No more plastic balls: An Epitomy of the captured African society

Indeed time flies. The world isn't getting any younger but growing more older and technologically advanced than it was back in the 18th century or even beyond.

In my short time in exile (I mean sabbatical rest) I had to learn the basics of not reeling to the pressure of receiving loads of messages and phone calls from many a people asking me to return with my book review and analysis of different books.

When I had found it irrelevant to continue with the traditional book review, that is exactly the time when others scattered all over the country and the world at large were falling in love with the piece.

Everyone had become used to the 'thesis' such that the moment I vanished from the public space on that fateful December afternoon when my last article was published,some viewed it as betrayal.

As usual the social media was abuzz with some hilarious jokes whereby some were saying the famous cyclone dineo with its El Nino induced floods had 'eroded' me to the shores of the sea.

The themes of MODERNISATION- betrayal- will make up the returning book review 'sermon' and like before NO MORE PLASTIC BALLS & OTHER STORIES will get more scrutiny than other books due to its popularity amongst different people from all walks of life.

The question ringing in the minds of many is: What is it with MODERNISATION? Its so simple to speak of the subject of modernisation in the streets,bars,parks or pubs as a general issue as has become the norm,but to remember the effect it has brought in to the African society is another thing altogether.

Society is the saddle box of culture while culture is the remote control of society. This is true when you consider that without original culture,society becomes transfixed and mulfunctioning.

Where is the societal tooth gap coming from is an important question but to answer it needs a thorough substantiation than one might imagine at first glance.

Modernisation has resulted in confusion,conflict and rebellion this is due to the wrong approach being used by all of us to embrace it into our systems. There has been long standing clashes between pro-African culturalists and 'pro-diversificationists' as to what is the authentic approach to follow in order to move society's daily affairs forward.

This impasse has seen outsiders taking advantage of the whole quandary by chipping in with what they call 'super advisory modes' which is the issue in the story "Shipwreck" where the so-called 'white' technocrats try to temper with the African culture in order to destroy a promising nation and its people from being self-reliant.

The advice to the 'drive  '(leader) of the ship (country) who is trying to sail it from the murky waters (crisis) threatening to wreck everything ,is that he must ship out old people.

The advisor goes on to say these old people had seen it all and no longer had any more purpose to live and also that they are adding on to the weight of the ship hence the topsy-turvy the whole nation finds itself in.

This however is not true because the advisor knows very well that without these so-called 'useless' old people the young lads and lasses in the nation no longer have anywhere to look for advice except to turn to the vicious and 'canning' imperialists.

Without these old people the advisor knows the future of the nation is taken away because nobody will ever have a clue and insight of their originality and can be prepared to sellout, disrespect or rise against their parents or elders. Whenever culture is amiss a nation will be like a child who grew up in the street where nobody looked after him/her. The child will always be vicious and is not prepared to work for the better of society but to pounce on anyone they see with something they 'ineffably' want.

The same modernisation has created wonderful things like freedom for all but with this a new rift has surfaced. This strange root is betrayal.

Shakespear Nyereyemhuka is in this case asking you as readers some questions indirectly through his stories. It is surprising that when society was for long used to promiscuity of men on women,all has changed over the past and women are now the main drivers of betrayal on their male counterparts and this is true of Tendai in the story 'A Breach of Trust' who sells a dummy on Terrence.

The only difference between men and women in Nyereyemhuka's piece is that when men are betrayed they seem to look for solace in drinking thus they spend heavily and recklessly and we come to see the theme of carelessness and immaturity through Terrence.

It is also true that many women seem to be attracted by the financial well being of their men and sometimes when that magnet lose its force of attraction they look for other avenues which is the case with Tendai and the man who veered the car away as soon as Terrence appeared thus the theme of materialism seems to have found its way into relationships and threatened the existence of true love.

Wilson Chipangura is a versatile Zimbabwe-born author. He writes many reviews on different books, poems, songs and dramas. He is also a member of the Pan-Zimbabwe Society.
Contact me via email: heavmany@gmail.com | chat with me on my facebook page - Wilson Chipangura Online.