“Nairobi is large, soulless and corrupt.” He moved nearer to Warĩĩnga, leaned against the wall and went on: “But it is not Nairobi alone that is afflicted in this way. The same is true of all the cities in every country that has recently slipped the noose of colonialism. These countries are finding it difficult to stave off poverty for the simple reason that they have taken it upon themselves to learn how to run their economies from American experts. So they have been taught the principle and system of self-interest and have been told to forget the ancient songs that glorify the notion of collective good. They have been taught new songs, new hymns that celebrate the acquisition of money. That’s why today Nairobi teaches:
Crookedness to the upright
Meanness to the kind
Hatred to the loving,
Evil to the good
Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o, “Devil on the Cross”, 1982
Photo R. Kennedy Stephen
