A POLITICAL LESSON FOR AFRICA BY TANZANIA.

The scene is set. Two warriors! One a former Prime Minister, Lowassa. The other, Magufuli, fondly referred to as "The Bulldozer" for his insatiable appetite to tarmac roads across the vast land that is Tanzania. The ruling CCM's favoured son. Both, true believers in their cause, but does not every politician believe that they are the Messenger? The Chosen One? "The people have asked me to run". Very funny in deed if it was not deadly serious. What can the rest of Africa learn from Tanzania? Quite a lot! They hold their general elections with a remarkable level of peace. There may be discord but that is politics for you! They are a calm people. What is it that makes Tanzanians more capable of propagating the cause of democracy by peaceful purvey?. The answer is simple. They are the progenitors of non-tribal politics. They will bicker and blubber about anything and everything . Dire electricity supply, poor roads in Dar es Salaam, the capital etc. The one thing they will not do is slaughter each other. Examined critically, there's a realisation that this is rooted in history. The founding President Dr. Julius Kabarage Nyerere sowed the seeds of unity through Socialism. I am not necessarily advocating for Socialism, it's in the past. What is evident is that in the advent of the political push for independence, Tanzanians under his stewardship did not take up division as a means to an end.(Neither do I mean that other countries took it as a choice). The country has more than 120 tribes compared to a paltry 43 in Kenya and 56 in Uganda. Yet to all intents and purposes, peace has been hard-wired into their system. Most of Sub-Saharan Africa, The North, West and South should endeavour to emulate this wonderful blueprint.(Some notable exclusions are Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius, just to name but a few).Tribalism creates dire consequences. It creates failed or failing societal systems and thereby whole governments. Tribalism propagates distrust, appropriation with intent to deny, poor allocation and mismanagement of resources as well as proffering dockets to incompetent persons. Africa as a continent has been quite lackadaisical when it comes to development. Challenged, definitely not. The challenges fester from within. There's a lack of the necessary goodwill. The people are divided. Part of it might be rooted in the past, but and this is a big but, How come Tanzania does not froth in that sea of depravity? I can understand that colonialism might form part of the basis for the argument. That would only bring the case of divide and rule, which of course I cannot deny. T In a rebuttal of the above, I will state with conviction that, time would and should have been the essence of the healing process from the ills of the past. Africa has had enough time to rise from the burning embers of a past, poor. This cannot form the basis of a tangible reason,it is merely an excuse.The discrepancy which in a way forms a contradiction of sorts, is that the other democracies mentioned above underwent same or similar colonial leadership. Having liberated a people from chains, the continent should have emulated the masters at the genesis of freedom. It's sad and rather unfortunate that tribalism alone forms the basis of poor leadership. It creates cronyism (apart from tribalism there are other factors that can form cronyism and it foments sycophancy). Africa could do well to emulate Tanzania! I would like to take this opportunity to commiserate with Hon. Lowassa but ultimately ululate with the President Hon. Magufuli. May you continue to be that speck that East Africa and the rest of the continent can look upon. May you always be that oasis of peace as a progenitor, in this, a desert of TRIBALISM. As an update to this article, the president fired the head of Muimbili Hospital which is state run and was facing poor management, he cancelled luxury first class travel for government officials and generally hit the ground running. He epitomises what a good leader should be. The writer has decided to make this brief as it's rather painful to continue. WE WAIL FOR AFRICA. THERE IS STILL HOPE. ALL IS NOT LOST. GO MAGUFULI GO, GO TANZANIA GO! GOD BLESS TANZANIA, GOD BLESS AFRICA!

THE STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN ENGLAND. It’s unfortunate, rather sad and absurd, that the mental health department is in disarray, depleted. In intensive care. Starved of resources, this once able and available service lies on shredded black sheets of despair. From the loss of beds, consolidation of services with the inevitability of proximity negation to patients: the service is tattered, uncouth, uncaring and uncoordinated. The little that is left of the system is in dire need of restructuring, funding and general directional change from the Department of Health. The inequities and vagaries that abound leave a lot to be desired. Even emergency care never emerges. The prevalence of poor medical care, an uncompromising, physically usurping and draining system, decrepit and assumptive medical diagnosis, oh the afflictions of the system are numerous! From the ill-conceived cuts, too late and poor intervention the complaints are endless! The severity of the secession is creating a system where other ills of society that can at times be associated with mental health are thriving. One noteworthy instance is shoplifting or other petty crime in order to buy drugs and /or food which is generally shunned when recreational substances are brought afore. This sometimes occurs as people afflicted with mental health could at times face a dual diagnosis of alcoholism or drug misuse. These problems are generally compounded by a most lax system that is unaware of what has put it in intensive care in the first place and even if it does, shows little sign of a willingness to ameliorate. The situation, to a professional, is dire beyond comprehension. The professional can understand what afflicts the system but for mere service users it impossible to fathom why it would be so difficult to get a service for which the general populace pay taxes. The worst fallacy which has been perpetuated and constantly watered to mature propagation is the myth that people with mental health issues are violent. It’s unfortunate that in this day and age in a rich first world country mental health is so misunderstood. The stigma is so severe that there is no serenity for one is shunned by family at the onset of any outbreak or a recurrence of a condition if such is organic. The fear by an ignorant society of one committing violent acts creates an atmosphere that is not conducive to the public good of communities in general. People walk around pointing fingers, raising eyebrows, talking in hushed tones and more often than not making indirect and mostly snide remarks. “That is the madman” “He is calm”, “He is drunk”. It is rather obvious imbibing alcoholic drinks or smoking stimulants can trigger a certain level of psychotic states but this is so relative in nature and is dependent upon each individual. It is exceptionally lonely for anyone with mental health issues. First and foremost you are shunned by a system that has little comprehension of mental health and then family and friends. The writer can understand if the reader can’t fathom how real this could be. And ye; it is as real as life and death. What makes it more miserable is the historic nature of the racial connotations involved. The perception that black people as more difficult to handle is a case in point. This has and continues discourage most to shun the services in the knowledge that history will repeat itself and they will be treated disdainfully. The past treatment typically involved unnecessary sectioning which only resulted in a community which felt greater antagonism from the system rather than care and compassion and understanding which were initially sought. With the advent of successive governments things have continued to wallow into the depraved state we have today. The labour government was not as hell-bent on committing the same mistakes. The current government guided by an ideology of cuts to all departments has led to the stream skinning rather than lining of services with the mediocrity and alacrity deserving of wanton abandonment and abolition only in comparison to slavery. Services have been redacted, increasing travelling journey times due to the proximity. This has created a permutation where those who find it more difficult to travel for whatever reason including inaccessible welfare benefits still have to. Insulted and injured, most services are so phased that without charities playing a leading role this dented desolate situation would only have become worse. The NHS Mental health section needs a complete and utter realignment if the own goals are to be picked from the nets. For the net has been woven too tight and thrown too deep and the fishes can no longer swim. A system that is keen to antagonise seekers of service. A system that endeavours not to protect but to detect. Without having a clear and definite end goal in the treatment of those afflicted. Community treatment has been mooted but that seems like a way of secluding the patients with all the freedom to roam and do nothing. Society can’t take care of its own by throwing them in places where there are no services except skeletal or caricature like services. The community is then tasked with policing the “mad”. What stigmatisation! What antagonism of the ill. Some so grossly abject that it is utterly ridiculous. The system shows an alacrity and intent to entrap service users and ensure they are arrested so as to receive service by force even if the same is disproportionate. Beds- lack thereof. No admissions except to those thought to be dangerous to society. The psychos. That is how society calls them. There is still hope that this most unfortunate of situations shall be reversed so it can revert to the caring and coordinated one that it is well capable of. The Writer is a 2nd Year Psychology Student at University of East London @ Stratford.

WITCHCRAFT IN THE NAME OF RELIGION

Witchcraft has unfortunately found a place in a few churches that have sprouted out of nowhere. It seems so easy to register a church and start worshipping but seemingly all is not well in the name of the Father!
The evil is rapidly taking root in the UK(especially in London) where a minority of increasingly radical and fundamentalist elements of the Christian community are practising in secrecy.
The purpose is as perceived by the perpetrators of these grotesque and murderous activities is exorcism of evil spirits from the victims.
It's widely encouraged and condoned, in mostly deprived areas of North and South London. It must be stated that other parts of the capital are not alien to this debilitating scourge of brainwashing from pastors who use lies and manipulation to persecute and then torture and fatally wound their own congregation.
The sufferers are predominantly children below the age of 16. The practise is usually favoured by some immigrants of West African origin spearheaded by The Democratic Republic of Congo. There are others as well who are not averse to casting aspersions that create disharmony, are deterrent to religious and spiritual growth, are contrary to and obfuscate the teachings of the Holy Bible.
Today's pastor in most of these churches, is hell-bent on amassing wealth,womanising,confusing his flock, preaching about offering with a frequency that leaves a lot to be desired, and creating an atmosphere of pervasive fear of non-existent evil.
The church as it was known 2000 years ago is slowly but certainly disappearing. With the advent of a multitude of denominations, competition for worshipers is intense yet at the same time numbers of church going individuals have dwindled and continue to do so.
The origins of these ambassadors of evil can be attributed to deep seated and acknowledged practises of voodoo also known as juju passed down from generation to generation.
These churches do not seem to have a regulatory body that oversees them as they are independent and crop up just like wild mushrooms.
The abhorrent brainwashing that permeates every stratosphere of these mostly unregistered churches is terrifying and blood-cuddling to say the least. How they manage to convince sane people that their offspring(or those entrusted to their care) are possessed by evil and need to be exorcised is baffling.
The pastors are not malleable in thought, they lack a conscience and their invasive influence is encumbering on their congregation.
The various established churches need, as a matter of urgency, to act with protracted and unrelenting gusto to root out the rogue elements who are killing in the name of God, whose God-not my God!
The radicals are taking over and spreading the message of death using myopic articulations which are self-serving and hypocritical. Their diabolical discourse is what dissuades open minded non Church going Christians and people of no faith from seeking the comforts of the church. They subtly deny others the peaceful and unwavering love that God can procure to those who seek the true meaning of life and existence without the aversions of religious dogma.

It's utterly horrifying and absolutely terrible for parents and carers who are led astray by believing that their children are purveyors of evil.The state should investigate and pounce on these denominations and their adherents to save innocent people from harm.

RASTA RELIGION

Ras means head and Tafari stands for Creator. So Rastafari is the Head Creator or Jah Rastafari as commonly referred to by those who practise the faith.
The Holy book is called the Kebrah Nagast, which is about seven hundred years old and gives an account of how King Solomon met the Queen of Sheba as well as teachings close to the Christian faith as well as Ethiopian culture.
There is a fundamental the belief in the power of the Trinity , with Sellasie as the head of the same.
The other fundamental belief (or commandment)is that of PEACE and LOVE. Just as it's written in the Bible that you should love your neighbour, brother and sister. Basically love everyone and co-exist peacefully with all other human beings as well as animals, both domesticated and wild. There is no need to explain these two further they are as clear as a sunshine day.
The other, and probably most crucial is the link between Emperor Haille Sellasie( the late) of Ethiopia and King Solomon. This stipulates that, King Solomon married the Queen of Sheba and had a son whom they named Menelik 1. His Imperial Majesty Haille Sellasie is believed to be the 226th descendant from the lineage of King David. This is also believed to be the same link that can be found in the bible.
There is a deep seated belief that all the above mentioned individuals were of black ancestry. The greater belief here being that Sellasie is Jesus Christ, reincarnated.It's said that Sellasie could draw a picture of a dove on paper and that dove would then fly away. It should be noted that a dove is a symbol of PEACE from the biblical times and the ancient civilisations.
It's also widely held that, he had read and memorised the whole Holy bible in the current form of the King James version.
Marcus Garvey prophesied that, from the East would come a King.(when in Jamaica East is the general direction of Africa).
Rastafarianism as a movement began in 1930, specifically on official literature as the 02/11/1930.
With time this movement became a religion as rules and regulations that the adherents follow were put in place.
Though born out of the pain of slavery and severe mistreatment at the hands of the slave masters, the true Rasta today is a spiritual person who does not condone violence against humans as well as animals: this depicted in the fact that they do not eat meat, except at times fish.
The true followers of the religion espouse a true love for others as also written in the Holy Bible.
Some of today's adherents of the religion have taken it upon themselves to spread ideologies that are contrary to what has been passed down over the years. Unfortunately these elements have a warped comprehension of beliefs and culture promoted by Rasta. They are the bigoted denizens who give Rasta a bad name by spreading vice and vitriol of hate and a lack of tolerance to those who don't share their views.
This is a message to all those who have deviated, Rasta does not lose track,neither is it devoid of the common values of decency, love, peace and a common desire to go back to Africa, the motherland.
Rasta does not spread vitriol or the vice of hate , it espouses virtue.
Rasta does not condone, condemnation of the unenlightened, rather it seeks to teach those.
Rasta does not deny nor denigrate others' right to believe whatever deity, neither does it obscure or obfuscate the opinions of others, in order to appear to hold a higher moral position.
Those who seek to devour because they are knowledge deficient, should open their minds up. Enlightenment and emancipation beckons.
The TRUE RASTA looks on helplessly as some fundamentalist and radical individuals desecrate the positive values that can are taught by the religion.
Even though Sellasie was a dictator, it's not for me to judge another man's belief.

Disclaimer! The views held here do not necessarily form a full and conclusive picture of Rasta as a movement or religion. Where I have in any way misrepresented or misinformed or omitted vital information, this is not intended and I profoundly apologise. This piece is dedicated to all the PEACEFUL RASTA OUT THERE and all the good people of this wonderful world whose greatest desire is to live peacefully with one another.

SPARE THE ROD,SPOIL THE CHILD!

The honourable MP for Tottenham, David Lammy has a point when he says that discipline by way of physical force should not be overlooked. He obviously, as a man of great intelligence and good skills of persuasion has good reasons as to why he advocates caning as means of keeping the young on the straight and narrow.
Children of all ages in this once great country have lost their moral compass and indiscipline has for so long been left to fester.There are many reasons as to why this is the case but the major one would be, parenting or the lack of.
At the tender age of four children already know about authority as this is a natural devlopmental process.At what point should authority start to be enforced?
There is a general disregard for authority. Teenagers demand respect from their parents, teachers, the police etc.This respect is not earned, to them it is a right of passage. They carry knives to stab(shank as the would call it in slang) one another over flimsy issues that rotate aound respect or a misconceived perception of a lack of it, from others whether known to them or not.
It gets worse every day. The Argentinian familyjust to name but one) that lost a son around the Silver street area of Edmonton were left in utter shock. They could not comprehend how their son could have been caught up in midst of murderous youths who feel nothing over their drug fuelled actions. They have no remorse. To them the rule of law does not apply,only impunity.
For those of us who are lucky to be alive as the second month of the year rolls along, we must thank our lucky stars.These warp-minded killers have a total disregard for the law that is absolutely abhorrent. What are the root causes of their actions.
Why is gun crime such a crucial problem? How can a man own six gun licences? The answer- he's a gun enthusiast! The alternative it would appear to be, he is a potential killer, hiding behind legal ownership of firearms.
Gun crime we shall tackle another day, even though it's part of the problem.
Am not the greatest advocate of whipping the child but i do know from my experience growing up that it never did us any harm. It did not leave any psychological scars,but i cknowledge the that there is a difference in cultures or is this a cross-cultural issue?
Children need to understand and respect authority and light smacking can do no harm if the parents do it in moderation and within reason. i can understand this can be relative from one family to another.Those of us who believe that Lammy was wrong i beg to differ. Am lending my previlege to scribe to the cause in total and unequivocal support to discipline.He still had a great point. People of Afican and Afro-Carribbean descent will attest to having been disciplined in this way. At school, home, by elderly neighbours, the extended family. The list is endless. There was, and still exists in some communities a collective responsibility fo the leaders of tomorrow- today's children.
We should stimulate and not stifle meaningful debate about the issue rather than brandish and lambast MP Lammy with unsavoury names.Teachers should be handed back the authority to run classrooms. There should a co-ordinated effort from all quarters of society. This is an emergency! Cameron and his government should wakeup to this social timebomb. There seems to exist a lack of goodwill on the government side, for how can one explain suggestions of fathers having less rights to their children? A report commisioned on behalf of the current government tended to be of that negative conclussion.Ludicrous every each way. We should pressure those in power to put into place considerations that will ameliorate this disastrous discourse,before we lose all our children.
It's our hope and prayer that fewer families will mourn the lose of their loved ones to needless,senseless and unrelenting murder that is informed by ignorance of basic principles of human decency.
NB: I DEDICATE THIS ARTICLE TO ALL THOSE FAMILIES WHO HAVE LOST THEIR YOUNG ONES TO GUN AND KNIFE CRIME. GOD BLESS YOU!



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A WORD FOR CHRISTMAS

It's once again that week that leads to the Christian devalued tradition of Christmas. How many turkeys will die you ask me: We don't have a clue, may be they will not have an appetite for protest. The protest shall obviously be confined to Turkey Street,(lol) some Londoners will know there is an overground train station of the same name! Christmas is or at least should be a time to reflect on the year gone by and to contemplate on what lies ahead in the new year. We must be wise to the wiles of those who wish to antagonise us. Those who intend to cause strife in the name of religion,any religion. For those of my readers, who this morning are waking up healthy and well in all aspects, you must thank God that you are here and will be at least for another day. This message is not sent out today out of self-aggrandisement,its meant to propagate a message of love and compassion. It's a prayer to all mankind from whichever continent you are; be peaceful and preach PEACE, be kind,patient and LOVING! There are so many tribulations that we as humans face! We should endeavour to live a better life, to help others less privilehged than us. We should remember to forgive those who offended us, love our foes without fuss. We should be truthful and honest at least to ourselves. Never forget that you can never love others until you love thyself.We should stifle the notion that we are owed or we have more rights than others, because when we think we are better or have greater right we inculcate in us the need to trumple and oppress others.This can be the the result of upbringing or our environment per se. We must emancipate ourselves from the shackles and afflictions of the past. While we live, we must let others live as we would desire to live. May the good Lord bless us all and a happy and prosperous 2012. NB. Apologies to my esteemed readers that this blog is a month old. The excuse is that i was having a wonderful time chasing turkeys1