Thursday, July 27, 2006

The Cost of Ignorance.. (2)

Life happens. Sometimes in a funny way. I am a man of faith, so the whole "coincidence" thing doesn't work for me. Call me fanatic, but I believe that God ordains our steps. I did not intend to write a sequel to my original post, but I had to. Circumstances forced me. I had to respond given what I perceive as a baseless personal attack that was hurled towards me. I will try to put the excerpts from the "attacker's" comments for more clarity.

"It seems like you are obsessed with finding someone to blame for everything na cha ajabu you are not doing enough to research, argue and produce alternative strategies. I smell "information starvation" hapa cause most of your hojas are vociferous than being problem-solving and result-oriented(refer to mramba and matibabu ya kikwete).

Some of the issues do not require rocket science abilities. As such, I don't have to do any research. I only have to apply my God given common sense. I paid my dues at Shycom Institute, Berea College and Miami University. Do I need to spend more time in the library to interpret what it means for an African president to get his medical check-up overseas while pregnant women can't safely deliver in his own country's hospitals? I will be insulting my previous professors, if you get the point. I don't have to quote books to sound intelligent. I can think on my own.

Had you been paying attention to my arguments, you would have clearly seen that I not only criticize, but also provide an alternative. Let me give you an example, from my previous post regarding the president's treatment overseas. This is what I wrote, and I will quote "If the case is not having sophisticated medical equipment, isn't it the president's responsibility to ensure that the country is on top of the chart as far as medical equipment is concerned? " If you don't see the alternative strategy there, then ...oh well. Or I can help you express that in a simple language: Instead of the president going to get his eyes checked in Germany, import eye testing equipment and install them at Muhimbili. Was that too difficult?

Oh let me give you another one about Mr. Mramba. This is what I wrote, and I quote again: " There should be an infrastructure development master plan or an infrastructure framework known to all, including wabunge. The plan should tell you which roads are given priority, their completion schedule and their economic justification. Short of that we are just kidding ourselves. Short of that we give people like Mr. Mramba a chance to do whatever they want to do". I am assuming my attacker missed that one, so I am going to explain that in a very simple language: Let us draw an infrastructure master plan and stick to it!

See, my conviction is that my friend is the one who need to do a little bit research. Do a little bit of thinking. It is a shame to call someone out in the open, while you don't have any strong, logical arguments. I would have decided to get down personal, but I have outgrown those childish tendencies.

I will continue to reflect. I will continue to write. I will continue to challenge the status quo. I will continue to be honest with you and I. I will continue to share whatever God enables me to see through an uncommon wisdom. I will continue to share my deepest thoughts. It might sound like I am against the system, from which a couple of folks are gearing themselves to gain from, but we have to speak up when needed. Criticizing the system does not equate to having a political ambition. I have my career and I don't intend to become a career politician any time soon. I get paid adequately, so I don't intend to go and "steal" from the unsuspecting poor folks in Bongoland. So if you feel threathened by me, just relax, learn and grow.

1 comment:

Jaduong Metty said...

Sibala,

I couldn't have agreed more with you. I believe sharing information is the best way we can give the Tanzanian folks a "benchmark" against which they can evaluate the government's performance. As for joining the Ned's "force" it would ridiculous to be against it, count me in.