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KKD |
As
the festive bells fall silent and an auspicious year has pleasantly broken upon
us, we may turn wistful faces away from the year just ended, and perhaps gaze
with exquisite hope, fragrant resolve, and keen determination embalmed in a
spirit of flush excitement at what this year has in store for us.
Nevertheless,
no matter what a new year holds up its sleeves, there remains a fixed fact that
repeats itself with unerring regularity that one person’s misfortune might well
be another person’s fortune. And in view of the last few days, I feel impelled
to indite a follow-up piece to my last article, Did KKD Go Against His Own
Morals? Any other related article will come after the verdict.
While
the year seems to be in its cushy cradle or inchoate stage, already New Year
resolutions are tottering to the ground like shaky thrones. Cardinally
predicated upon the ongoing KKD saga and my firm belief that the lives of both
accused and complainant will change forever, I may yet posit a more personal
and intriguing question: KKD Today, Who Next?
Would
it be me, or you are next? Or, perhaps someone you know? If life teaches us one
solid truth, it is that the good are capable of committing odious, heinous,
opprobrious acts; on the contrary, the bad, the wayward, the malevolent on
occasion can demonstrate acts of such consummate sweetness, such refreshing
fidelity, and such splendid charm. No person has absolute perfection, and the
reverse is equally applicable. It is rare to find anyone who does not have any
skeletons in their closet. Yes, we all have them. I know mine. Are you aware of
yours? Have you discovered your true condition? It was an Old Testament prophet
who sounded out a timeless truth worth repeating. With characteristic precision
and poise he posed the interminable question: “The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Sadly,
anybody observing society will previse without any precognition attributes that
this would perhaps be an annus horribilis (horrible year) and
not an annus mirabilis (wonderful year) for some people. Of
this category of people, there are some for whom this is avoidable—yes, they
can avert the oncoming disaster. But would they heed and take the needed
precaution to avoid the avoidable? That remains the question of truth. Do they
have the essential nous to detect they are heading in the wrong direction; the
indomitable temperament to halt their slide; or the rare wisdom to change
course, and turn over a new leaf? Unfortunately, in this fragile arena of
change, many are repeatedly found wanting. Unsurprisingly, another Old
Testament book points out where many stand: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do
evil.”
Should
the KKD case proceed to a fair trial, this could be a great opportunity we
could seize upon to address some relevant issues. What transpires in the next
few days or months could have huge repercussions for two groups of people:
false accusers who may be tempted to cry “wolf,” and also those who actually
perpetrate such abhorrent sexual crimes. Expect what I shall declare here and
now as “The KKD Effect” to leave an indelible mark in its wake.
Up
and down the country, it is a known fact (and do not ask me for evidence if you
can read) that people are getting away with murder. Call it sticking my head
above the parapet or issuing a rather rabble-rousing speech, or whatever you
prefer; our major problem as a country is not resources, for we have it in
abundance. It is not even education; check the qualifications of some of the
people in government for example, and you will discover they have excelled in
some of the prestigious universities in the world. Our cardinal problem if you
would agree is what C. S. Lewis argues as follows: “We make men without chests
and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to
find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be
fruitful.”
If
we were to carry out a real test to ascertain genuine and selfless willingness
to advance the country, perhaps there are many in government who sadly would
not make the cut. For the best description for such people, I may have to
borrow from Nietzsche, and say that if some of our leaders were to stick out
their chests, we will find it to be hollow.
Agree
or disagree, our major problem in this country is a moral one. It is why we
have and will continue to travel at such slow pace. Before anybody concludes
that the argument being made is superficial; speak to a skilled accountant
about concepts like creative accounting. While internal controls may exist, any
knowledgeable crook of an accountant can still bilk an organisation. As another
exercise, speak to men of the cloth who have the Bible, and some bold ones will
divulge how they can use the same book to deceive the flock. Perhaps, from a
relatively advantaged position of being quite educated, my conclusions have
usually converged at the fixed point that theories and systems alone are
insufficient. What we in Africa in particular are skilled at doing is getting
around the rules. We neither keep the ones we have, nor come up with better
ones that will advance our cause.
It
was the famed American preacher Dwight L. Moody that said that, “If a man is
stealing nuts and bolts from a railway track, and, in order to change him, you
send him to college, at the end of his education, he will steal the whole
railway track.” Can we boldly say this truth does not apply to us?
It
is a New Year, and the abiding hope has to be that as a country, and in
particular as individuals, we will clean out our stained closets. In the light
of the case that informs the need for this article, if for example, you are a
boss taking advantage of your staff because you are in a position of power,
then give up such a noisome behaviour before your impending day of destruction
catches up with you. Yes, as a resolute plea tinged with unabashed sorrow and
enlarging disgust, let that staff member be free; and you may just be the right
person reading this warning.
For
the abuse that prevails in the fibre of our society, I shall use this article
to call for a conscientious debate about the subject. Let our legal luminaries
enlighten us further about the mechanics of our law particularly the sentence
that awaits false accusers. Yes, let them pour their artless knowledge into our
ever-attentive ears. Perhaps we may also enact more stringent laws to deal with
the issue of sexual abuse as well as make it easier for people to report
genuine occurrences. After all, most of the victims are too traumatised to
endure a public trial in our snail-paced courts while at the same time facing a
certain acerbic nascent jury i.e. social media—a blessing and bane at the same time.
All
in all, remember that you could be next, so spare a thought for both accused
and complainant, and be more measured in your seething criticisms. And if you
make deserved changes to your own life in response to transparent
introspection, unaffected thinking, a renewed sense of being, and an
unbreakable desire for a better lifestyle, then such a harrowing experience (a
result of fleeting pleasures) may never have its discombobulating shadow darken
the doors of your life, or thrust its sharp beaks, piercing tentacles, or
pointed claws through your otherwise once-pristine life.
Wishing
you the very best for 2015.
Angelina K. Morrison is interested in national development, true religion, and self-improvement. She enjoys thinking, and writes stories only when the muse grips her. Her first short story, Gravellatina is a breathtaking five-part series available now at Amazon. You can email her at angelinakm75@gmail.com, or find her at www.angelinakmorrison.blogspot.com or Facebook page.
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