"Frequently erstwhile revolutionaries have easily succumbed to greed, and the tendency to divert public resources for personal enrichment…They virtually deserted the masses of the people and joined the former oppressors, who enriched themselves by mercilessly robbing the poorest of the poor.” - Nelson Mandela
When one looks back at the history of Zimbabwe (for example), it paints a very sad story of a nation suffering from an uncontrollable cancer of greed and corruption. It is very sad that the very people who were supposed to steer the country out of a human rights crisis ended up being the architects of another regime of human rights violation and abuse.
The recipe for disaster in Zimbabwe was affirmed when the leaders of the country felt that they owed certain people favours for helping them ascend into power. When you are indebted to someone they will come back to you for favours to which it would be hard to say “No”. Once you extend these favours to certain people then everyone would want a piece of the pie, and all hell breaks loose as everyone joins in to loot the resources of the nation.
The sad part is that once people taste the good life they just cannot stop. Greed creeps in. They never stop until the coffers finally run dry. It is a sad state of affairs that keeps on repeating itself like a stuck record player in the history of Africa.
It always begins with people taking a few millions and getting away with it. Others feel aggrieved that certain people are being “allowed” to take from the nation. They call in their favours and the cancer begins. It can never be stopped. The powers that be are powerless to stop it. After all they are indebted to these people. They can only hope that their pockets will become full so that the looting of the nation can stop. But this never happens.
To hide the massive looting from the masses, the status quo changes. It becomes systematic with many personal financial ambitions being hidden in government policies and investments. National priorities and personal ambitions become the same thing. The few that can see through this act of con artistry are quickly neutralized. They are labelled “sell-outs” or “unpatriotic”. Eventually they run out of energy, are mocked and forever silenced.
The looting becomes a snowball effect until the national coffers can supply no more. Leaders then become desperate and act irrationally. Africa has seen this story repeated over and over before. Why? I always wonder.
