Francis Muguro: In making decisions, everything, including falsehood and
half truths have an important role to play.
But more often than not, people are overwhelmed by domineering negative
trivialities at the expense of truth.
Is it that human nature is so innately pessimistic that it always focuses on
negativity?
I watched a televised documentary on tetanus immunization at the coast and
couldn’t help sympathizing with the doctors who were recounting their
frustrating experiences.
The team had been dispatched to immunize girls and women of child bearing
ages since the area had recorded a significant number of post delivery
tetanus casualties.
Despite the massive campaign to educate the women about the importance of
the exercise, very few went for the jab.
The reason was simple, other silent but more influential campaign was doing
rounds that the exercise was a camouflaged population check measure.
Rumours had it that the injection would render a woman impotent later in
life. Fertility, being so tightly close to the heart of every woman, is no
issue to gamble with therefore many gave it a wide berth.
It is pathetic that empty fertility scares should scuttle such a noble task.
More disheartening is the fact that such myths have refused to die, even
with enormous flow of information that characterize our age.
In early 1980’s, the government introduced the Nyayo milk school feeding
programme where each primary school kid used to be given a packet of milk.
This was meant to alleviate malnutrition among school going kids.
But fear and suspicion almost marred it. Some people claimed that the milk
was laced with hormones to stimulate premature development. Others read a
political ploy to tactfully reduce the population of the bigger tribes by
slowly poisoning their kids.
But the strongest of rumours, once more, was that the milk would cause
impotence. Just like the women at the coast, our sisters avoided the milk
for fear of losing their precious mothering ability.
To boys, such possible future eventualities didn’t mean anything much and we
hungrily took the milk. It’s only after a long time that rumours were
discredited but after denying many girls necessary nutrition.
People normally select what to believe. But when we allow fear and
suspicion, rather than reason and facts, to be the basis of our actions, we
become vulnerable and prone to reacting in the most illogical way.
Is it not surprising that even at this age, many people still believe that
the key to financial or political kingdom is via *mganga’s* hovel.
Ironically even the learned among us still end up in these dens confirming
that old habits (and beliefs) die hard.
How can our children appreciate the value of hard work while we make them
know that to pass exams, get a job or promotion, or even for personal
security one needs some invincible magical back up?
It’s time we learnt how to separate the wheat from the tares. Though we
should not throw all caution to the wind, we must not allow ourselves to be
intimidated by negative undertones that dot the way of important projects.
Falsehood enslaves, intimidates and destroys. It is the truth that sets
free. Demosthenes, a Greek orator and politician observed that, ‘Nothing is
easier than self deceit. For what a man wishes, that he also believes to be
true.’
mugguro@gmail.com