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If only they knew..... by
"Men use thought only to justify their wrongdoings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts." …Voltaire (1694-1778)
There are those… Who will not let things be… because they have ascribed unto themselves the dubious distinction of being all-knowing, and all-conquering… There are those… Who will not let things be… because their greed and avarice has overtaken their sense of humanity, fairness and compassion… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they have killed their conscience and ultimately succeeded in shutting the window to their soul… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they do not have it in them to see ahead, and as such, they must continually look back… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they are conditioned to forever sell their souls to the devil… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they are devoid of even the slightest ounce of human decency and integrity… There are those… Who will not let things be… because not only are they bereft of ideas, but more importantly, they are lacking in courage and a sense of devoir… There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their penchant for obfuscating diatribes… There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their inherent sense of inferiority feigned by a debilitating superiority complex… There are those… Who will not let things be… because their antecedents tell you they are eternal rogues, liars and marauders…
There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to being not only deceitful, but also, exceedingly treacherous… There are those… Who will not let things be… but would rather dibble, dabble and dicker… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they would rather destroy than build… There are those… Who will not let things be… because their very being serves to be, the manifestation of an anathema… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they have never known or felt the brunt of their misgivings and past misdeeds… There are those… Who will not let things be… but prefer to see themselves as victims, even though the overwhelming evidence, is to the contrary… There are those… Who will not let things be… but would rather engage in the art of "Water Power" all in a bid to fulfill their hidden agenda… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they will forever moan about their "plight", but conveniently forget, that you reap what you sow… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they will forever revel in the art of debauchery… There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their jaundiced penchant for revisionist history… There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their susceptibility to calculated miscalculations… There are those… Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to selective encumbrances… There are those… Who will not let things be… because rather than act as leaders, they see themselves as rulers… There are those… Who will not let things be… because as Baruch Spinoza once stated, "their self-complacency has become pleasure accompanied by the idea of them as cause…" There are those… Who will not let things be… because they do not know any better, but refuse to ask how to… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they know better, but prefer not to act accordingly… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they have lost their way and insist on remaining in a State of flux… There are those… Who will not let things be… because rather than look within, they would much rather look without… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they are as clueless as to the objectivity of sense, as they are to their sense of objectivity… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they spit in our faces and tell us it’s raining… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they tell us good morning although the sun has just set… There are those… Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them why… There are those… Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them how… There are those… Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them when… There are those… Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them where… There are those… Who will not let things be… because you and I shed our blood to make them whole… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they underestimate our resolve and determination… There are those… Who will not let things be… because they do all these at their own peril…
Lest I Forget I was at the library studying yesterday (05/01/01) and sitting not too far from me were two impressionable African-American males. They were both sixth graders, I came to find out later. These two young men were apparently doing research on Africa with a view to putting together a presentation for their history class… this I also came to find out later. I sat and watched as they surfed the web, digesting any and every information about the land of their ancestors. One of them remarked, "Man, how come they always make Africa look so yucky (horrible) on television. Man, Africa is beautiful!" To this remark, I gave no visible response but an inwardly radiating and effervescent smile. Little did they know that sitting right next to them was an African, a Nigerian for that matter, not an Igbo, Ijaw, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Kanuri, Edo or Ogoni, but a Nigerian, proud to the fullest and indicative of all the promise and ingenuity that is, in essence… Nigeria and indeed Africa; but more importantly, a Nigerian and African, whose sense of pride and self, is tempered with an even more re-assuring sense of responsibility and duty. I then joined them in surfing the web and in the process gave them a few crash courses in African history. They felt re-assured and I felt re-invigorated. Thank you Messrs. Terrance Harris and Julious Moss. As I promised, I have written about you. You re-energized me when I was starting to feel despondent about the fate of our people worldwide, and our motherland, Africa, in particular. It is because of you that I, and others must march on… with greater vigor and courage. March on we must! For to stop now would be to betray the legacy and spirit of our forebears and the trust and confidence reposed in us by promising young men and women like you. We will march on… I assure you…
Soboyejo Akinboyede Awosika-Coker, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
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