Red Black Nonsense - Words Of Wisdom

I am sure you have met them; Wise men that have words of wisdom for every initiative and caress the English language with style whenever it is time to do their bit. I believe they have garnered even more than old man Albert Einstein could muster. Then again, that is intelligence and not wisdom.

So I’m at a meeting with some friends discouraged about the many happenings of life when I find out that again, I am not alone. We live and we learn, I told this friend of mine, as he explained the ordeals of his struggles. In my head, there was some absolute silence; me lost in my own thoughts and wondering how I would pull through with my ideas. There is such a thing as the Gambian system. You ignore it because you are a part of it but it’s right there eating at you and making you believe “yeup dina baakh”. Fortunately for me, I am yet to fully understand it enough to be a part of it. “Kanj la yeup di baakh”?

On one of my previous essays, I emphasized the fact that every developed nation was borne from the ideas of its peoples and not necessarily from the wealth they possess. How then do we expect a nation competing in the 21^st century to progress if the only reception ideas get is that of “words of wisdom”. My friend looked at us as he spoke, his fury definitely showing between his eyebrows as he told his tale. As if he was speaking the story of many others, we nodded in unison and laughed when we could without trying to sound dismissive at all for his rant was truly entertaining. I believe if I had recorded it, his words would have made this weekend’s “red black nonsense” and not mine.

His story was two fold. There was the part about “words of wisdom”. You know the story. You have a “brilliant idea” and you walk up to someone who has always been encouraging seeking for some “Assistance” and he gives you a pat on the back with the words “dina baakh”. Of course “dina baakh”! Otherwise why would anyone think up an idea in the first place. They do not stop there however, they somehow go into your head, fetch out your ideas and modify them to suit their own imagination. “Sor kor defey nii moiye daaxa”. Whoever takes that route deserves to be slapped twice on the left cheek and once on the right so that should his face change color, or take up a different shape, he’ll look like a bulldog with some physical abnormalities.

It is sad that the most of the few that have the power to make young people’s dreams come true are usually out of touch with reality. They know nothing about the family that has to alternate between their kids, who eats lunch today and who does tomorrow. They have very little clue of the desires of the nation’s young. To make it worse, they start with the words “during our time…….”. It is a sad reality!

I show no disrespect to an older generation. I believe wisdom must be sought at all times for we “live to learn” and in essence we also “learn to live” (that sounds smart doesn’t it?) Sometimes however, a young hustler has all the wisdom it requires to fail or to succeed and life is a train of many lessons. Sometimes, words of wisdom are not enough and a more proactive approach must be taken to give young people the necessary support to make things happen.  What happened to “you’re the future leaders of tomorrow”? That song has been sang in every promising young man and woman’s ear so much so that our ears can no longer adapt to hearing it. How do you acknowledge the important of the young people in a society if all you can offer them is words of wisdom?

Sometimes, the need is not even directly financial. All it requires is a “fix up” here and a “patch up” there but nooooo!! Words of wisdom can make it happen. To make matters worse, they have to use the most abused saying in all of Gambia…most especially in Nusrat; Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him forever. Well have you ever thought of the physical state of the man? A man in his death bed due to hunger will learn to fish another time. For now his needs are simple…HE WANTS SOME FISH!...At that point, it doesn’t matter what kind of fish he gets, as long as he gets some tummy filling fish. “Wai yen tamit…lu xew”?

I have met a couple of people who have put so much into Gambian music and yet drive around in…. Anywhere else in the world, these people would be heroes and corporate bodies would be rushing to get their endorsements. They believe in their ideas and their vision and continue to put blood sweat and tears into it. However, the best they can get is ridiculous criticism on favoritism and more blah. “Nenj waxantey dega nak”. Even if these people were in neighboring Senegal, considering the contributions they have made (albeit not alone) to the resurrection of Gambian music, they would have been driving sleek, sexy automobiles and hosting parties even after the after-party. However in the smiling coast, ideas are for the boring and corruption is for the adventurous!

Then there is the impression. Your face arrived before your fortune so you are forced to take up responsibilities that a “stronger” personality should be taking. People see you and immediately conclude that you have a millionaire’s account but are seeming playing dumb. “Bilai suma mak ji…beyna hundred thou rek laa sokhla”. This is not your position to be but it makes you feel weird. “Why does this man believe I can afford to give him a hundred thousand dalasis”? The truth is…he expects it because normally, that is how it should be. However, this is Jollof and you MUST NOT live off your ideas. It is enough to have them, get little support for them, and simply spend the rest of your life learning how to fish.

The real problem does not lie in the amounts of money you are asked for but rather on the genuine belief in the person’s eyes that you CAN afford it if only you would be willing to give it some thought. Now this person is not asking for ten dalasis, or one thousand dalasis or even ten thousand dalasis but rather a full hundred and he has promised to pay you in three months time. You do not hate yourself because you don’t have it, rather you hate yourself because you find yourself thinking of ways to get a hundred thousand to give to him as it hurts watching a grown man cry. That is when you remember that it is not your place! If he needs a hundred thousand, shouldn’t he be able to learn to fish? However, at that point, his mother is lying sick in the hospital in need of urgent attention and somewhere somehow, a rich Uncle of his who could have invested in his ideas or even easier, can take care of his sick mother’s bill is busy sipping on some expensive “kool-aid”, buying a 21 year old a house in Brusubi and giving hmi some words of bloody wisdom!

Our nation suffers not because of the lack of resources but rather because of the selfish exploitation of its people by people that are supposed to make it even better. Where is the truth in our being as Gambians? Where do we expect our country to be in ten years time? In reality, some people do not really care. I believe if you can make a million dalasis of profits a year, you should endeavor to invest at least a hundred thousand in someone else’s idea or organization. It is by giving support and helping the younger generation to grow that you have truly contributed to the development of The Gambia.

It is amazing how the same people keep showing support to all quarters of Gambian society. “Bilai sa waaji mor ma jaapaleworn si lima dorn def”…”Hai…ku baakh la, man sa mor ma jaapaleworn”. These people that are always ready to show support and prop The Gambia up are surprisingly not the wealthiest of the wealthy but will always be ready to throw support behind a worthy cause. They are the gems our society is made up of and God willing, there will come a time when babies unborn will hear of their legacies and say prayers on their behalf.

The Gambia has a long way to go and us refusing to admit this is like shooting ourselves in the foot; It’s stupid and makes no sense whatsoever. We need to understand that the nation’s development ordinarily translates into our own. Nenj baaiye xecho bi ak siis bi….deka bi nyor kor borka

On a TOTALLY DIFFERENT NOTE (wink), Balafong will be presenting at the end of this month a Cultural Theatre event dubbed “RHYTHMIC VIBRATIONS”. It will be an artistic celebration of our cultures and traditions as a people and will be a beautiful representation of poetry (spoken word) and music as has never been seen before. Details will be on the internet, the papers and the streets…so keep an open ear and if you ever thought to give an idea some fish…well now is the time.

TGBA