"Listen to our shoes when they pinch"

I must commend this African son for recognizing the need to support our evolving African governments in so far as democratization is concerned (Pambazuka News 196: Pan-African Postcard). I couldn't agree with him any more! Our governments need to work together with their citizens and it is the moral authority of the citizens to applaud them when they go right in the same strength we shout when they are in the wrong.

We must realize that as a former president of Kenya used to say "no one out there loves African" and as much as we are receiving funds and moral support from the west for political activism in the name of democracy, they will, and always, desert us when chaos erupt. Do you see those pictures of the so called foreign evacuations from warring countries? Which Africans or citizens are evacuated because their countries are burning and at war? Never!

It is therefore very important to "listen to our shoes when they pinch" and get the right sizes other than trying to wear other people's unfitting shoes. Am I saying we condone corruption, abuse of human rights by our governments, and other such happenings? No. What I am trying to say is that we should ensure our houses do not burn such that we are left in the cold by giving the government moral support whenever it is working towards the right direction and not just being critical, at times, to please external masters.