"Development" is a prominent political poem written by Kundi Faraja and published in the 1980 Tanzanian poetry anthology Summons, coordinated by Richard S. Mabala. The poem serves as a fierce critique of post-colonial African leaders who took over power after independence (Uhuru) but failed to deliver on their promises of societal progress, resulting in deep-seated corruption and public disillusionment.
DEVELOPMENT
By Kundi Faraja
A man of the people
Enters his office
to sit on the throne
of Party and State,
His stick of power
Across the table.
He looks into the files
To see the demands
Of the millions of people
Who for years since Uhuru
Have just managed to survive
They ring out one message
Man of the people
You have always been telling us
What we need…
Health centres,
More schools,
Clean water,
Better transport facilities,
Better living conditions.
Do you plead incapable
To bring about development?
I declare running
Better than walking
For a young and poor country;
I plead fighting underdevelopment
Tougher than fighting
A wounded buffalo
With a pocket knife;
I plead underdevelopment
Stronger than the blows of the sea
When the hurricane is at its height.
I plead fighting underdevelopment
Tougher than combating colonialism;
I see that it’s more difficult
To maintain peace
Than to stop a coup d’état.
I plead the cry
Of the nation
More painful than the yell
Of a woman
As her husband dies in sickness;
It’s more painful than the screams
Of a man
Dying in agony
In the coils of the greatest python
Found in the African forest.
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the Rift-Valley;
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share.
I plead the thirst
Of the minority
Greater than that of the Sahara;
No rain can quench it.
I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to National Development ;
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest.
Their response to egoism,
Is faster than camera film to light
But as slow as tropism
To nation-building.
The majority plead
Exploited,
Cheated,
Disregarded,
But, brother,
How is development to come?
INTRODUCTION
Development is the poem written by Kundi Faraja, which criticises the concept of development as taken by post colonial African leaders. While it’s true that the development agenda dominated many political platforms and economic policies of pre-independence era, the bourgeoisie class that replaced their colonial predecessors have turned it to be only a nightmare to the common people. What we have now are high levels of corruption, oppression, exploitation, selfishness (egoism), classes, lies and social political and economic marginalization.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS.
SELFISHNESS (EGOISM)
Most post-colonial African leaders are thinking in terms of me, myself and I. Although the resources of the country ought to benefit both classes, the lower class has remained spectators of the game. The high class misuses the national resources at the expenses of the lower. Kundi Faraja criticises the hypocritical behaviour of most African leaders who think of themselves (being the minority) while the majority whose efforts are wasted are disregarded. The national resources are not distributed equally anymore. Their selfish tendencies are expressed by the poet in these terms.
I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to national development
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest.
The issue of national development that was at the top of the agenda has now turned only a daydream. To the leaders he asks;
Do you plead incapable
To bring about development?
CORRUPTION
Shortly after independence in an attempt to lift ourselves up from the bottom of colonialism in which we had fallen unwillingly, the nation identified three enemies that we had to fight tooth and nail in order to stand on our own feet. These included; poverty, ignorance and disease. Nevertheless in the long run corruption emerged and added to their number and has since then become tougher than the first three enemies.
It is however sad to note that it’s not the common people who are at the forefront in giving and receiving corruption but the leaders. Critically speaking, the issue of development is even more complicated when we come to think of the fact that those to whom we have entrusted power are the same who are corrupt. Thus the poet comes to a point when he shows there is no way a country whose leaders have invested in corruption can develop. No way! He says
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
Implicitly, the poet is calling for action. Because we did a mistake in the first place by giving corrupt leaders the mandate to rule us, do we still need to continue with them even when we realize that they have hypocritically, betrayed our cause? Think of it.
CLASSES AND MARGINALIZATION.
Practically speaking, classes in any society are inevitable. However, the sociological investment should be more of how to bring about a harmonious relationship among the existing classes than how to neutralize them. In most cases it has been evident that whenever these classes exist, the high class oppresses, exploits and marginalises the lower. To show how detrimental class division can be in any society, the poet uses strong metaphorical comparisons to bring the message home. While the minority (whom he calls privileged few) enjoy the national cake, the majority have been marginalized and disregarded.
I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the rift valley
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share.
Their thirst he compares with that of the Sahara desert which no rain can quench. In other words he is trying to say that there is no point they will be satisfied if at all the majority will stay staring at them waiting sympathetically for their turn. Never!
DEVELOPMENT
By Kundi Faraja
A man of the people
Enters his office
to sit on the throne
of Party and State,
His stick of power
Across the table.
He looks into the files
To see the demands
Of the millions of people
Who for years since Uhuru
Have just managed to survive
They ring out one message
Man of the people
You have always been telling us
What we need…
Health centres,
More schools,
Clean water,
Better transport facilities,
Better living conditions.
Do you plead incapable
To bring about development?
I declare running
Better than walking
For a young and poor country;
I plead fighting underdevelopment
Tougher than fighting
A wounded buffalo
With a pocket knife;
I plead underdevelopment
Stronger than the blows of the sea
When the hurricane is at its height.
I plead fighting underdevelopment
Tougher than combating colonialism;
I see that it’s more difficult
To maintain peace
Than to stop a coup d’état.
I plead the cry
Of the nation
More painful than the yell
Of a woman
As her husband dies in sickness;
It’s more painful than the screams
Of a man
Dying in agony
In the coils of the greatest python
Found in the African forest.
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the Rift-Valley;
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share.
I plead the thirst
Of the minority
Greater than that of the Sahara;
No rain can quench it.
I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to National Development ;
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest.
Their response to egoism,
Is faster than camera film to light
But as slow as tropism
To nation-building.
The majority plead
Exploited,
Cheated,
Disregarded,
But, brother,
How is development to come?
INTRODUCTION
Development is the poem written by Kundi Faraja, which criticises the concept of development as taken by post colonial African leaders. While it’s true that the development agenda dominated many political platforms and economic policies of pre-independence era, the bourgeoisie class that replaced their colonial predecessors have turned it to be only a nightmare to the common people. What we have now are high levels of corruption, oppression, exploitation, selfishness (egoism), classes, lies and social political and economic marginalization.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS.
SELFISHNESS (EGOISM)
Most post-colonial African leaders are thinking in terms of me, myself and I. Although the resources of the country ought to benefit both classes, the lower class has remained spectators of the game. The high class misuses the national resources at the expenses of the lower. Kundi Faraja criticises the hypocritical behaviour of most African leaders who think of themselves (being the minority) while the majority whose efforts are wasted are disregarded. The national resources are not distributed equally anymore. Their selfish tendencies are expressed by the poet in these terms.
I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to national development
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest.
The issue of national development that was at the top of the agenda has now turned only a daydream. To the leaders he asks;
Do you plead incapable
To bring about development?
CORRUPTION
Shortly after independence in an attempt to lift ourselves up from the bottom of colonialism in which we had fallen unwillingly, the nation identified three enemies that we had to fight tooth and nail in order to stand on our own feet. These included; poverty, ignorance and disease. Nevertheless in the long run corruption emerged and added to their number and has since then become tougher than the first three enemies.
It is however sad to note that it’s not the common people who are at the forefront in giving and receiving corruption but the leaders. Critically speaking, the issue of development is even more complicated when we come to think of the fact that those to whom we have entrusted power are the same who are corrupt. Thus the poet comes to a point when he shows there is no way a country whose leaders have invested in corruption can develop. No way! He says
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
Implicitly, the poet is calling for action. Because we did a mistake in the first place by giving corrupt leaders the mandate to rule us, do we still need to continue with them even when we realize that they have hypocritically, betrayed our cause? Think of it.
CLASSES AND MARGINALIZATION.
Practically speaking, classes in any society are inevitable. However, the sociological investment should be more of how to bring about a harmonious relationship among the existing classes than how to neutralize them. In most cases it has been evident that whenever these classes exist, the high class oppresses, exploits and marginalises the lower. To show how detrimental class division can be in any society, the poet uses strong metaphorical comparisons to bring the message home. While the minority (whom he calls privileged few) enjoy the national cake, the majority have been marginalized and disregarded.
I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the rift valley
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share.
Their thirst he compares with that of the Sahara desert which no rain can quench. In other words he is trying to say that there is no point they will be satisfied if at all the majority will stay staring at them waiting sympathetically for their turn. Never!