A typical African, gets really defensive and quickly irritated when the vast areas of his or her intellectual shortcomings are highlighted and compared to people of other races, who by the way, have proven to make better decisions at numerous spheres of national life.
We’re quick to condemn criticism however sincere or polite, classifying it as racist, even if it were from a fellow African! Indeed, common sense isn’t quite common after all…
From the overwhelming backwardness of the African continent, one can be almost certain to conclude that the bulk of Africans are ‘blessed’ with specially configured minds that rarely THINK! We just empower the brilliant and crafty few amongst us to do the thinking, while we tag along like abducted little children, lured away with sugar candies by their abductors after school.
THE EXPENSIVE LUXURY OF COMMON SENSE IN AFRICA
• It is the absence of common sense, that makes an individual continue to prioritize political party affiliation, far above the prospects of tangible development or the complete lack of it! It’s quite stunning how people continuously stay stuck to political parties that have either impoverished their country in the past(naively believing they’ve repented and turned a new leaf), or tag along still, with the political party that currently impoverishes them!
• It is the lack of common sense, that grants an entire army of citizens the fortitude and patience to tolerate a flawed democratic system, that continually renews the tenure of a frail power hungry leader(of 92years of age) who has clung to power since independence(almost four decades of that country’s existence) and intends to carry along his exalted presidency to the grave! He’s already been endorsed as candidate for the 2018 elections!
• It is the overwhelming deficiency in common sense, that prompts a large congregation of African Christian worshipers(comprised of both the ‘highly educated’ and the pardonable illiterate ones) to eat and drink toxic substances at the command of a weird and creepy prophet! In this modern time of knowledge and enlightenment, this can rarely be done anywhere but Africa!
If collectively as Africans, we cannot evolve our thoughts towards politics, religion and other socio-economic areas that truncate our growth, then we shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed to bear whatever nickname(regardless of how condescending) our peers from other races tag us as, because that’s actually who and what we are, until we decide to rebrand ourselves!
By Nimi Princewill
Twitter: @princewill_nimi
I love the article.
The guy in the picture looks like those pf cadres from shiwang’a ndu who wanted to bring down a chopper with malejeni.
This Princewell alitumpa.
I don’t think author had Zambians in mind. I don’t agree with those who say “Zambia the real Africa”.
Very good article indeed. And he/she is correct in pointing out how defensive our people get when exposed. But let’s face reality – when you are a failure, you are a failure. Better to listen to what people feel your shortcomings are and work on them, perhaps in tomorrow’s picture, you will be successful.
True indeed.
An article written by someone covering their faces, blanketing the whole of Africa into one. Does the author also realize that most of India defecates in the street? Or that most Arabs use their bare hands to clean the Mattaco after releaving themselves? No! Just blanket Africans with myopic and condensending views as if everyone is failing kikikikiki.
Nothing wrong with taking a deeper shower after relieving yourself boy.
Are you offended by my calling out the ill of other “races?” I and a few others on here always educate the masses on the wrongs of dictators and African dependence on mediocrity. We do so without insults or emotional segmentation. Educate and do not pontificate is all we ask.
Relieve *
The moment Africans start reflecting and accepting such self-introspection the better. Sad that African always blame it on colonization, imperialism, world bank, IMF. It is rare to hear that the most of our problems are caused by incompetence, tribalism, laziness, corruption etc.
…hypothetically speaking if the earth hard to burst in pieces such that Africans and the continent Africa form a new world million of miles from the Indians, Europeans and the rest….would be able to develop technologically suspending satellites, manufacture rockets, planes, cell phoned ball pen even just a tooth pick….??
…would we be able to…
This new invention of democracy is very closely connected with a peculiar phenomenon which has recently spread to a pernicious extent, namely the cowardice of a large section of our so called political leaders. Whenever important decisions have to be made they always find themselves fortunate in being able to hide behind the backs of what they call the majority. In observing one of these political manipulators one notices how he wheedles the majority in order to get their sanction for whatever action he takes. He has to have accomplices in order to be able to shift responsibility to other shoulders whenever it is opportune to do so. This is the main reason why this kind of political activity is abhorrent to men of character and courage while at the same time it attracts inferior types;…
for a person who is not willing to accept responsibility for his own actions, but is always seeking to be covered by something, must be classed among the knaves and the rascals. If a national leader should come from the lower class of politicians the evil consequences are will soon manifest themselves. Nobody will then have courage to take a decisive step. Sad reality is people naive enough to pretend that hundreds of statesmen can emerge from papers placed in the ballot box by electors who are anything else but averagely intelligent. There is a better chance of seeing a camel pass through the eye of the needle than of seeing a really great man discovered through an election.
Can u believe we paid a STH AF company big money to come up wth the TOURIST SLOGAN…..ZAMBIA THE REAL AFRICA……. Toursts are scared of the real africa……unrest, tribal fighting, religious fighting, corruption….kidnappings,..rape….torture genocide… Thats NOT ZAMBIA A PEACEFUL AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE
About the non-existence of common sense among most Zambians I agree with the author. For example, Lungu tells them publicly that he is incompetent, clueless, no vision, very dull. They also are aware he is a convicted thief who can’t be trusted with money, that he drinks excessively. He is unhealthy, he is violent and hypocritical and a satanist going by the demonic symbols he was flashing in Addis Ababa. But that’s who they helped steal the election and become their president! I think that’s the problem, having the brain without knowing how to use it to solve problems. Despite Lungu’s confession that he isn’t clever but the Zombie-like people who voted him somehow believe he will deliver the goods. Talk about madness! Here is a classic example.
The writer is a clueless brainwashed by Western media. He doesn’t know there was once an American who lured his followers into the jungle in Guyana and made them drink poison, or that Kings and Queens in Europe continue ruling until they die. The writer is oblivious to the fact that Africans ruled this world before a white man invented a gun and to over by violence. He has never heard of the Moors? Does he have googled?
If the sun shines everyday and you don’t need to do anything to stay warm……you don’t need common sense. if, as it was in the past few centuries, you just go a kilometer from your village and you kill a buffalo and feed the entire village…… you don’t need common sense to survive. if , as it was in the past, you can just erect a mad house and do not need a mortgage for a house then you don’t need common sense. if ,as it has always been, chiefs were the respected guardians of societies and every one obeyed their wisdom….you do not need common sense.
But then came the white man with all his sophisticated way of living demanding that you pay taxes( which you don’t understand!) , you pay rent or mortgage (which you don’t understand), you elect leaders democratically (which…
I hope the author is not for one moment suggesting that Africans are racially inferior in intelligence. It all has to do with circumstances of evolution, place, necessity and perpetuation of the same for further generations. In other words, we ‘missed the bus’ at some point and have never been able to agree on how to ‘catch up’. Nothing to do with the faculties. Put any race in the same circumstances over a period of time and they will exhibit the same traits. Not that these circumstances cannot be overcome, but we have allowed self-stifling and inferiority to continue. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Had it been analytical I would have taken it seriously but the article is so *****icc and is obviously by someone pretending to know what he is talking about when he knows nothing.
Who in the first place is a typical African? Africa has Arabs, Bantu, Boers, Nilotes bushmen and Nubians so how do you define a “typical African”? After that the author has to tell us what he means by common sense. Some people will yell you common sense ends with the five senses. Thinking which the author is failing to do isn’t do common
If the article’s motive is to spur the African into positive action it is too negative to fuel a wakeup call. Indigenous Africans have generally been attacked like this author for hundreds of years so this can’t now be a strategy to turn them around
Ba Princewill Try…
Had it been analytical I would have taken it seriously but the article is so *****icc and is obviously by someone pretending to know what he is talking about when he knows nothing.
Who in the first place is a typical African? Africa has Arabs, Bantu, Boers, Nilotes bushmen and Nubians so how do you define a “typical African”? After that the author has to tell us what he means by common sense. Some people will yell you common sense ends with the five senses. Thinking which the author is failing to do isn’t so common
If the article’s motive is to spur the African into positive action it is too negative to fuel a wakeup call. Indigenous Africans have generally been attacked like this author is doing for hundreds of years so this can’t now be a strategy to turn them around
Ba…
Indigenous Africans have generally been attacked like this author is doing for hundreds of years so this can’t now be a strategy to turn them around
Ba Princewill Try and do a research or study into motivational speech before putting pen to paper.
@Herold Muna, you still believe in EVOLUTION, That’s the reason this Nimi Princewill is telling you that you don’t have common sense. Can’t you see that it does not make sense that after so many years from the time we evolved to this stage we are not advancing further or for the better? Can’t you see that after so many stories of people dying of back stab wounds we have not even developed a third eye right behind our head preferably occipital area. Just accept that this Nimi Princewill whose language sounds like african has hit you right in the face. Shame…….When clever ones want to educate you, you resist and yet you can’t exhibit any intelligence. Africa will never move forward with people like you and a lot others. THUMB UP NIMI.Keep on educating them even when they don’t…
Africa of shiwangandu, very uncivilized. Even stoning planes and you get an appointment