Pause for Thought on the Mentality of the Slave Driver -- and Their Agents.

Louis Egbe Mbua

A people are hardly enslaved without the support of the same people who are in bondage. A man who enters into another man’s house will never know where all the keys are concealed unless he has been tipped by the house owner; and the unsuspecting or unwitting brother may not be friends to the thief and slave-master unless he is also part of the conspiracy to subjugate -- and subterfuge. Thus, if the slave master decides to come and buy more slaves, he can only do so if those vested with power in the slave region will carry his message to the people – the message disguised and sweetened by cheap bribes.

The poverty-stricken population, already in bondage, will have little alternative but to support the actions of the slave agent. Now, since the slave agent is a kinsman, his people will more likely believe him; and the vicious cycle is complete. This has been the case for slave traders since time immemorial – sell your brother, reap meagre profits, buy some luxury from the slave master, come back home to share it with the hapless citizens and brother who will be too happy to have bread and butter and the cycle continues. And unless a revolutionary stance is taken, throw out the slave agents and establish firm laws that completely wipe out this practice, it may continue for centuries.

Solutions to difficult problems, the writer has observed, cannot be solved by those who created the problem in the first place or by those who are benefiting from the inhuman acts: even by having a single dinner with the criminal makes one liable for almost certainly unforgiving judgement by the people; and that nobody would want to be in a position as to be accused as a traitor. Therefore, the easiest and best solutions espoused by such men of conceit are:

1. Pretend that the slave practise does not exist – which they are doing

2. Enter into a delusion that the problem will just go away by some kind of magic wand

3. Begin a propaganda of spreading falsehood believing that the traitor will be saved

4. Condescend to the perpetrator with the hope that the perpetrator will feel sorry for them. A Lion does not feel sorry for eating a well-served meal.

5. Hope, falsely, that the problem will be solved one day in the distant future by “somebody”

6. Believe that the perpetrator will change his ways if he continues for life

7. Create a dynasty where their siblings and offspring will take over and preserve their status quo and ill-gotten wealth

8. Pretend to be an intellectual teaching in a University while publishing dishonest material to support the evil system

9. Pretend that Cameroon is not constituted of two states because Cameroon is

“Indivisible”.

10. Join the army so that they may have an excuse that they are merely following orders

11. Join the slave master to continue the madness; and justifying their abominable actions by using the tired cliché – if you can’t beat them, join them!

It has been proven time and again that those who harbour such views are setting themselves up for destruction. The day the avalanche will start rolling, it would have been better that such men had never existed. Not only will they lose all, but their names will be erased from history as was done in ancient Africa. Consequently, it is better to change one’s direction when the tide is very high to save oneself than to wait when the sea’s rage has abated only to be swallowed up suddenly by an unsuspecting Tsunami; it is better to run for one’s dear life when the lion is miles away than to attempt to run when the lion has entered your enclosed space.