A Mosquito and Its Promises

It was a sunny afternoon in a city called Forest. The city, inhabited by animals of all types, ages and characters, was busy with activities. The inhabitants were made up of the young, the old, the poor, the rich, the greedy and so on. While some animals were escaping untimely death in the hands of other animals with animalistic hunger for the flesh, others were not so lucky. For example, on top of a mountain to the west of the city were two young lions devouring a mountain goat who had refused its mother’s plea not to walk alone. In the city, you must be smart, alert, focused, hardworking and acknowledge the unequalness of the inhabitants. Sadly, the leaders of the city known as the “kings of the jungle” were living large and would terrorize, abuse and feed on their weak subjects.

Walking hands in hands, chatting and smiling were Mr. Mosquito and Ms. Mosquito (same last names but not related). They were in a “quito-world”. They were exchanging some love words. It was clear they were in love. Ahead of them, they saw a leopard chase a gazelle. The sight made Ms. Mosquito stop for a second and the following conversation commenced between the two:

“I just don’t always like this. Why must we continue to kill each other for food?” said Ms. Mosquito.

“It is unfortunate, but we must accept that we were created to take advantage of each other, even if that leads to the untimely death of many. We are very selfish.” Mr. Mosquito responded.

“I am always afraid to walk alone. Many out there will devour me within seconds.”

“Nothing to worry about my dear. I will always protect you. You must know that I am as strong as steel.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Check out my solid muscles. Is there any human or animal on earth that can defeat me in a duel?. I fought humans and defeated them. I beat elephants, lions, and others to death with my bare hands. I am recognized as a weightlifter on the world stage. I can pull a plane with my strength ………”

“I love you my MM”

“I love you too my sugar girl!”

The squirrel, who was on top of a mahogany tree having a snack of palm kernel it had stolen from its neighbour’s barn, was listening attentively, and started laughing at Mr. Mosquito’s relationship “kabuki” and promises built on self-praise and untruthfulness. As it started laughing, the palm kernel it was eating fell several feet and hit the head of a cobra that was sleeping under the shade of the tree. The snake awoke from its sleep and started running for its dear life given that it had no clue about what had hit it on the head. In its hurried search for a place to hide, it entered the burrow of a giant pouched rat who was preparing a meal for its mother’s visit that night. Upon sighting the snake, the pouched rat became afraid for its life and quickly escaped through the emergency exit it had created a long time before that day. It started running through the street seeking a suitable place to hide.

In Yoruba tradition, sighting a pouched rat during daytime is bad omen. The elephant was the first to see the rat and this got it agitated. It took to its heels and in doing so, kept alerting other animals that a pouched rat was out and about. This led to commotion in the forest as every animal was running helter-skelter to avoid sighting the rat. As a result of this development, the forest was destroyed. Trees fell, vegetation was damaged, young, and weak animals were trampled upon and killed, homes were destroyed etc. Even the chameleon’s colour became confused as it had to change to too many colors within seconds. Everything they had worked for, for many years, was destroyed. There was a lot of agony. Sadly, Mr and Ms. Mosquito got separated as they ran in different directions in search of safety. At the end of it all, the squirrel informed others that the cause of the hullabaloo was Mr Mosquito’s pretentious promises. The Police department headed by Scorpion had declared Mr. Mosquito wanted.

From time to time, we make positive promises. However, we also make promises that are false, disingenuous, or pretentious due to factors that include intent to impress, mislead or misinform. Each time we fail to fulfil our promises, we end up destroying the political, economic, and social fabric of our homes, neighbourhood, country, and the world. The destruction leads to human rights abuse, poverty, crime, deaths and many more. In the end, there is no peace for all.

May leaders understand the importance of fulfilling their promises to the electorate and nation; and may followers appreciate that they too have a responsibility to fulfil their promises to their leaders and nation.