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To be President is the highest job most Africans dream of

4 hrs ago | Views
The best job an African dream of is to become a President: not medicine, not teaching, not becoming a university professor, not engineering or physicists, Chemists, social scientists or whatever. What if the young and hopeful Akot Emmanuel; he is already called Mr. President; what if he did not make it to become one? Even Albeit Einstein did not formulate his theory of relativity at 11 years of age. He was still playing at that age. The young hopeful is flown to places he wishes to go. He went to Ethiopia, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, visited President Mnangagwa, of all Presidents in Africa. President Mnangagwa did not disappoint. He displayed his parental best: walked around the famous farm, they broke bread together: Mnangagwa was at his element; spent the day with a child whose age could be one of his great-grand-children. He did well by all parental standards. 

At 11 years, Emmanuel is swallowing what is power at his formative years. Those that are mentoring him, have they asked questions about methods of bringing up children to reach their potential? Certainly not flying from one African capital city to the other but creating an environment conjusive to learning. He has this educational environment already where he stays: Emmanuel stays in a safe place for children from broken homes; his mother could not look after him, so he landed in this safe place. I am deeply thankful to organizers for creating of such safe places for children who would otherwise be in the streets; no education, not roof under their heads, what it entails in street-childhood upbringing.

What is contentious here is "the feeding", a regime he must undergo at a tender age. His education is very sound because he can articulate African politics, past and present well but with many holes. A plus point but that's not enough. Mandela was a cattle herder at his age. His informal skills were acquired while he was herding cattle, interacting with peer cattle herders of his age. It is not the same with Akot Emmanuel: instant gratification is given to him when he just dreams about it. This method of upbringing is dangerous to a hopeful child. There will come a time when it will not be possible to dream about meeting important people and get it. What if he did not become president, a big disappointment. He will force it to happen. That is where dictatorships start. He will be ruthless in coercing people to adhere to his idea of one Africa under one president: Akot Emmanuel as President of Africa. He has been to Mnangagwa's Zimbabwe. He will emulate all his oppressive traits to become THE PRESIDENT OF AFRICA he dreamt of.   

This article is the second one within a week. I am deeply concerned about Emmanuel Akot. I would advise those in charge to facilitate Emmanuel with many books to read. At 11 years it is cruel to zero him to becoming a politician. I listened to Emmanuel explaining scientifically how an ear functions. In his childhood language, I was able to understand how sound is transmitted to the brain. Bravo! Emmanuel Akot is a smart kid. The mistake his mentors are making is to narrow his ability to become a politician. His knowledge of natural science is advanced. It is for this reason that mentorship must emphasize playing and reading. His mentors are exposing him to a terrain that is dangerous in the first place. All Africans want to be presidents and be famous: Emmanuel is saying it already; how many people will come and crowd around to hear him speaking. That is cruel. What has Emmanuel spoken about, what other boys of his age cannot speak. The difference is Emmanuel is high esteemed polished by time and experience. However, not every child of his age can explain how an eardrum works: Emmanuel's academic excellence. He is gifted and talented but in cruel mentorship hands that don't know themselves they are cruel. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

If Emmanuel is living in "safe spaces" because for several reasons he could stay with his parents, that a lone is a shadow he will contend with when he grows. Mammalian bodies are very cruel. How he lost his parents to stay in a safe place has been captured by the nervous system. The shadow is the inner child to nurse for life. Currently active is his intelligent mind that wholly appreciates his environment benevolently facilitated to him. Children with fragile start in life must be given special upbringing because a lot is happening in them that is not wholly been understood by experts. It is for this reason that playing is the medicine first and foremost. Play, play, play, reading, reading, reading!

I entirely believe his mentors do not realize the grave mistake they are doing to Emmanuel. My articles are appealing to Emmanuel's mentors to leave him to play with his peers, read a lot to expand his knowledge base. Emmanuel has a lot of time ahead of him. Why this rush in a boy whose bright future is already given. Our African backgrounds emphasized playing to facilitate informal education. Please do not teach him to recite arrogant sentences on social media: it does not sound right to say, "I will be president and will be popular". Already cancelling his natural science abilities and capabilities to become what many Africans would like to become: Mr. President. In Ndebele, they say "Umthentwe uhlaba usamila" It means a young mind can absorb many things around him that could be a serious problem in future.

Albeit Einstein was asked by a parent what he must do so that his son becomes inventive, like him. His answer was simple: please make sure your son plays a lot. He must play, and play, and play. At 11 years, the combination of playing and reading becomes essential. If he read enough, he would have known that going to visit President Mnangagwa was a grave mistake for his future career as president of Africa. President Mnangagwa is one of the worst dictators in Africa. Akot will emulate Mnangagwa's traits, later how genocidist consolidate power around them. Emmanuel will maintain the "salute" permanently, "Mr. President" at all costs because it was given to him at a tender age. He will not understand why populations reject his leadership. If rejected, he will coerce them, if they don't, he will shoot them all.  

It is becoming painful to hear him talking on social media. He is collecting his videos for future purposes. I hope he will get in touch with my articles on social media advising him quite different from what his mentors are telling him. If I said they are abusing Emmanuel, that is not true. It is not abuse per se. African post modernity emphasize education because of our colonial education systems: to remove oneself from poverty, one must emphasize the importance of education early in a child. The global north has realized very late that children who played enough at their early stages, have stable adulthood. I am sure it will make sense to psychologists and sociologists and teachers too. Emmanuel, please aspire to be someone better than becoming a President; an average smart mind can become a President. But you are not average: even by a stretch of imagination. You would contribute to Africa a lot if you became a teacher, a medical doctor, a mathematician, a chemist, agriculture and whatever! Just saying.       



Source - Nomazulu Thata
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