‘Chitsiru
chinayimba ng’oma, ochenjera navina’ is a Chewa saying. Literally, it means the
foolish will beat the drum and the clever ones will dance. But it says a lot about
Malawians in general. You see, most Malawians are risk averse. Especially those
who lay claim to enlightenment. They know
too much for their own good. The economy aint right. No investment can thrive
in this environment. Inflation is through the roof and the runaway interest
rates should dissuade any clear minded fellow from obtaining a loan from the
bank to finance a business project. Knowledge, instead of freeing the creators
in us, somehow fetters our imagination. It becomes that thick albatross around
our neck that tie us to our average normalcy. So we seek out safe zones and
find comfort in there. Nchifukwa chake
ambiri timajiwa. Chifukwa pakadafunda…
Take our local politics for instance.
Those in elected office have been
criticized for being clueless at best and ‘unfathomable
idiots’ at worst. Be this as it may, those who supposedly know better will
never throw their hat into the ring. They will be content providing an exasperated
running commentary on the failings of our politics. Often from a safe distance
of their social media accounts and the dim lit corners of drinking joints. So thick
is our risk aversion that even when those of recognised brilliance decide to
risk it by joining politics, we look at them aghast. Wondering what on earth
they are thinking leaving ‘plum jobs’ to join dirty politics. So when Saulos Chilima gets lampooned for stepping
aside as CEO of one of Malawi’s leading corporations, one should see it for
what it is. Our pathological aversion to anything risky.
That explains in part
why our politics is dominated by
those who do not have a litany of qualifications after their names. It is
dominated by those who risk big. By the bold ones. They dare to tread even
where the matadors fear. They simply take the plunge while we the enlightened
ones run sophisticated statistical models to measure the associated risks. And
that is why my friends, they, for the
foreseeable future, will continue to beat the drum while we, the supposedly
clever ones, will continue to wiggle our sorry bums in a stupendous dance…Ha! Chitsiru ndi ndani pamenepa?
As they say, in a
democracy people get a government they deserve. Of the people, by the people
and for the people.
