It’s a sad event but I must confess that I don’t blame the society over my current situation but my parents for failing to invest and think of what I will depend on in the future.

My dad was used to this Waali statement “Dunee Muo Beri Awala” and depended on that to act irresponsibly, permit my words.

That proverb seeks to portray the world as unpredictable and as a result we shouldn’t bother to invest or save anything for we are not sure of the future.

There was a time I urged my dad to build and he told me we weren’t staying here forever on earth so what’s the need to build a house.

He Urged me to marry when I was 20 years indicating I couldn’t predict what the future holds, he added that, in case I pass on, who will mark my legacy adding that my children will be the reason for people to remember I existed.

By then, I proposed that I needed a single room with a toilet and bathroom house Before marriage, he turned down the idea, stating that it was a long process. He added that I wasn’t sure when I would be done with it so I could spend my entire life building and wouldn’t marry.

His focus was on marriage and not the responsibility that goes with it.

At some point I wanted to disagree with him but some elders nearby used the usual threatening proverbs including

“What an elder sees sitting,a child cannot see it even if he climbs the tallest of trees”.

I agreed with him after several proverbs were rang in my ears.

Six years later, my father passed on, leaving several bills on me, I had to pay for my mom’s rent in the absence of my dad, he left behind 9 Children including myself, he left no single plot of land behind.

I wasn’t well educated too. How do I go around this, my father’s family and my family together, not excluding renting and spending on feeding, the traps were many.

If only my dad has built a house or a room and left behind a perennial farm, all these wouldn’t have been a problem.

Currently I’m compelled to follow some politicians around to lie seasonally in order to make ends meet.

Your parents can really be a stumbling block to your growth when they fail to plan, they deceive us to blame society and rich people but these are the wrong people to blame, we should blame our parents.

My parents should have considered their financial strength before producing such number of children, Children are liabilities lately because of our population and cost of living. Let’s also build for our children, Safety needs are important if you should pass away whilst in a rented house, how will your unemployed wife support the family, people with jobs aren’t finding it easy with rent either.

Let’s blame our parents for our predicaments not society.

Source: Ali Sumani Dienie