Dear Father,
You know, I am sitting down here in my little corner today thinking about old man Chief Botswan. Why if the old man was alive today? I wonder what would he had told our greedy chiefs at the Traditional Council-just thinking out loud.
What do you mean my son, and why do you need the poor old man around for anyway?
Hmmm, I would have loved for him to ask those greedy Chiefs at our Traditional Council one question. The same way he asked those chiefs way back then.
Um, really my son?
Yes, oo Father. I would have loved to see him asking them the same way he asked those old chiefs after they sold their land to the White people who were looking for land for our forefathers to return to from Uncle Sam’s Village those days.
You see, the people at the time sold their land to our forefathers and took the people money or whatever they gave them at the time. After they saw the way the people were using the land na, then they came back and say the people should move from on their land. Can you imagine that Father?
Da the noise they were making until all of them went to old man chief Botswan who used to live where they called Jamaica Road today.
Old man Chief Botswan just made the whole case short and sweet. He told those greedy Chiefs then that you have sold your land and accepted payment. So let the people have their land. Simply put, it na for you again.
Wise old man living in his days.
Yes, Father, he was truly wise indeed. People would say, he was way ahead of his generation.
So, tell me na my son, why do you so which that he was around today for na?
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Hmm, Father, have you heard of late the noise about some 25 years old contract the Chiefs them okay some time ago during the Old lady era to some of Uncle Sam’s cousins to manage our big shipping yard?
Yes, my son, I remembered.
Okay, da whole deal na backfired. The people are abusing the contract left, right center and our chiefs can’t do fewn!
Tell me something my son!
Yes oo Father. They can’t do fewn. Those greedy chiefs sat down there and signed something they did not even read with care and committed our village to it. Even after they read it in black and white that this contract will go for its entire 25 years and will not be review-they said yen.
In fact, just days after they finished signing the contract before they even realize that our village was to pay royalty to the people instead of they paying royalty to our village.
Are you kidding me?
Oh, you just hearing this one Father. I swear to my grandma and aunty tay-tay waters, because da their tay-tay water I suck, the chiefs were only after the brown envelope to sign.
You know what they people can say ehn-if you want to hide something from black man put it in sidea book because black man na get patient to read.
Yes, so it haunting them na and we the poor people in the village are suffering. Now they want to change it but it na choked them. We inside.
So, you see, if old man Chief Botswan was around he would have told them not to disturb his peace.
And Father you know, that reminds me of one Wise man from Uncle Sam’s village who said he charge our people 50,000 Uncle Sam’s money to help our people renegotiate the big mining contract in our village.
He said all the people that the Old lady sent at the time to talk on behalf of our village were just looking stupid. They have never negotiated any deal like that before and their only focus was on perdiem. He said our village was going to be short changed had he not put his legal and negotiating skills to work.
Truth be told, it’s better for us to call in people who know about these kinds of contracts to negotiate on our behalf than for us to sign something just to come back and say it was not fair. No one force you. If it was the brown envelops that blinded your eyes, just tell us. Now we the poor village people have to pay for your greed!
