CROSSROADS-Legend has it that many years ago during the stone age, when the only means of transportation was by foot and men made fire by striking stones, there existed a people who had all they could have as a village-a friendly weather, fertile land and the natural gifts of mother earth that made life worth living back then. They shared boundary with the wild like most human settlements did and for many years enjoyed a cordial relationship with their non-human neighbours. Both respected their respective boundaries and never strayed into the other's territory. For many decades they enjoyed a peaceful relationship with the wild. The only constant thing in life they say is change and things were never going to remain the same. Like a plague a deadly epidemic swept through and ravaged the grazing herds of the wild that served as food to the lions on top of the food chain. Their population declined drastically and the few survivors were aggressively scrambled for by competing prides of lions. Soon the herds were completely gone and driven by hunger the lions encroached into human territory. They say you never know what you have been missing until you have it. Their first taste of human blood would change things forever.
With their newly acquired lust for the flesh and blood of man not a single day passed by without news of an attack by these beasts on the village. The primitive measures taken by the villagers to curb this menace all proved abortive. The fences made of tree stems were never going to put off a hungry pride of lions and lionesses,who were willing to go any length to satisfy their desires. Day after day, night after night, the number of attacks increased and so did the death toll. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as such a village meeting was called, attendance was compulsory for all-male and female, young and old. A solution had to be found quickly as the village laid on the brink of extinction. With the spate at which the lions were attacking, it seemed only a matter of months before the village would be confined to the annals of history unless something was done.
By midday the village square was filled up, there was not a single villager absent. Suggestions and counter suggestions were made. The meeting dragged to the early hours of the night without a breakthrough, but not a single person complained of tiredness, showed a loss of interest or dared to walk away. They all seemed committed towards addressing this problem before going to bed. Their resolve paid off or so they thought, when a suggestion that they search for and migrate to a safe and unoccupied land was made. It was a hard decision to make and even a harder one to accept. They would have to leave the only home they have ever known to unknown territory. As reluctant as they were, they realized that this perhaps was the only way to save their race from extinction. A search party was immediately constituted and mandated to find a new home for them. The day had barely broken before they were long gone.
The anticipation level was high as they waited eagerly for the return of the scouts. As the waiting game continued there was no let off from the lions, as their unwanted daily visits left scores dead. Thirty four days after they left, the search party returned and cheers that were hitherto only heard during the inauguration of a new king were heard. It took just minutes for the entire village to converge. Their feedback was positive. North of their village just about 3 days walk they had discovered an island. Enquiries from a sorcerer revealed that the land had better features than their current home and had no inhabitants to resist any acquisition by anyone. It was just want they craved for since with their depleted size they could not afford to go to war. As far as they were concerned they had found paradise, discovered El Dorado, it was their heaven on earth. With the news, the women broke into singing and dancing, the naked children ran wild and poked one another as the men drowned themselves in palm wine. They were briefly irritated by the attitude of a man who refused to join the party. He had sought to know why such a juicy island remained unoccupied. He was fiercely rebuked and told to keep his pessimism and reservations to himself. When the celebration had died down a bit, they all agreed to leave for their new home in 3 days.
Staying awake had become part of their lives at night in recent times, but the last 3 sleepless nights were not for fear of attacks but as a result of excitement. The day of exodus had come, they rose even before the sun and had everything packed. After a four day journey they arrived the bank of the river-the seemingly only thing that stood between them and paradise. It was so close they could see it. If only they had known what laid beneath the still and murky waters. Things are not always what they seem to be. For the first set of villagers that lounged in with excitement and indeed the entire village, it was a rude awakening. A deadly pack of crocodiles feasted hungrily on all of them. It is amazing how singing can turn to weeping so quickly. As the crocodiles took some time to savour their lunch, a deceptive calm returned to the waters again, but this time it was mixed with blood and had belongings of their country men floating on them. It was a terrible fate that denied them the luxury of mourning or burying their brothers. They stood by the shore in a fix. Ahead of them was a beautiful island, separated by a crocodile infested water. Behind was home sweet home with monstrous beasts on rampage. They had to make a choice as staying on the river bank without the ability to farm was a death sentence.
Somewhere in the tropics, just east of the Greenwich and a little bit north of the equator,the situation in which the people find themselves is as dire as that of the villagers of old. On one hand they have to choose between a ruling class of "democrathieves" who have presided over their affairs with nothing to show for it. On the other hand is an equally incompetent clique of "progretheives" , most of whom were once members of the former,who are staking a claim to power as the periodic transition season looms. The gladiators are positioning themselves strategically, trying to take advantage of the people's desperation,ignorance and frustration. They spend so much time and resources trying to distinguish themselves from the other as they clamour for the people to entrust them with responsibilities. Truth be told, differences exist between them such as their names and venue for meetings, but where it matters most they are the same. They are both morally bankrupt, devoid of values and ideals and have the same mission -kill,steal and destroy. With decision time in sight, it breaks my heart that once again people would have to choose between two evils.