http://politicstoday.com.ng/2017/01/13/public-notice-we-are-africans-we-do-not-plagiarize/

Abayomi G. Omotayo

Twitter: @AbayomiGOmotayo


It is no news that the newly sworn in Ghanaian president,Nana Akufo-Addo ‘borrowed’ a few words from Presidents Clinton and Obama while giving his speech during inauguration. What is surprising to me is the furore that greeted the speech. The irony stares us starkly in the face when one considers the fact that Africa is home to rich and inspiring proverbs meant among other things, to teach us how to act and react in situations. It is said that ‘esin iwaju ni teyin n wo sare’ meaning the horse at the back looks to the horse in front to guide its galloping steps. Nigeria is referred to as the giant of Africa, which means President Buhari is also the number one President in Africa. A while ago, President Buhari decided to ‘borrow’ a few lines from President Obama during the launch of the ‘Change Begins with Me’ campaign. Should it therefore be surprising that President Nana Akufo-Addo towed the same line? He simply looked up to the proverbial horse in front of him.

The Europeans and Americans indulge in too many trivialities that they make a big issue out of borrowing and sharing, they need to be reminded that there is love in sharing. It should therefore be the joy and pleasure of Clinton and Obama that the elders in Africa find their speeches worthy of borrowing. It is the wisdom of the elders in bold and bright display in these two instances. It is foolishness to take a longer route when there is a well paved, better and shorter route to the same destination. Imagine the time and efforts saved from borrowing these speeches than daring to be original, thoughtful and producing riveting speeches just like that of the late sage Obafemi Awolowo and Kwame Nkrumah. The socio-economic challenges in Africa are enormous such that there is no time to waste in writing speeches when we can leverage on already written speeches. In this Information Technologyage, there is no excuse for time wasting therefore all these outcries against plagiarized speeches by our presidents are irrelevant.

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J

The socio-economic challenges in Africa are enormous such that there is no time to waste in writing speeches when we can leverage on already written speeches