As Africans, there are certain things we have a morbid fear of. Experts say most fear is caused by irrational thoughts. They say we fear what we choose to fear.
The problem is that those experts don’t live in Africa.
Here things work differently. All our fears are rooted in what frightened our parents and what terrified their parents before and so on.
Very rarely do we ask whether what our parents fear should hold the same terror for us. We fear to interrogate their fears and hence inherit them. We live with them the rest of our lives and, like a gene, pass the fear onto our kids.
That is why Africans will never go to the moon. For as long as they look at the moon and see a man staring at them they won’t even contemplate going to meet that man.
We prefer what is familiar and fear venturing into new territories. I mean, even if an African country were to come up with a mission to fly to the moon, chances are no local astronauts would volunteer for the flight. The moment a brave chap informs his parents that he has been selected for the prestigious flight, they will summon a meeting of all the relatives. And all of them, including those who have never seen the inside of a classroom, will give expert advise on why flying to the moon is dangerous.
Old geezers who spent their entire lives in the village will prevail on the astronaut’s parents not to allow their son on the mission if they don’t want evil to befall the family.
After hearing the counsel of the village, a traditional medicine man will weigh in with his prognosis. Mind you, this is a medicine man who claims to be able to create wealth for his clients and yet is as poor as the village mice.
Following this extensive consultation process, the relatives would inform the would be astronaut to tell the government that he won’t take part in the moon mission. The relatives might even organize a delegation to see the government and solemnly inform it that their child cannot fly to the moon because bad luck would befall him and the rains won’t come to his village.
In the meantime, other races are flying to places farther than the moon and exploring new frontiers which, in turn, make them more prosperous and enlightened.
How do you explain that Africans fear cats? We have a terrible phobia for cats. We associate cats with evil. Many of us have no time for cats. We whisper that people who keep cats are into occult and sorcery.
We justify this by saying even in times of famine, their granary is always full. We fail to appreciate the simple lesson that because they keep cats, the rats keep a safe distance from the grain and hence it is protected.
I understand our fear of snakes. They are certainly dangerous. In all fairness, we have no means of telling a lethal snake from a harmless one.
Of course, the reason we have not been able to make the distinction is fear. Every snake we see must be crushed.
Have you ever seen villagers killing a snake? It is a sight to behold. The moment it is sighted, everyone is summoned and they bring with them all manner of weaponry. The children are shooed away by veteran snake killers and warned that its spittle can travel vast distances and blind them.
A snake being so slippery, the dwelling where it was seen would be taken apart. With great trepidation, every conceivable hiding place would be scoured for the snake which at that time would be quaking in fear.
Upon being seen, word would go out and everyone would descend on it with assorted arsenal. When the snake is dead, the crowd would gather and swap war stories of how it almost got them. Then a tire or some flammable material would be found to burn the snake. This treatment is meted out to any snake irrespective of how harmless it is.
I must say Africa is a nasty place for snakes.
Of course, our most enduring fear is death. Every human being fears death.
There are so many nice things in life. So no one wants to die and live all nice and familiar things behind.
But much as all humanity fears death, we fear it more than any race of people. As far as Africans are concerned, people should live forever. They only die because of witchcraft.
If a bloke soaks himself in booze, staggers to his car and steps on the accelerator, his death is not attributed to drink and reckless driving but to the aunts back in the village who bewitched him to drink lots of alcohol and then drive because they were jealous their children did not have motor cars.
Even educated relatives who spent time in countries that advanced because they rejected witchcraft would make a contribution to hire a medicine man to divine which particular relative bewitched the alcoholic young man to drink and drive himself to death.
The sooner Africans divorced themselves from irrational fear and myth, the better.
The problem is that our lives are rooted in the village. Our fears emanate from the village. For as long as we maintain a fondness for the village and its ways, we will never go to the moon.
The village is the reason why Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world.
In the village are medicine men, fairytales, witchcraft, myth, evil relatives, cats, and snakes. For as long as we aspire to leave the village by getting an education only to return there to eat Independence and Christmas, we will never make progress.
What more, a man will get the best education overseas, build a dream mansion in the city, run a prosperous business, develop life long friendships and when he dies he is carted back to the village for burial.
What was the fuss all about? Why couldn’t he just stay in the village and never venture out?
The problem is that due to our fear of death many of us don’t stipulate in the will where we wish to be buried.
It’s a taboo subject. Hence when we die those folks relaxing back in the village issue orders that their child must be brought home. That’s why I am glad there is a posh new cemetery where you can buy a plot and ensure you are buried in the city.
More of us should buy graveyard plots in the city. More of us must not eat Independence and Christmas in the village. Perhaps then our children will forget the village and some day fly to the moon. Given that, I want my child to fly to the moon; it is my intention to make a complete break with the village.
I want something that will shock the villagers and send them a message that my family and I are gone for good.
I want to be cremated!
