Letter to Rishi Sunak-No need to apologize

Dear Prime Minister, 

First I want to thank you for taking the lead and stepping up to the plate. In my eyes you did a great job. Both you and Mr. Macron took great risk and decided to present your complex political challenges to a vote. Commendations on this. 

I must say that I was excited when you took your position in 10 Downing Street and were even able to celebrate your ancestral culture and religion. Like many before, in what some of us call the minority, you view represented us all. Those who came from the Caribbean with big dreams and hopes of helping Queen and Country to rebuild after the Great War as well as those who had come decades before and served in previous wars with great acts of service and valor. 

In the US and some parts of South Africa, there are those who rejoice at any progress made by people of color and I think that I am one of them. While we may have differences between us a ‘lesser’ races, your victory was indeed our victory. Even as India launched into space with their first lunar mission we here in Africa also thought about the possibilities. 

When you won the election in the UK, I had just published a piece about why Indians make great CEOs (a piece by Avi Patchava that I found on LinkedIn). It was something I came across online and thought was quite inspiring and I was trying to find ways in which we too on this side of the racial divide would benefit from similar traits. Leadership is great as it often accords you a sense of visibility which allows those who share your ethnicity to see the possibilities and perhaps even step up to the plate. It is a sort of pyramid from which those at the base can also seek to rise. 

While I watched you lead I also saw some of the challenges including a sad scene when you were taking a jog and were verbally accosted by a fellow citizen with some nasty unrepeatable phrases. 

Some of my fears were laid bare when a mix of emotions overcame me a few months ago as almost all the penalty kicks that were handled by my color mates in the English team of the European Championship failed to hit the net. I guess I was a little concerned at the optics of a ‘sacrifice’ that placed black people at such critical points in time only for ‘us’ to fail. 

There was some exhaustion at the prospect or idea that some of us were not really British that even after so many years of giving and losing, there was something missing. Our contribution to the overall culture notwithstanding. 

Maybe my fears about a rising India were overplayed a few weeks ago when I stated what I stated about OSS and Nationalism in India. My hope though is that you will get another opportunity to shine through your party. 

There was a little unease when you called forth someone from the past to help you run government (Mr. Cameron). Maybe it was optics maybe it was just that little piece of inadequacy that troubles all minorities when we find ourselves in positions of power. I don’t know. Imposter syndrome? 

Image above from axios site

As we step into the future your greatest ally is also readying herself for an election in the next few months. 

The crowds that were present when PM Modi the now famous ‘Chaiwalla’ visited the US and filled a stadium with excited crowds showed me what is possible. I just hope that we will not have to deal with an election and later on a withdrawal from the forefront by another Enterprising American of Asian (Indian) descent in the likes of former Candidate Nikki Haley (who for a while had my support-South Carolina) or VP Kamala Harris (although both would be emerging from different camps). Both potentially great picks but whose attachment to Hindustan at least in their heritage might cause them to sink back even when so many are rooting for them. 

Image above from politico site

When Africa hits puberty

There is talk in these parts about the skill often associated with our female colleagues in managing to milk the resources of their male counterparts. 

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The idea springs from our campuses and basically describes a situation in which the average gal can fund her challenging school days from the meager resources of an unknowing suitor or group of suitors. 

You will often hear of a list of chaps whose job function ranges from airtime guy, to meal guy, to upkeep guy and many more. 

Which brings me the article title...in which I suggest that Africa has hit puberty. Finally she realizes that she has goods that are attractive to the market (resources) and suitors. Who would have know that she is in a position to play them all and receive the benefits of her 'attractiveness'. 

The Americans seem to play from a different line. They will not overtly use American workers to to work the roads or to manage their projects but back home a healthy chunk of the cash sent here will be harvested at home and benefit the home front. The Chinese are more overt in their declaration of love interest. But they are making their play from a backwards position. They have the disadvantage of having a language that is yet to be adopted by the rest of the world. Fortunately though we cannot say the same about the possibility of having their currency take center stage in place of he dollar. In addition to this, the Chinese have not always felt the urge to play he game fairly when it comes to trade. 

In addition to this, their use of labor is less restricted and more obvious. 

Perhaps a late comer in this battle is India but there is a likelihood that her resources can still be utilized. What China is to the U.S in terms of development and labor especially in the 20th century, India is to Africa. How India manages to put her foreign populations into the system will determine how much progress she makes. 

So what the the rules and who are the major players. The countries with the largest populations are obvious players. Then there are those nations whose history gives them an edge as colonial 'masters'. Then there are the teeming populations striving to make a change and move from previous positions of supposed inferiority. 

The rules are important because they determine how the changes we need happen and who the true beneficiaries of this change are. The rules also help protect the 'gals' from manipulation and abuse and guarantee a level of fairness ( fairness assumes this to be some kind of game with rules). In a previous post I borrowed heavily from the work of certain practitioners who approach centered on the law and viewed the major players as cats and mice involved in a complex battle for space and a shifting of platforms or fora. Nations that were still fighting for a space and struggling to find a uniting front for themselves were found wanting as sudden shifts were made to regional agreements and rules that were still being understood changed.