Mirage of Shadows

...instead championing mediocrity at the cost of the nation

I have envisioned a world of equality, integrity, and happiness. I grew up dreaming of a ‘perfect’ society that accepts and accommodates all. I have fathomed and even mapped the type of system that would engineer the whole plan. But within my dreams, my cravings, and thirst stands a conspicuous reality that all I might be having in mind is a mirage. That I might be chasing shadows in the middle of a dark night without even fireflies.

The recent escapades and demos in my country remain nostalgic. While reflecting on what is transpiring, I feel indebted to equally contribute and play a role in it. Whoever comes to reading this memoir might wonder where I am. They might be perturbed by my whereabouts when I claim passion and patriotism for my motherland. Well, just like any other young person, I came to the Far East to seek what appears to be in doses in my home country. The knowledge-thirsty inner self chose to leave everything, and I mean everything, to travel miles away in search of knowledge and education.

But why would I be bitter and intrigued by such a state? See, I found myself, several times, in very compromising situations. I could not believe that in a land our forefathers fought hard to liberate, I am equally being forced to pay for services. Services that I deserve by virtue of being born in my country. The degree of rot and impunity in my ‘home’ has gone beyond limits. The filth stinks to unexplainable depths. I cannot forget that afternoon I was forced to oil my hands for being a good driver. After saving a tooth and a nail, spending sleepless nights to add a shilling to another to uplift my living standards and move on four wheels, someone’s father in the name of a policeman came demanding cash. Imagine demanding!

I term it as an awakening. Growing up, I saw or at least we saw our parents suffer and get lied to. It had become a cycle. That they would be lied to and like kids, lured into making the wrong decisions in favor of those who believed they owned power. But who has this power, or what exactly are the dimensions or scope of the power? I fail to understand how a whole set of criminals honorable citizens would fail to solve this simple puzzle. It doesn’t beat logic how stupid and retarded and backward a whole nation can be duped into a ditch deeper than anything they had imagined.

While conversing with my mates in some of these streets, I meet another who blankly reports experiencing bribery. It becomes so heartbreaking when the so-called top leaders and controllers of the government and country lack the morals and charisma to perpetrate and be at the forefront of vouching for quality and instead championing mediocrity at the cost of the nation. Tears! But the question remains: who will save us from these atrocities? And how will my dream ever come true? How would the mirage become a truth that we or at least myself always dreamt about? And how will this good future stop being a nightmare but a reality?

It is time that we take arms. Perhaps it is time that we raise the flag high and sing the national anthem in unity. It is time for us to do serious soul-searching and rethink ways we can save our sinking ship. Time has come that if we must lock our parents up against making wrong decisions so be it. It is time that we stood up in unison and refused to give bribes. It is time that we should stop empathizing and compromising. It is indeed time that we stand up for what is right. And perhaps a time to realize a balanced society that rewards efforts regardless of gender, race, or background. It is time, it is time.

Forward!