Lord, Are They Progressives Or Retrogressives? (Pt. I)

Dear Father,

What is this noise I have been hearing since I was a child about this group of people in our village called the Progressives?

Oh, you don’t know them? Ehn da the people who sometimes back had all those western names like Johnson, Smith, Williams, Chesson, Roberts and Rudolph and so on?  Now, I heard they have all taken up country names, like, Yarkpawolo, Flomo, Bayogar, Wolokollie, Kaizu, and so on, in addition to their recruits.

But Father, why do they call themselves the progressives? You know, this is one thing I am yet to understand why they consider themselves the Progressives. Because the book people say people who are progressives have a modern idea of how things should be done, rather than traditional ones.

But these people Father, um, mm, instead of being people with such characters like the book people have described them to be, they are completely opposite their self proclaimed titles. How do they call the opposite of progressive sef? Ehn the book people can say retrogressive, but in our village we can say way back people.

What do you mean by that? Father these people don’t grow up; in their minds’ eyes things are just the same since they grew up and became to know themselves. They are the alphas and omegas. It should always be their way of thinking, if not it is not good. People should remain loyal to them for the rest of their lives.

They backbite; They are greedy for power, very egocentric (selfish, self-centered, inconsiderate, insensitive, careless about the feelings of others), they dictate, they blackmail each other. They have entrenched in their ways of thinking and life, the crab attitude; the book people can say “crabology.” Ehn you know when you put plenty crabs in the bucket or open air container, when one wants to try and come out, instead of helping that one to come out and help the rest, they will pull him down.

“Where are you going?” They will ask. And apparently what they are actually saying is that we belong down here together. Once we all can’t go up at once, it is an abomination for one of us to. So for every time one of them attempts to make a difference in his life, there is a pulling down and tearing apart.

These people Father, they are very vicious; they are the brains behind the problems in our village here. They are very corrupt to the core, trust me. Just appoint one of them to one of the highest positions in our village; like Yule Blunder did with one of them at that big shipping yard, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

Trust me, Father, I work with one of them before and he considers himself to be the most honest human being in our village, but he is so corrupt. I wish the tax people or Uncle Sam’s cousins who are pumping lots of their taxpayers’ money to him, visit his society bush one of these days.

And they critique everything, down to their wives dishes at home. But just put them there, you will get the shock of your life.

They use the divide and rule tactic to win people over. You just speak with one; he portrays himself as the angel and says the worst things about his friends. No wonder they are always divided. They are the evangelists of this Country and Congo thing in this our village and this is the only message they know-something which is no longer relevant in our village. They will go to the Hill of Learning, gather some of those depressed students who think that the problems of their ancestors and themselves are as a result of somebody. They never consider themselves as the problem; it is always somebody’s doing that get them in those conditions-such a group of students are their prey. I am not saying the Congo people did not do some bad things, but equally so the country people did their own too.

So when these so-call progressives meet people like these, they ride on these emotions. Father you just wait, ehn voting time coming again, we will see which group of people will start playing the Country/Congo Card first.

But you just ask them Father, how many of those people they claim to be fighting for have they helped? When the Congo people sent them to school and they took on those western names, how many of their siblings, (because I am not talking about outsiders) did they help? Ehn when their relatives used to come from the hinterland, they used to tell them to pass through the kitchens because their front and living rooms were too polished enough for the people to pass through. Yet, the people they claimed to hate so much and blame for our village mess, used to welcome some of them. That’s how they were adopted, educated and given those western names.

I know somebody will say this other person or that other person have done this or that. Okay please ask them for me, Father, where these people get the money from, is it from their own earnings and businesses? Some of them go out there to beg in the village people’s name, get the huge sum and distribute peanuts and we cheer for them showing our 32-teeths, but do you know how much they have pocketed?

You sound very harsh on these people what have they done to you? Father, it is not what they have done to me but what have they done to our village?

All the noise they go around making here, ask one of them how many have been able to produce any young man after their kind? Never, they will not! And you know why Father, because they are so corrupt, and very self-centered, they are afraid that helping a young man or woman will be exposing their own weaknesses. So even if you work with them and there is an opportunity for you to travel outside, it gets on their reserves for fear that you will be rubbing shoulders with their sponsors and you will know all their secrets. So, they will step on every opportunity that will enable the young man or woman to travel and advance him or herself.

You just work with them and leave to be independent, like I did with one of them; they will do everything to pull you down. Why, because it is just in their nature to always want you to look up to them. They are the Progressives of-course and in their little stupid old minds they should be hailed for the peace we enjoy today. Father, I think they should be punished for the mess, we are going through today. To be continued in part two.