Lord, Is This How They Will Continue To Represent US?

Dear Father,

I thought the people say democracy is a government by the people and for the people. Meaning it is a system in which the people are allowed to choose their own leaders, who are in return held accountable to them.

And Father, if I understand this, it could also mean that the leaders should listen to their people and take decisions based on consultations- that is for instance, if their people overwhelmingly reject a view they should consider it so, to insist on the contrary is to ignore their views and this is a display of a dictatorial posture.

My son, where are you coming from with your grammar?

Father, is it not our chiefs at the Traditional Council.

What are they doing again that has gotten you so very angry?

Father, angry is an understatement to use; and to put it in their own jargon, I am “Flabbergasted!”  Do they want to tell us that because we have given them the power so they will go ahead and do anything they so please even if we reject it?

What do you mean my son?

Father, is it not this political party chopping bill. It is pure chopping because I see no reason why this poor village should be supporting a group of people who on their own have no accountability measure in place, no well-defined ideology and is entirely focus on one man show.

And they want the village to support them, is that what you are saying my son?

Yes, Father, the chiefs from the lower end of the Traditional Council where one of the Chiefs from the Footballer’s club is pushing this chopping bill have already passed on it indicating that we should pay them double.

Already, we are struggling how to get good school, water, roads and hospital the little money we have is not even enough and we are also buying scratch cards, millions of gasoline and paying some ghost staff , they still want us to supporting their little clubs around here. And to make it sound better they say the money we will be wasting on them is intended to sustain our democracy. Sustaining democracy my foot.

My son, so what the people in the village are saying about this?

Father, the people are bitter and saying they don’t want the bill to pass, but the Chiefs care anyway, all they know they must get what they want, period. After all, we get about 5 more years to voting time, which means some of them who are already squatting and don’t have place to stay would have completed their homes plus that of their concubines before they are surely booted out.