MamaPut & PapaTake

It is just like walking around town with two fridges on the chest. Nursing mothers multi-task doing both the production and storage of the milk behind closed brassieres while still being on stand- by to feed the hungry at the hint of a cry. Sonny Okosun in his politically charged song Papa’s Land asked, we wanna know who owns the land, Papa’s land. He was agitating against the Apartheid system that had Black Sons of the soil in South Africa receive second class status despite being original inhabitants of the African land. It was this patch of soil he referred to as Papa’s Land. It was true that the Papa’s grabbed plots here and there but when hunger strikes it is Mama Africa that feeds the continent.

Women worldwide serve more plates to the hungry than men. In Nigeria the men eat more than they cook except for Suya and Mai Shai (breakfast buka) which is always managed by men. Women preparing and selling Suya by the road side is as rare as a Buka where the cooking is done predominantly by men. I wouldn’t eat in any of these kind of rare establishments if I happened to come across them for I would be too busy fainting.

Men grab most of the lucrative Television Chef Contracts and star in the State Houses, Palaces and top restaurants of the world but the MamaPuts feed the nations in all the continents. While Nigerians call MamaPut the local low cost restaurants that feed the masses; today I define MamaPut as all the women who put food into the hungry mouths of the world.

I have long forgotten most of the people I met while in University but I still recall the local MamaPut who I have renamed Mama Pharaoh. I wrote about her in draft of my novel Blind Procedure (which is still being written since 2005!).

Mama Pharaoh

On this campus none important

Like the madam who feeds us all

For though the theories sound so brilliant

Can’t satisfy when man must wak

I am here for major academics

And eba-ogbono tongue gymnastics

If I ever gra-du-ate

Please post me soups in big plastics

After youth corps comes a job

House and car and then I will marry

All I want is just one thing

Babe must cook like Mama Pharaoh

It looks like Mama Africa gave the continent every chance of prospering. The fertile soil and abundant fresh water supply means seeds thrown out of the window just grow. In addition there are women everywhere even more fertile than the soil. It is almost like some ladies who get pregnant if their man looks at them longer than two minutes straight. These ladies are every ready to put food in the mouths of Africans but they lack power to ensure that food production is adequate. Many women are involved in African agriculture but the policy makers tend to be dominated by the Papas. The land ownership, the fertilisers and the pesticides are in male control and mismanagement is a major problem. The Papas love to dip their hands in the till.

The poverty that makes people have no funds to buy food is imposed on Africa by the Papas who do not make the right moves to grow the economy. The MamaPuts have their hands handcuffed behind their backs yet they are the ones that can feed Africa.

An ever so kind Mama Africa studded the soil with Gold and Diamonds. These were solely to feed the people. The Papas had other plans. They mined and they took, along with their foreign partners. In some areas, Mama Africa was stabbed through the belly till she bled Crude Oil to be shipped out to foreign refineries. The cash generated stays in the hands of the Papas who take.

The land grabbing and cash grabbing is an ironic habit. No matter how much is accumulated, everyone dies and leaves it behind. The poor ones who starve despite the potential to produce ample food amounts of food die. The frustrated MamaPuts who could not fulfil their purpose in full also die knowing they could have put more food in hungry mouths. The greedy Papas die and all they get is gold plated coffins and a befitting burial and the food they refused to give Africans in life is eaten off their bodies by the African earth worms six feet under.

When simple things are not done, Warri go say, ‘no be ordinary eye’. Ordinary eyes would see the obvious and take action according to what is seen. Blind eyes on the other hand look at things but are unable to make simple conclusions.

It is a curse really for someone in a position of power to embezzle money that could be used to ensure good harvest yields and lower food prices. The blindness looks even more bizarre when the white collared crook buys a limousine and drives through town and the very starving people who he has defrauded sing his praises. The same applied to electricity which has everything to do with the availability of food for the MamaPuts. Many times African countries cannot store farm produce for lack of refrigeration. AC currents were invented by Nikola Tesla in 1888 and before that Refrigeration using vapours to lower temperatures was invented in 1805 by Oliver Evans. One would have thought that by now every farm, factory and house in Africa would have electricity and contain fridges for food storage. That is still not the case. There is a short term gain in stealing the money that fuels development. The Papas buy flash clothes and houses shining like a solitary torch light in the heart of darkness. It is a bit like taking a pistol and shooting all competitors at the start of a race on the right foot and then racing on to victory.

Only psychopaths enjoy that kind of victory which comes at the great expense of others. Welcome to the crazy world of Africa leaders (PapaTakes) who wrestle out starvation from the jaws of abundance.