Talking of square pegs in round holes, that is one colossal problem we face around here. Too many of us are in the wrong places and messing up things beyond recognition.
The organization is in a mess. Production has nosedived and is fast approaching that decisive red line, clients are turning their backs in search of alternatives, and workplace discipline is an all time low with minor disputes degenerating into punches. The head of the organization took office some years back promising to make the place ‘the first of its kind in East Africa’ or whatever. He boasted in meetings after meetings that before the year was up the organization will be the envy of the business world, the torchbearer of the most refined success. All that was three years back. The entire system is swaying on a shaky ground; any time, the tsunami would hit with destructive force. Mismanagement, alleged corruption, ethnic favoritism etc. have turned the place into a war zone of sorts. Most of all the head doesn’t have what it takes to lead a household of five let alone an organization of hundreds.
The honorable thing to do is resign; a term which has become alien to this society. The fellow could have saved face by tending in his resignation. (There are many whose resignation letters should have hit their bosses’ tables long ago.) That is not going to happen; Not around here anyway. Why are we so scared of the term resignation? Why don’t we see reality in the face, resign, and go look for other green pastures?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
You have worked on a project proposal for the better part of the year. The energy and resources you put into it means you’re expecting a king’s ransom as final fee. Go, have some ice cold beer; your project proposal has been given the green light! Only some paper work remains, and after that you will be singing in the rain. You have even made plans to upgrade your apartment and surprise your fiancé-in-waiting with that human hair she has been craving for.
Then the call comes. “Sorry, but you project has been dropped.” What? Just like that! Yes, just like that they tell you it has been tossed out the window. Your dreams of close to a million birr cash payment is carried away in the wind! What happened? There were irregularities and the budget allotted for the project has been withdrawn. ‘Irregularities,’ that’s the catch word. Irregularities have become so common we have even rested our eyebrows! Why?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
Numbers, numbers, more numbers. These days everything is about numbers, percentages; nothing wrong with that, except that most are doctored to serve the wishes of one group or another. The organization tells you it has met 78% of its target, while the fact is it isn’t anywhere close to the halfway mark. There’s no way to verify the authenticity of the claims. Why are we so obsessed with percentages? Why are we so obsessed with numbers which many times are trimmed or inflated out of their real value? Why?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
There are tasks to be accomplished by the given time. The word has gone out months back and there was no worry of not having adequate time. Then as an Amharic saying has it ‘the priest and the book both fall silent.’ As the months race away, panic reigns. What about those tasks? All of a sudden the top brass realize the wolves were racing down from the nearby hills! So, what should be done? Go into campaign mode; that’s what should be done. “We’ll conduct a five-day work campaign to finalize such and such tasks. This has become the norm of many organizations. Simply out, ours is a society obsessed with ‘campaigns.’ Why?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
You are part of a group idling away time at some beer den. There is a lot of talk about nothing and everything. You know, one of those occasions when everyone talks and no one says anything. And then talk veers to, you guessed it, politics. A few rather muted comments are made. Then, all eyes focus on you. What do you think? You voice your opinion on a couple of issues, being overly careful on which to step on and which to sidestep.
You notice that a couple of faces have lost their natural glow. What! “What did I say wrong?” you wonder. You don’t have to wait long. The question which comes from one guy echoes on the expressions of half of the group.
“Which part of the country are you from?” Good heavens!
Now why should they want to know which part of the country you are from, in other words, your ethnic group, just because you made your opinion known? That should have been the end of the chapter if not the story. No, that is not going to happen. Like it or not, any opinion you voice would be fed into some ethnic profiling software. It s not only in politics, in other areas of daily life too, people want to know which part of the country you are from. Why are we so obsessed with trying to know the birth place of someone? Why aren’t opinions taken for what they are?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
It is a harsh raining season as if nature is giving us the warning to stop messing with it. The rains pour down and multi-layered dressing wouldn’t soften the torment of the chill. It is one of the times you do your best, even pray, to stay indoors. You are walking back home after attending to an important task. Across the road you see houses being demolished. What! In the middle of such a ghastly winter! How could people be so inconsiderate? Why do they have to do demolishing work during such inhospitable weather conditions? Why?
I’ll be explaining it to you.
Of course, before I try to explain any of those things to you someone should first explain them to me!
