribute.

.

Anonymous said...

Walter, bi ko....2

The minute telecommunication advanced in NIgeria we saw some many new business spring up. Internet, nko? Nigerian sites became some of the most visited in the world. We are the most loyal to Facebook, we became the most active on Google, that the company saw it fit to have searches in our languages. Please, don't joke.

Can you imagine the level of advancement that will come out of Africa if the likes of Walter did not corrupt our leaders. Is it not because they fear that we will excel that they continue to devise ways to suppress our advancement.

What most people fail to realize is that it is these very white people that taught us corruption and how to manipulate our people. Now they sit on their high horses and dare to make a mockery of their own creation.

The reason we do not have constant power supply for ages is because of the Europeans, especially Britain and the Greece. Sounds strange doesn't it. But that is another matter, I am not sure I am even allowed to divulge.

We've been hearing the word cabals being thrown around for ever, but the original cabal and mother of all cabal is Britain. For those who are not aware, we still paying restitution to the UK for giving us back our land(note I did not say country)...which
by the way,
came back to us in a big disorganized, confused mess. The product we are now experiencing.

There is more to what meets the eyes. Yes, our leaders are greedy and complacent. But we still produced fierce and visionary leaders like Nkurumah, Mandela, Awolowo, Zik, Kenyatta etc .

Continued....

Anonymous said...

Walter, bi ko....3

Africans are no fools, neither are we lazy. We built this country called America with our bare hands. We helped build many more civilizations. We are the cradle of the world's resources.

Some of the technology and innovations used in the modern day world were actually created by black americans that are descendants of saves. Walter didncomplexes homework.

So many things, like the gas mask that saved hundreds of people during ww2 to the science of banking and preserving blood supply for transfusions, to even the instrument used to date for operating on eye cataracts, we're all invented by blacks here. These are vey important contributions.

When Walter says we rally around oyibos and make them feel like Kings when they are in Africa, it is not only because we are naturally hospitable as Africans; it is also because we have a plan to manipulate money out of their pockets. After all, it is a small portion of what he came to make from our government.

We are resilient, survivors and patient. Our time will come and when we will rise, this planet will tremble. A fact every white man knows and their worst fear.

I read the comments, yes we have problems in Africa- hey, they had problems 200 years ago in the USA and they evolved. We are too. It is just too easy for us to quickly diss our own people...we're is our AFRICAN PRIDE.

Tell Walter to go fcuk himself...I know his kind, he is in fact an intellectual redneck....the worst kind

Jelly said...

Woh that was some piece. It felt like someone hit me in the guts! :-( we've been lazy :-(

Kenneth said...

Well the bulk of african intellectuals are not lazy, they are just indifferent.

ugo3niti said...

this is just the truth about what we have become. @Whitman with due respect, whether he was paid or not is not necessary. the point is Africa needs to wake. It should begin with us.

Anonymous said...

Oh my God you stupid fuck. After reading this article its khloe K you are talking about. Retard

innocent agada said...

This is really typical. Sad but unfortunately true story. Just a handful of corrupt individuals holding Africa down to the stone-era. Some times I just wonder if this plague is colour based; may be scientist still need to study it further. Why is it impossible for Africa to grow and develop? Why should people continue to die and suffer from preventable causes? Why can't they resign if they have nothing to offer? We are in a modern-day slavery era now. God help us

zainab said...

@anonym 10:45pm,guy u dull,which kind talk be that,na ur type they stagnant like lake chad,u've shut out change in ur own personal life... Na guy like u write this article....i wish everybody have access to this article.. linda u too much..

toyin otitoju said...

This is very true and is really pathetic. It is also happening in Nigeria and other African nations. Spending trillions of their local currecies to pay civil servants who do nothing except jisting,selling, watching TV gossiping in the office instead of investing in research and development. There must be rapid reorientation and restructuring in every scetor, if not africa will for ever remain backward.

jenny said...

This is sooo shameful but sadly true. its a wake up call for us, and especially for our kids. We just go to school now just to serve the white man. Its of no use in Africa. No one is innovative enough to do big stuff for our continent. Even ordinary bomb sef, we no fit do am well. Don't know if this is a curse on Africa and if we will ever get out of it. the best we can do is start now!!!!! somehow, somewhere, someday things will pick up. Maybe 300years from now. smh.....

Anonymous said...

Most Africans hate the truth and depend too much on western education and products. Isn't that intellectually lazy?

The white man will only respect you if you can do what he cannot do. The faster most Nigerians are aware of this fact the better...

The article actually revealed how most white people think about Africans behind our backs. They see Africa as a continent that is always asking them for money.

Every few months, we are asked to donate money to the East African drought crisis in the UK. We are in a recession in the UK. Why can't countries in West Africa take care of East African crisis?

Is Africa not a liability on the rest of the world? Bad presidents make the matter worse.

Anonymous said...

What he wrote Is the truth, if u found this boring or "not gist enuff"
You need to look @ any! African country and see dat we are crap, yet we have the resources .
SELFISH !!! The lot of you, SELFISH -_-

Anonymous said...

This is the best thing I have read on this blog in a long time. We can't run away from the truth, it might look insulting but I tell u linda it is the point-blank truth. We Africans need to wake up from our slumber and stop waiting for the west to come rescue us. Our destiny is in our hands not their's.

Anonymous said...

linda,
i think this man is talking about me,and many others in diaspora,but i vow to change this from today

Anonymous said...

@Zainab and whoever agrees with her, back to sender! It is u that have shut out change in ur own personal life. If I were you, I will pray that BOKO HARAM will stop bringing menance in the society in the name of ur religion and see the light. Must I agree to comment on the literature? That you found it interesting does not mean I do? And because you found it a necssary change, what are u going to do about it? Are you going to shake ur head in amazement and say 'good stuff' or are u going to initiate a movement that will bring a change? I say back to sender, may ur curse follow u many times over and not me! It is okay for u to come here to 'ooh and ahh', let me see what positive change this write up will bring in ur life and the life of those around u. No dey swear for person wen no swear for u Zainab. If you are educated and exposed, then start by minding ur words when addressing pple that u hardly know. Linda is here affecting lives with her blog. She no abuse me for my comment, na u when ur brothers dey finish Christians dey open wide mouth wan swear for me. Go and make a positive change that will affect ur world and then u can start cursing pple....mstcheew!

Anonymous said...

Very good point str8fromdahips, so true. Ours is a society where sane people are mocked and jeered while idiotic morons are applauded. SMH!

Anonymous said...

Spot on AY. "Church-goers" in Nigeria have adapted christianity to fit the norms of their erstwhile traditional religions in which a high-priest ("pastor") offers prayers to a deity on behalf of the people in exchange for sacrifices (tithes and offerings)

Anonymous said...

My take is after sharing the piece with some my colleagues...

The biggest problem with africa is its weather Simply put there can never be growth in paradise bcos its is perfect (equals no development)

Nothing has challenged us collectively as a people... in essence we have not found a reason to collectively fight to survive (or grow).

And regarding the white man's opinion... its the half truth in my opinion... The world has become so small that its hard to close ur door to the world and build within. however this i hope awakens a conciousness within those that care (bcos quite frankly most of us dont) to wake up every day asking ourselves what can i do today to make my world better... and ask yourself at the end of the day... how have i added value to my world.

Anonymous said...

Here is a soul-searching article and a buffon is talking about a useless gossip on khloe or what-so-ever!!

I admire the white guy for saying the NAKED TRUTH! Where do one start from? I tire for Africa chaaa!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous January 24, 2012 11:42 PM & January 25, 2012 11:54 AM Well said! I was almost despairing when i saw that the first comment on such a serious article is clamour for gist on the dead Katriashian clan. It pays you to never show them on your blog Linda, they need to simply go away. And on the article, I dont agree that we are lazy but we are too self centred. The white man knows that fighting for less privileged is an obligation. Here what doesn't touch me is not my problem. That is why the ones who can help d situation are busy playing golf.

Kemz said...

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry-LoL @ listing all the credentials, the exact same thing Africans are being accused of doing. Anyway fiction or not, there are some key lessons to be learnt, especially for Nigeria as a nation and the leaders. Innovation is not rewarded in Nigeria, so the average man doesn't feel the need to 'brainstorm' at night and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day. I can't say its right but who can blame anyone, really?

mimi j said...

I can't help but think dat dis guy is a fictional writer. He had me wrapped around his fingers until he made dat stupid comment about a garbage packing trailer trash white cracker feeling superior to a black intellectual man. Its disappointing dat a black man wud readily accept dis racist attitude by white ppl. Even d lowest among dem feels he's superior to d best of us. I don't care what u call it but its called racism

Janyl Benyl said...

Nice read! Seriously, we have a lot of work in our hands. And every single African has a part to play.

Anonymous said...

Stubid black fool. Always looking 4 gossips from rich white folks, what d hell do dey know about ur stinking black ass? Wakeup and do sometin more challenging. Tatafo

Anonymous said...

This article is soo..apt! Its unfortunate dat we 9jas have a warped sense of purpose, reasonin, value, ethics.....

Why won't a white man advance? A white man can decide dat he wants 2 spend his life studyin somtin as mundane as an ant! He wld dedicate his time, energy,resources 2wds dat purpose (selfless). He wld discover EVERYTIN related 2 d subject. Perhaps if such an insect has a cure 4 any desease, he is likely 2 find out.

D 9ja man's mentality in contradistinctn, borders on hw best 2 make d most money wit d least effort!

If magga no pay, den "fast guy no be thief!"

I am shaming shame O

Morounfolu said...

Well all of you have well spoken but let ,e take us back to the beginning.The first election that was carried out in Nigeria was rigged and the whites said nothing.Had it been they knew we had crude oil we will be another South Africa,the civil war that broke out who sponsored the biafrans?When all this whites are talking, you have to take their words with a pinch of salt.When Awolowo was campaining he said he will not leave Nigeria for four years,remember he wrote a book about the white when he came back from UK after studying law,that was the reason they never allowed him to rule.Let us now move a little farther away from Africa,if the Britons knew the Americans will break away they wouldnt have given them the latitude to take such decision,what you dont understand about this people they all talk with their tongues in their cheeks.Do you know the storry of the Indian giver?You see, the real Americans I mean the red indians, when you come to them as a newcomer,they will give you a cover cloth,but when the winter is out,they collect their cloth from you.Now back to 9ja am not saying wWalter is wrong 100%but here we are really trying,ok you that is reading this how many times did you write Waec?not that you are not brilliant what about Jamb and eventually when you passed is it the course you wanted to study you eventually studied? You our leaders never had any plan for us the foundation as been wrong from the start until we start setting things right and the problem is the few who are well to do are afraid of the youth if they become wealthy at the end of te day my advise is that particular thing you are doing continue with prayer, you will get there.

ogeh cynthia said...

my dear.... dis article is an eye opener... we as africans must stand up, walk tall and stop worshiping the white man. i feel so bad after reading this....

Shilon said...

This is a wakeup call for all intellectual Africans, please don’t just read this article and forget about the issue. Let all do something, no matter how small each day to work towards this change. I’ll start mine tonight; DO NOT!! give up on our homeland.

Lizlady said...

i think he ended by stating his degrees to emphasize that he is just as guilty as the others found at Lusaka play house drinking. he did mention knowing some of them by name. Anyways, i guess this is a call to Africans in diaspora, running away is not the answer. But emm.. yeah.. *hops on white man's plane and gets comfortable* ... just saying.

Anonymous said...

My lawyer you spoke well

Temitope Joseph Olanrewaju said...

I read this article and rather than feel insulted, i saw myself vividly mirrored in its words. It stirred up anger within me, not at any other person, but to myself and my intellectual laziness. It aroused in me, a desire to go forth and take up the challenges embedded within it. If i ever relapse into my ersthwhile laziness, i shall come back to this article and remind myself ones again why i cannot afford to be a lazy african scum!

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 9.15, Mela....you guys are really stupid!!

Anonymous said...

Stupidity reigns in your brain. This is food for thought and time to think about moving African nations forward, not for gossip news about the Kardashians and their crappy drama. Mscheeew!

aleinad said...

makes sense yeah...whether the article is a fiction or not doesn't change the main point of the writer "We need to wake up!". First by changing our mentality..."learn how to fish & never go hungry rather than accepting fish to satisfy short-term hunger"

Zee said...

He is right. Africans are not lazy (I won't generalize, but you get what I mean). The thing is Africa wants progress, but the ones that have the chance to go overseas, get education, they sit in their home in NYC and London chilling, waiting, saying when Africa gets better they'll go back. When people finish fighting and dying for change right? That's the issue I have with this #OccupyNigeria protests in UK, USA and Canada.40 year old men and women that studied in University and everything...you're protesting? For what? Did UK do anything to you? Why can't you go back home and MAKE change happen. Martin Luther King Jr. that we all respect, isn't that what he did? MADE change. Died trying but he did it anyways. I can't take them seriously.

Netherlands said...

It is very true becouse the one how stay in UK< EU, USA, thy dont get paid becouse they have been in the office, you get paid for the work you have done and only in hours. you work more if you want to be paid more. in Africa you get your salry even if you were out of work for no reson, when are we going to chance. Zambian we should learn to worl hard and not to be the Mr. Kupe. then we will go ferther.

Kabwe mulenga Holland

Anonymous said...

Good wгite-up. I сeгtainly aρpreciate this sitе.
Keep writing!

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