CHAPTER
1: In the Beginning
- In the
     beginning was the word about change and the change was with aid, and the
     change was aid. 
- All things
     were made by aid; and without aid there was nothing made.
CHAPTER
2: Sufficiency
- Therefore do
     not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will have its own government. 
- Sufficient
     for each day is its own DFID grants.
CHAPTER
3: Love and Trust
- For foreign
     donors loved the third world so much that they gave their only begotten
     aid, that whosoever accepts it and takes some loans by the side will not
     perish but have everlasting help.
- Trust in the donor
     with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding, but in
     all your ways take notice of his aid. 
CHAPTER
4: The Evil Chinese
- The Chinese
     only comes to steal kill and destroy. I have come that you may have aid
     and have it to the full. 
- Avoid the
     yuan from the Chinese and reject their investments. 
CHAPTER
5: The Way
- And the
     friends of foreign donors asked, how may we come to be your friends and
     they answered: Aid is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to
     development, except through aid.
- By this all
     will know that you are my disciples, if you share my aid among yourselves.
     
CHAPTER
6: Man Power/ Human Capacity Development
- Show me a
     Nigerian thinker or academic and I will show you the kind of NGO/INGO
     where s/he spends his/her productive hours. 
CHAPTER
7: The Beatitudes
- Blessed are
     the doctors who refuse to do a residency and choose an NGO, for theirs is
     the kingdom of per diems, foreign travels and stable salaries.
- Blessed are
     the lecturers who become NGO consultants, for they will drive better cars
     than their colleagues.
- Blessed are
     those who hustle to create NGOs, for they will be filled with foreign
     grants.
- Blessed are
     those who are persecuted for being activists, for they will be granted
     residency in foreign countries. 
CHAPTER
8: Permanence
- Do not think
     that I have come to abolish dependence on foreign countries. I have come
     not to abolish it but to strengthen it. 
- For truly I tell
     you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest aid, not the least
     stoke of grants will by any means disappear from your hospitals and
     governments until everything is accomplished. Whatever that is. 
CHAPTER
9: The Aid Prayer
- You must pray then this way: Our donors,
     who art abroad, hallowed be thy purse. Thy aid come in dollars and pounds.
- Thy will be
     done in our countries, as promoted by Bono
- Give us this
     day, our yearly funding 
- And lead us
     not into self-reliance
- But deliver
     us from our selves
- For thine are
     dollars, the pounds and the euros, forever and ever. Amen
 
 
Absolutely priceless!
ReplyDelete'Give us this day, our yearly funding'
Hilarious!!!
Brilliant Mr Elnathan, brilliant!
In America's name, Amen!!!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I am in a meeting courtesy of the American and German people. The irony...
ReplyDelete"And lead us not into self-reliance"..
ReplyDeleteHehehe! Like this.
Couldn't agree more! you have hit the nail right on the head :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Upamalika
ReplyDeleteAid is continuous enslavement. We have been constricted into a begger continent, third world nations(what would happened if we are called first and second - in Fela Anikulapo-Kuti 's voice) that cannot settle their own problems. And the CSOs? The get grants to produce statistics and books people never read. Brilliant satire. Be Safe. SM-S
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I agree! Thanks Sulaimon.
DeleteNot enough African voices are singing this tune. I am presently showing my play AID: or doing nothing in Nairobi which address much of the issues in your piece. I am not African and gave the critical stance towards Aid to the Kenyan character. I just find that this debate is happening way to often between whites in the western world. Dambisa Moyo and those tweets from Teju Cole aside, too little is heard from this continent. Hope to be in Nigeria one day and meet you.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Robin Denault
Nairobi, Kenya
Thanks for your kind comment Robin.
DeleteCan't believe I'm just reading this. Couldn't be more apt & insightful. And the medium of delivery, simply awesome. Should resonate with our extremely religious folks, your primary audience. Again, well done!
ReplyDelete