Lord, After The Party What Next?

Dear Father,

Huh, the other day it was na easy oo. I saw plenty oldma them dancing before our Village Council.  I say, they wore some kind of paper around their heads looking like the days of old. You know how women celebrated when their husbands came back from battle. Really? Yes oh Father.

So why were they celebrating for? Oh, Father haven’t you heard da all the plenty money our highly forested village was owing Uncle Sam and his cousins them, the people fini waiving it. They say we should not worry about paying it again because we are too poor and that the little money we get we should now use it to do some good, good things here. For true? Yes, oo Father.

The Oldlady and her people went to beg Uncle Sam and his people the other day, telling them that we na able to pay the debt even if you give us another one thousand years sef, we can’t pay. So when the people looked at our condition, they just had mercy on us.

Da because of that the people were dancing all on the streets? Yes, Father…but. But what?

Huh, some of them were dancing because they were happy dat at least the burden na moved from our shoulder. Because these few days when you ask somebody for money they will tell you, “I broke oo!” or you don’t know our whole village na changed her name to HIPC. It means we are poor and we get debt, like somebody gets chronic malaria.

And the other one, people were also dancing because they think they coming to get the chance to steal their own, since the other people borrowed it and we did not see what they did with it in the village and the people have forgiven us. So, they think that the same thing coming to happen. So, they were dancing to the rhythm “Is my time….” Time for what? For chopping!

I heard some of them have already started counting how many houses they will build for them and their lay thing them. The way it was rough these few days sef-no mile.

For true? Oh, I heard some talking about how their god-daughters and god sons can now be increased, because all the plenty money the people fini waiving will come to us and new ones will be added.

Huh, but they missed it oo, because 5 cent of da money na coming back to this village oo. The only thing is our village will now have the chance to borrow new money. And da one sef, it will na be like before where the president will be jammed and call his people them telling them how they need some money to do this or that just for you to see the money in their pockets and only they and their lay fender rice them enjoying around town here.

So how they will do it this time? Ah, I heard the Old Lady saying that her people are putting some guidelines together on how they will credit new money from Uncle Sam and his people but that this time around if they are taking it, it should be for let say if they want to build road, it will be straightly for roads. Dam! I know some conned man them will hustle hard now to become head of that place where they are responsible to build the roads oo, because of the chopping.

Not only that oo, Father, but for every money they will take, it will be for something- that the money will go to the right place.

I beg you ya Father, you think the people them who were dancing will na chop small thing sef? You na hear the thing da I talk? You know how many big man working in this village who haven’t build their houses before I talk about their tein tein them? And if you don’t know maybe some of their tein tein them were among the people dancing to that rhythm “Da my time, my struggle done fini.”

Huh, da na what I heard oo. The Old lady said da na only her people them will be making the guidelines oo. She said Uncle Sam and his people them will be there too because they suppose to give the money.

But Father, the Old lady do well oo, she thinks Uncle Sam them da any angel, da the people like these kind of deal business. There is no way they will na eat small thing sef. Yes, but the point is, it will na be wa, wa, like before. At least, we will see the road and the schools and clinics. But before only the forest we used to see and the money go right back to Uncle Sam’s village because one country boy na steal it to go there and buy a house that he will na be able to maintain and loose in the end anyway.

Already, all of them can call Uncle Sam’s village home. So when they call it home, how do they call this place? Farm of course!