EXTRACT
When freedom finally arrives, we hand over the mantle to them, our selfless liberators. We have so much trust in them — why shouldn't we? — we hand everything to them, with little or no checks and balances. We give them all the power. We trust them too much to care what will happen. They'll take care of it, of everything. We hope. Then we sit back and relax. The job is done.
And with our future at their mercy, they go about destroying it. This has been the story of Africa. Country after country, the story, the tragedy, repeats itself. We never learn. Too much power in the hands of megalomaniacs, and unaccountable ones at that, is a recipe for disaster. And African leaders are always ready with a scapegoat.
We are shamed and embarrassed because these horrors and wars are done in our name and — initially at least — with our consent. But we're reluctant to condemn them because doing so would betray the revolution or give succour to the enemy. We pretend not to see.