When the Wicked Rule...

For all y'all who think I am this dude who is just immersed in politics, think again. Above everything else, God rules in my life. I am born-again brother. Yes, the grace of God flows through me to the core. Nonetheless, I recognize the fact that God had endowed me with an ability to read and write. And I think I do a good job writing (That is subjective, so you are certainly allowed to argue otherwise).

So today I want to reflect on Tanzania from a spiritual, or rather spefically, Biblical perspective. See, my belief is that the word of God is full of wisdom and it encompases all areas of our lives, including the consequences of a political climate in a country.

One of the verses in the Bible that clearly depicts a political condition in any given country is Proverbs 29:2. This Biblical verse reads, from a Kings James Version, that: " When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn".

We have talked so much about how bad the situation is in Bongoland. We have critically analyzed the situation and come up with the educated or scientific reasons for our condition. We have blamed CCM and its machinery for our pathetic economic situation. All of that is good, but I want to explore a spiritual reasons our situation.

The truth of the matter is, we have and still are complaining about the leadership in Tanzania. And I can 100% attest that our complaints are justified. There are so many issues that support our dissatisfaction. And from a Biblical verse I just quoted, our complaints are equated to "mourning". The last time I checked the Webster's dictionary, mourning is synonymous to "feeling or expressing sorrow or grief". And that we do.

But the question is, why do we mourn? Why do we complain about the situation in Tanzania? I can only tell, from my side of things, that it is because of the type of leadership we have in place. It is the type of leadership that has failed to deliver, while they grow fatter on a daily basis. It is due to type of leadership that comes to power through corruption (call it takrima if you like, but that is just a colorful word for corruption). It is because of leaders who lie and deceive the people (if kilimo was truly uti wa mgongo wa taifa, why do we still have hunger in 2006?). It is because of leadership that does not have a vision. It is because of the leadership that has gone bad.

I know I have explained the issue in too many words, but the Bible does a better job. We complain about Tanzania because our leaders are wicked. I know that sounds too harsh and too blatant, but that is a Biblical truth. I know there are a few of the leaders who stand for integrity and righteousness. Nonetheless, a popular Swahili saying that goes "samaki mmoja akioza, wote wameoza" implicates all our leaders.

Webster defines wickedness as being "morally very bad".

And it is my convinction that we have leaders with questionable moral standards. For instance, you can't allow corruption and tell me you are morally good. You can't receive your 10% and allow a stupid contract to be signed and convinced me that I should shout hallelujah for you. Mr. JKN talked about uongozi bora as a prerequisitive for development, but unfortunately he did not specifically define what constitutes uongozi bora. It is my strong belief that having a good moral standing is a must for any leader. Very unfortunate for bongolanders, we have an acute shortage of morally strong leaders.

So what does that mean for us?, It means that as long as we have wicked leaders in power, we should expect one thing and one thing only - mourning, complaints, poverty. And if you ask me, "Metty how do you know that for sure?" Well, I believe in the word of God and it happens to justify my conclusion. Our poverty and complaints will continue because it is a Biblical truth. The situation can only change with the reign of righteous people in power. Alternatively, our situation can only change through God's own grace.

Lakini kwa mtaji tulio nao sasa, tuhesabu maumivu tu mpaka neema ya uongozi bora ishuke.