Fathers' Day

I do remember him. He suffers quietly and is lonely. He keeps it all to himself. He is a man. Men should not complain.
 He educated them, all his children, boys and girls. He supplied them with necessities. He loved his daughters more, not because they were weak, but because he knew they were vulnerable. Now he suffers alone, alone in quietness.
 They do not give him money, "Mama, have it all. Men waste money, they waste it on women and alcohol," they say.
 "Baba is a drunkard. Baba never worked hard," they say.
 "Baba, I do remember you, yes, I do."
 "Baba, its not because u were drunk, its because they never take the blame. Even today, they still dont take the blame."
 "Yesterday, she paid our house rent baba, now the whole neighborhood knows I depend on her."
 "Her mother called, told me to stop bleeding her daughter dry."
 "She left me. she left with my kid. she left with my Brian. all because i sell beer."
 " I cant find sleep baba. my presence, my existence, is irritating."
 "Yesterday, my favorite Argentina played, but it was all messy in my house. My legs on my table, abomination dear friend."
 "why can't you find work? what plans do you have for us."
 "Baba, you never said anything. I won't say a thing. Baba Brian cant complain, because they never take the blame."
 

Trump vs. Kim: Imperialism vs. Sovereignty

 
 
I have keenly observed Donald Trump and his confrontation with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. Unlike most observers, blinded by the controversy over nuclear weapons, a post-colonial African can read the struggle between imperialism and sovereignty that has dogged this controversy.
Ultimately, the imperialist (Trump) wins the battle as Kim promises to abandon his country's nuclear program, creating the latest example of how imperialism always subdues the struggle for sovereignty. That aside, the questions raised by Trump's victory are: is the rest of the non-nuclear world safe by the US and its nuclear company of friends having loads of atomic weapons? Are Western efforts to prevent the rest of the world from acquiring atomic weapons measures of safety or standards of maintaining imperialism?
Why should the non-nuclear countries believe that owning nuclear weapons is dangerous when the US and the West have stockpiles of atomic weapons with rumors of plans to increase and update them? The Trump-Kim controversy is a perfect example of imperialism at its best. It reminds me of Colonial Africa, when the Europeans enslaved Africans and used Christianity to quell African resistance by telling them that resistance and revenge were reserved for God. No wonder some people view Christianity with contempt as a colonial religion. The European imperial behavior is the same as the current nuclear controversy. The West expects the rest of the world to believe nuclear weapons are dangerous. Yet, they advance their nuclear military capabilities, which helps them maintain control and dominion over the world. Imperialism at its best!
 
 

 

Since time immemorial, imperialism has always been driven and maintained by militarism. This militarism is the reason for the impossibility of a third-world country gaining a seat at the UN Security Council, a body composed of militarist nuclear countries with veto powers on critical international decisions, such as war and peace. This militarism has continuously contributed to Western interference in developing countries. It is this Western militarism that the rest of the world should rise and oppose vehemently.
If nuclear weapons are dangerous, then they are harmful to all and sundry. If the US views the North Korean nuclear program as a threat to it, likewise, North Korea and the rest of the world should treat the US' atomic stockpile as a threat to the whole world.
A similar struggle between imperialism and freedom exists between Iran and Israel in the Middle East. It is shameful that the US and the European Union forced Iran to abandon its nuclear program while ignoring Israel's atomic stockpile. The fact is that the middle east can never be safe with every Arab knowing that the Jews have nuclear inventories that can wipe them out at any time. The US and European Union's failure to cut and eliminate Israel's nuclear capabilities only proves that they intend to establish Israel (their ally) as an imperial power in the middle east.
Suppose the US is honest about its desire to improve and maintain world peace. In that case, it should focus on reducing and eliminating its nuclear stockpile and encourage other atomic countries to do the same. Upon taking this action, the US can have a moral ground to convince potential nuclear nations that nuclear weapons are dangerous. Without the adoption of this recommendation, all the struggles that the US has with North Korea, Iran, and other potential atomic countries serve merely as evidence of United States imperialism in the post-colonial world.
 
 Protest towards UN headquarters to push for nuclear disarmament
 The nuclear world should appeal to South Africa's morality. She merely gave up nuclear weapons. In the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, President Zuma reaffirmed this commitment to a nuclear-free South Africa by stating that no hands are safe with weapons of mass destruction, not the US, nuclear Europe, India, China, or Pakistan.
The West cannot keep fooling the rest of the world that nuclear weapons are safe with them but dangerous to others. We came from a history of the Third Reich, slavery, imperialism, and colonialism. Unfortunately, the existence of nuclear weapons maintains the elements of this dark past. It is time for the US and other nuclear countries to walk the talk by reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons.
I eagerly await the day the US and Britain destroy their nuclear stockpiles. I long for the day Russia destroys its world's largest atomic weapon arsenal. I long for the day when world leadership genuinely focuses on world peace. I long for the day when imperialism comes to an end. I long for Western nations to realize that authentic and successful leadership stems from exercising self-accountability before looking at others.
The day has dawned for nuclear countries to blow their "Trumpets" in a musical way towards the values of unity‚ peace‚ togetherness, and dialogue, as stated by President Mugabe in the 72nd UN General Assembly.

Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, We Miss You

 

 Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye

  

The death that claimed the life of Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye still pains my heart: Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, the Kenyan novelist, author of Coming to Birth, among other books. I always remember her well, not that I knew her personally, but I knew her through her writing. 

Although death is the destiny of all humanity, Marjorie does not deserve to die. She is an uncelebrated female author, yet, her works and understanding of the African culture, particularly the Luo community of Kenya, were incredible. Nobody would have imagined that Marjorie was English-born, but her adoption of and dedication to the newly born country Kenya was enormous. 

Marjorie's death was not announced well, a clear indication of African literary icons' ailing appreciation and recognition. I just learned about it a year ago when looking for information about her online. My heart wept.

"Coming to Birth" reminds me a lot about Marjorie. It was the set book I did in high school. I loved it; I loved its author. Coming to Birth talks about the struggles of a woman, Paulina Were, the novel's protagonist, in a new country born by gaining independence from Britain. It matches this woman's struggle, Paulina, with the challenges that the new nation faces under self-government. 

 Marjorie's ability to know her environment and stand with the people is what strikes me most about this novel. Marjorie bravely talks about these significant political occurrences in a hostile political environment characterized by arrests, detentions, and assassinations. She discusses the murder of Tom Mboya and, later, J.M. Kariuki, where she laments the new regime is " striking the best and the brightest." 

She shows the irony in the country's poor governance when she mentions the mass killing of people in Kisumu by police officers, where Paulina's son, Martin Okeyo, a young boy less than ten, is also murdered. Marjorie writes that the country is "eating its people" to show there was no reason to fight for independence if the new regime acts like the colonialists by killing its people.

Coming to Birth is an expose of the poor governance that gripped most African countries, in its case, Kenya, following the achievement of independence. It condemns the corruption and autocracy that immediately engulfed post-colonial Africa. 

 

 Marjorie at her home in Nairobi

 

Unfortunately, today, the likes of Marjorie are no more. Marjorie and her peers like, Achebe, Thiongo, and Soyinka, exposed the evils of colonialism and the devils in the immediate dictatorial post-colonial Africa. 

However, more than fifty years on, African universities are churning out ignorant literature students without a proper grasp of their environments. The corruption, tribalism, and inferiority complex bedeviling Africa today are as clear as a bright sunny day, but nobody talks about them. 

When will we stop reading African literature on colonialism? When will we stop having the works of Achebe and Thiongo as set books for our students?

The education we give our children should be relevant to their environments. I do not oppose using the works of Achebe, Thiongo, and their peers. They are legendary works of literature. However, the fact that Africa is not producing contemporary pieces of literature proves a significant problem with our literature study. 

The images of colonialism are fading fast away from our minds. This happening does not mean that our children should not be reminded of colonialism through the literature on colonialism. However, it is more important to inform them of the contemporary problems in their environments like Marjorie, Ngugi, Achebe, and their peers did during their time of colonial and post-colonial eras. 

It is a fact that African literature has stagnated, as explained above, which makes the loss of legendary literary icons like Chinua Achebe and Marjorie Oludhe very painful. They were exemplary in telling the African stories of their time. With their deaths, we have no one to tell stories of our time.