He was the one man that extolled the power of the common man . His disciples were not picked from the ranks of scribes .
The interpretations that these two religions have undergone , molded in the crucibles of social and political fabrics of their times and the biases of the leaders that claimed to have embraced the teachings , have produced dynamic and selective religions .
Surprisingly the two religions , although derived from the same common religion , Judaism and the Abrahamic tradition have been antagonistic to each other and both to Judaism . The three religions have caused endless wars in modern history .
So , it not surprising that a libertine country like America , known for its promotion of secular principles can at the same time claim to be Christian and espouse rigid puritanical views on such mundane issues like birth control but not the glaring slavery issue .
Saudi Arabia considers herself as the defender of the faith and will call fellow Muslims brother and followers of the true faith yet see no hypocrisy in discriminating against black people whom they went out of their way to convert .
More surprising is the African wholesale adoption of the two religions that have consistently placed them at the bottom rang of humanity . Yet there is currently a tremendous growth explosion of both Christianity and Islam in Africa .
Even religion , with its saintly founders and which is supposed to communicate hope and define ways to attain a glorious afterlife can disappoint . It seems that to live up to the ideals of a simple but Godly life is a near impossible quest .
The currency of religion is hope and its founders are the ideal one aspires to . One cannot overemphasize the fact that all societies need heroes and when a society doesn ’ t have local heroes to look up to , it borrows them from elsewhere even if they are inappropriate .
Over time so many crimes have been committed in the name of Christianity and Islam , just because some maverick took it upon themselves to interpret an otherwise simple message and give it a twist to align with what they wished to achieve .
When societies lose hope for a better tomorrow , they seek heroes who encourage them to not only do better and improve
Heroes are people that assist in defining the outer limits of the collective aspirations of a society . Their selflessness and their ability to put the need of others before theirs define them as heroes . They inspire purpose and infuse meaning to life .
themselves but to also inspire hope and paint a picture of a possible better future for everyone .
Heroes are people that assist in defining the outer limits of the collective aspirations of a society . Their selflessness and their ability to put the need of others before theirs define them as heroes . They inspire purpose and infuse meaning to life .
Heroes come in many shapes and sizes and crop up in unexpected places and since they are good at helping society achieve goals this role has tended to be usurped by politicians who by definition are supposed to represent people .
It stands to reason that the type of heroes we chose , read politicians , will eventually define societal values such as national pride , group-esteem , equity , honor and justice . Africa has not been very fortunate in its choice of heroes .
This could be because her heroes did not organically arise from local needs but they rose to prominence as the chief mediators at independence negotiations that were defined by diverse societies forced into artificial geographical boundaries called countries .
These accidental heroes had to navigate a treacherous path trying to acquire legitimacy in countries they were already supposed to be leading but in which they had not received the popular mandate as the leaders . They had been imposed on the people .
The imposition of these leaders did not take into consideration existing power structures and the main qualification tended to be the ability to speak the colonial languages and to have been educated in their systems hence making them acceptable .
The track record of the African founding presidents , who by all descriptions , were
the initial heroes of the continent is not too impressive and a thorough interrogation is needed to understand why the continents heroes turned out being such let-downs .
The earliest country in Africa to get independence was Ghana and of course the political leader slated to be the president was Kwame Nkrumah and from the outset he was the darling of Africa and an instant hero .
Many a children born in the period were named Kwame in honor of this African hero who had distinguished himself for not only agitating for Ghana ’ s independence but had positioned himself as a pan-Africanist with a bold and radical outlook .
It is on record that this is one of the people who Martin Luther King Jr . held as a hero and a role model for nonviolent political activism . His ideas and dynamism singled him out as an original thinker and a champion of the black African cause .
Unfortunately , it did not take long for this exemplary leader to descend from hero to zero as he soon positioned himself as an infallible leader going as far as adopting the name Osagyefo that loosely translates as redeemer , warrior or victor .
The champion of freedom became intolerant and insular , not realizing that the skills needed to demand for independence and self determination were not the same skills required to run a country that was expecting nothing short of miracles from the exalted leader .
It is amazing the alacrity with which people get accustomed to power and begin to misuse it . Most African leaders who led their countries to independence tended to believe that the electorate owed them eternal gratitude by deifying themselves .