Among the Igbo of Nigeria, when an old person dies, the revered Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe notes, it is as if a library has been burnt down. This claim is meant to portray old people (I use this expression intentionally) as stores of knowledge and wisdom. Without meaning any disrepect to the elderly, I want to insist, like some others have done, that the history of many African societies belie this belief. Many older people who run the affairs of Africa are hardly wise and knowledgeable. The current state of affairs in many African countries is one that has been spurred by what the old know. So far, it has been shown that many of the old lack the wisdom with which to govern their own. That is why one of the most pressing issues that need to be addressed in Africa today is the issue of governance.
This failure of the old to demonstrate wisdom especially in matters of governance has led the young to begin challenging the intentions of the old. That is what is happening especially in north Africa today where the young have spurred protests aimed at getting rid of old people's ways. The young are now beginning to say that old people's ways have been detrimental to the life of their people and must be challenged. Old people are used to the dictatorships which have ruined Africa for such a long time while the young are beginning to find dictatorships to be strange. That is why the young are leading the protests that will get the people out of the current rut. Perhaps it will soon be aknowledged that the wisdom for our time is in the young rather than the old. Perhaps in the future we will be able to say that when a young person dies, it is like a library has been burnt down.
This failure of the old to demonstrate wisdom especially in matters of governance has led the young to begin challenging the intentions of the old. That is what is happening especially in north Africa today where the young have spurred protests aimed at getting rid of old people's ways. The young are now beginning to say that old people's ways have been detrimental to the life of their people and must be challenged. Old people are used to the dictatorships which have ruined Africa for such a long time while the young are beginning to find dictatorships to be strange. That is why the young are leading the protests that will get the people out of the current rut. Perhaps it will soon be aknowledged that the wisdom for our time is in the young rather than the old. Perhaps in the future we will be able to say that when a young person dies, it is like a library has been burnt down.
2 comments:
I think Chinua Achebe has a point. Elderly people should be respected and revered. They have knowledge from years and years of experiences that can be applied and make a difference. In the case of Africa and their elderly leadership...I think that the elderly are knowledgeable, but they are also corrupt and could care less about the future they are creating for their descendants. That being said the younger population is also very innovative and passionate. There should be a balance of power between the two. Both parties have a lot to offer!
NY
Respecting the elderly is an interesting idea when one looks at the reasons they are to be respected: is it because of their great wisdom? or is it because they represent a part of culture that dies out when they die? In the case of Africa, and all over the world I suppose, we always lose a bit of culture and knowledge about the way things once were when an old person dies. However sad that may be, old prejudices and fears also die and provide an opportunity for the young people to step up with new ideas and ideologies. Like NY said, there should be a balance so that the positive cultural impacts do not die out with the elderly but that they also make room for new ideas that can better a country and eventually the world.
Post a Comment