The Alzheimic Government

By Vusi Moloi © 2009

When a beautiful and proud Canadian citizen Ms. Suaad Hagi Mohamud was refused entry into Canada by the Canadian authorities in Kenya it was yet another tragic example of how the Conservative Government of Mr. Steven Harper has singled out the people of African descent for denial of their Canadianess or entry into the beloved country of Canada.

Adversely Affected by Abrasive Policies

Needless to say Ms Mohamud’s life has been adversely affected by the abrasive policies of the Canadian gatekeepers even though her Somalian people are among the greatest contributing members of this great Canadian mosaic. Ms. Mohamud was eventually given her papers back and was scheduled to land in Toronto today. She is reported to be taking a legal recourse to sue the Canadian Government for over a million dollars.

Many Africans Denied Entry

Many Africans have been denied entry into Canada on a variety of flimsy grounds. The anti-African stance of Mr. Harper is regrettable considering how Canada has historically been a great friend of the African people.

Like a fire spitting dragon that spits harsh fire upon those it considers unworthy of entry, some Harper’s gatekeepers have consistently kept the Africans outside Canada including, among others, a great iconic figure of the South African freedom Ms. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who was denied entry to pick up her award in Toronto. The denial of Ms. Madikizela flies in the face of business acumen because South Africa is the top country in terms of Canadian export business according to Statistics Canada. In fact South Africa beats Canada in bilateral trade by two to one according to the speech delivered by the South African High Commissioner in Canada His Excellency Dr. Abe Nkomo at the 2009 Freedom Day Celebrations in Toronto and backed by the 2007 figures of Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada lists the following top ten countries in terms of the Africa Canada business as follows:

1. South Africa
2. Algeria
3. Egypt
4. Morocco
5. Sudan
6. Libya
7. Nigeria
8. Ghana
9. Tunisia
10. Angola

Interestingly, the Nigerian Government, among others, has taken a scaling back stance in response to Canada denying Africans entry into Canada citing diplomacy as a system based on reciprocity according to published reports attributed to the intrepid Ms. Ifeoma Jacinte Akabogu-Chinwuba, Acting High Commissioner of the Nigerian Embassy in Canada. Understandably the Nigerians couldn’t sit back in a state of inertia while one of their greatest minds was denied entry into Canada.

Dr. Michael Erhabor of the Tai Solarin University of Education in Nigeria was denied visa by the Canadian Government which prevented him from speaking at the 2008 Global Citizenship Education and Post-Secondary Institutions: Policies, Practices and Possibilities organized by the Canada's best University of Alberta. Considered one of Africa's great scholars, Dr. Erhabor was scheduled to deliver his paper Global Citizenship Education and University Administration: An Assessment of the Role of Centre for Human Rights and Gender Equality in Tai Solarin University of Education.

Poetic Tribute to Ms. Mohamud

The following poem The Alzheimic Government is dedicated to the beautiful Somalian heroine and a proud Canadian citizen Ms. Suaad Hagi Mohamud:

The Alzheimic Government

By Vusi Moloi © 2009

They had no knowledge of her
They did not know about her
They were unaware of her
To dismiss her like an imposter
To betray her via the arrestor
To be detained by the chains
For a crime that never was
Authenticity of the lips questioned
For a facelift that never was
To break her Canadian soul iconoclastic
To disown one of their own was Alzheimic

To impose the syntactic convoluted
To deny rightful entry was intended
Finally, her pain was chronicled
Which is why the outcry pinnacled
Hereafter to dismiss like imposter
Hitherto to instruct the arrestor
She was detained by the chains
That chafed her body with pains
They uncovered her like a forklift
In search of evidence of facelift
Now quarantined like infected
Halted by a charge concocted

Contextual Commentary

When a fire spitting dragon exhales harsh flames, it’s inevitable that the target will be singed. This was the case when a beautiful Canadian citizen Ms. Suaad Hagi Mohamud was subjected to the harsh blaze by the Canadian gatekeepers in Kenya. The Somalian heroine refused to succumb under the dragon’s rapid fire in accordance with a great Somalian tradition of indefatigable resistance, hitherto, inspired by their trailblazing foremothers and forefathers who have gone before them.

The Canadian fiery gatekeepers had intended to keep Ms. Mohamud out of Canada for the rest of her life. The Canadians in Kenya, who enjoy African hospitality, would rather become inhospitable to a beautiful daughter of the African soil in what was an antagonistic contradiction. Despite the rapid flames that threatened to scorch her from existence, Ms. Mohamud fought back like a gutsy heroine fighting a heavyweight fire spitting dragon. Her hard won victory is an inspiring model to the young girls coming after her that impossibility does not dictate surrender.
Vusi Moloi, The Indomitable Mongoose, Canada, 2009

About the Author

A former South African Television Journalist, Vusi Moloi is a published author of a contextual poetry book, A Goodbye To My Little Troubles, and maintains a blog, Zulumathabo on the Internet.