Post by NJL on Oct 26, 2005 7:07:25 GMT 3
The Lord Giveth And The Lord Taketh Away ...
From: Njamlik - NokNok@home.org Tue, Oct 25, 5:44 AM
I often wonder at the fatalistic implications of such a phrase.
When news arrived here two days ago about First Lady Stella Obasanjo, I assumed that she had succumbed to the many ailments that plague cosmopolitan Africa: diabetes, hypertension, cancers, etc....
Gradually, facts emerged that her visit to Marbella was in connection with a visit to an expensive and exclusive cosmetics urgery clinic. As this 'tragedy' dawns on me, I cannot help but feel sorry for Africa.
President Obasanjo was supposed to be a leader with a second chance, a member of the New African initiative, elected in a land that where military coups had been the norm for decades. Obasanjo, Mbeki, Kagame, Museveni...they had stood together and vowed to shape a new Africa. To many, that would be an Africa where the excesses of the Mobutu first ladies would never be repeated, where misuse of the peoples' wealth for ostentatious expenditure in the West would not be tolerated.
The reality of Stella Obasanjo's death is a reminder that reforming Africa will be much harder than we could imagine. Instead of being an elder, comfortable with her age and appearance, she was caught up in the fallacy of eternal youth that often accompanies access to vast wealth. One wants to forever appear youthful, tight, attractive,... to embrace the illusion that one could spend enough money to prolong that moment in the limelight eternally. In the high-flyer's world, cosmetic surgery is the Viagra of the female sex!!
As Africa mourns the death of Stella Obasanjo, it should not forget to think critically of the circumstances under which she died. Is it African for a grandmother to die of complications after liposuction in Marbella, to be caught by the reaper vainly trying to buy off wrinkles while one knows that Africa has always respected the **'traditional build' and the wisdom of age?
NJL
**http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/features_author_qa.html
From: Njamlik - NokNok@home.org Tue, Oct 25, 5:44 AM
I often wonder at the fatalistic implications of such a phrase.
When news arrived here two days ago about First Lady Stella Obasanjo, I assumed that she had succumbed to the many ailments that plague cosmopolitan Africa: diabetes, hypertension, cancers, etc....
Gradually, facts emerged that her visit to Marbella was in connection with a visit to an expensive and exclusive cosmetics urgery clinic. As this 'tragedy' dawns on me, I cannot help but feel sorry for Africa.
President Obasanjo was supposed to be a leader with a second chance, a member of the New African initiative, elected in a land that where military coups had been the norm for decades. Obasanjo, Mbeki, Kagame, Museveni...they had stood together and vowed to shape a new Africa. To many, that would be an Africa where the excesses of the Mobutu first ladies would never be repeated, where misuse of the peoples' wealth for ostentatious expenditure in the West would not be tolerated.
The reality of Stella Obasanjo's death is a reminder that reforming Africa will be much harder than we could imagine. Instead of being an elder, comfortable with her age and appearance, she was caught up in the fallacy of eternal youth that often accompanies access to vast wealth. One wants to forever appear youthful, tight, attractive,... to embrace the illusion that one could spend enough money to prolong that moment in the limelight eternally. In the high-flyer's world, cosmetic surgery is the Viagra of the female sex!!
As Africa mourns the death of Stella Obasanjo, it should not forget to think critically of the circumstances under which she died. Is it African for a grandmother to die of complications after liposuction in Marbella, to be caught by the reaper vainly trying to buy off wrinkles while one knows that Africa has always respected the **'traditional build' and the wisdom of age?
NJL
**http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/features_author_qa.html