“The servant should not hope except (in) his Lord, and should not fear except his own sins” – Ali Ibn Abu Talib
The world we live in is a place with never ending challenges. You are constantly bombarded with one problem or another; your mind is preoccupied by one thought or another. Like some kind of a vicious cycle, you keep experiencing this over and over again. whilst sometimes it seems like I encounter the hardest challenges in life, I also know that people in Africa face far tougher challenges than the rest of the world. Aside the limited opportunities that a young African can exploit locally, there is this constant internal war that you’re always at. A war about what’s right and wrong. What’s moral and immoral. What to do or not – to get that job, that promotion, that travel package, that big project you’ve been yearning for or the partnership to take your business to another level. And most times, despite the efforts and time you invest in your endeavors to achieve success, it always seems almost impossible. So what do you do?
Well, I don’t know of other African countries, but in the Gambia in particular, it starting to feel like you cannot climb up the success ladder, unless you know someone in the system – nepotism (in the case of government work), tarnish someone’s image, engage in black magic, sought the services of a fortune teller, dupe somebody or even worst sleep with somebody in order just to climb up the corporate ladder or succeed in your business. The system is progressively becoming so corrupt and messed up that it is slowly becoming a norm for people to do just about anything to get what they want and appear “successful”. Mediocrity and immorality is being highly rewarded, leaving the excellent, honest and talented feeling demotivated. As a result, those rational and moral individuals are left feeling like being morale is stupid and un-accomplishing.
Even worst, the temptation to wrong your soul these days is just too much. As if it’s not worrying enough sinning against your own soul and wondering if God will forgive you; people are constantly telling you to do something for yourself by visiting a fortune teller to look into your affairs. You try so hard not to hear but they talk so loud. Their piercing sounds fill your hears, feeding you with doubts. And you wonder whether fulfilling your religious obligations, following the teachings of the Prophet S.A.W (for a Muslim) and goodness towards all creatures couple with your hard work isn’t enough. Whilst some of these concerns are genuine, I do however believe that only your Creator can change your story and not the creation. Although, more often than not, our quest for success puts us in paths that take us farther and farther away from God, wandering lost in the dark while closing our eyes to all the signs He puts in our way. We end up in this silent, internal fight of what’s right and wrong as young adults, forgetting that (even though it sometimes doesn’t seem like it) success only happens when opportunity meets preparation.
So I can’t help but wonder why people physically and or spiritually destroy others just to attain what’s really not sustainably possible? Like, must I gossip, slander, “juju” or even give my body to a man or a woman just to succeed? Could this be seen as being a Go-getter or am I wrong to think that we can do better?
