Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Africa has been fooled once. Liberators have come before, Bibles in hand but dirty money and sword in the other hand. With false promises of freedom from local tyranny, and self rule and civilisation, and like fish that knew no better, we swallowed and lay docile while our lands were plundered of people and resources.
I do not blame our fathers for that. They knew no better. But we do.
We live with the effects of the first advent of Western excursionism into Africa to this day. The racism, the institutionalized marginalization of African Americans, the impoverishment of the African continent, the corruption born out of the instinct to save as much for oneself as you can out of a barely-there pie, all of those issues are with us today*.
So when the West, faced with economic tension suddenly developes a thirst for liberating people all over again, why do my fellow Africans welcome them with open arms? Why do they not tell the West to stay its hand and let us handle our issues ourselves? Why are we so eager to accept the same lies, knowing fully well what the first time cost us?
Why are we so ready to play the fools again? For what dirty ideology?
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