How 2021 will be our year

 

It is only the 8^th of January but we are already on the second Friday of the year. That entails that we should be having the second Richie Online article of the year and luckily the team at the HQ has committed to giving you 52 articles on all Fridays and other mid-week specials. How cool is that?

This, I must say is one fast-paced year for the world at large and Malawi in particular. We have seen the USA exhibiting some banana republic properties with people rioting and disturbing congressional proceedings at the US Capitol. Dr Dre is in ICU and people have thrown shade at the Weekend for his plastic surgery which he apparently did for a video shoot. Back home, we have seen a rise in the cases of Covid-19 and in the midst of that others have been getting backlashes for going to put artificial turfs on their bald heads. We did not anticipate all this but here we are. So much for the first 8 days of the year. 

I must say that it was a bit of a struggle to settle on something to write for the day. On the other hand, I thought that it would be better for me to start the day with writing the article which seems to be the simplest task for the day. After this, I can go on to the tougher ones like seeing patients (save that I don’t do this anymore), coding and writing things that bring bread to the table. In this new year, we need to normalize planning our tasks for the day and strategizing on how best to complete them. It may sound nerdy, but it is the good way to live. How are those resolutions going, by the way? I did say that 2021 was going to be our year, right? Well. I realized that I forgot to add one statement to that. 2021 is going to be our year if we work hard, work smart and play it safe. Let me explain.

While I wrote an article full of weak arguments and optimism, I have realized that this is not the sort of year that will work out on its own. If 2020 required hard work, then I think 2021 will require us to work harder because the conditions are pretty much similar if not worse. I could say the same with smart work because the things that were troubling us last year are the same. Well. Pretty much. You know where I am going with this, don’t you? Some of you do. Last year we had trouble with Covid-19. At least some of us did. When the Kung-flu, as the outgoing leader of the free world calls it, came, businesses were disrupted and offices were closed. That was bad for many people save for a group of people called civil servants, some of whom continued to get paid for 5 months of no work. Not that I hate them for it, but there are some who lost jobs due to the Chinese virus. Again, that is what Donald Trump calls it. This year we have been hit by the second wave of the virus, which we are told has new proteins that make it stronger than the Kung-flu. Let’s call it the UK virus. If you have seen the new statistics, one can almost say that Joe Gwaladi spoke too soon when he dropped the line “koronavairasi wabwera ndi phuma” (the coronavirus has come in a rush) in his Mikozi Studio performance (you should be watching these things, by the way). The new strain is the one that is in a rush and thriving in its face is going to require everyone to work hard and smart. If you have not drafted a plan for the year, now is the time to break out the pen and pad; but wait! Don’t rush it. Give it much of a thought before finally coming with the complete plan. And be flexible about it anyway, because this year will be unpredictable.

Rather related to the points on working hard and working smart is the point of playing it safe. I am again talking about the virus. Well. At least primarily. With the new virus in circulation, I think we have no option but to stay safe by using the basic preventive measures for Covid-19. The fact that we had a low mortality and that the numbers of new cases were steadily dropping made us all complacent with the preventive measures. In the face of the rising numbers of cases (which are most likely infected with the new strain); however, we must be a bit more cautious in our dealings. It is time to get that mask back on and continue to wash them hands. If possible, we must avoid unnecessary gatherings in a bid to protect ourselves and those around us.

I have heard a few narratives about the coronavirus pandemic that have made me worried that what may ruin things for this country is that we have another outbreak which has led to the increase in the number of covidiots. According to the Urban Dictionary (which is a useful tool), a covidiot is a person who for some reason ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety. In the western context, it also referred to people who were hoarding goods. I was watching a clip of a local political rally where one influential politician went on the podium to declare that the gaffment was cooking up figures and there was no Covid-19 in Malawi. According to her (it was sadly a woman and I know women as smart people), the regime then was pushing up the numbers to block the election. Some of you said that while the infections were indeed there, we were going to sort out our government before we begin dealing with the disease. Luckily, that didn’t turn out to be too bad for you but we cannot continue with the habit of blue-ticking the Rona. This whole thing of saying malaria kills more people than Covid-19 or Covid-20 or whatever we should call this new one is not wise. Malaria may kill more people, but at the end of the day it is not like people are not doing anything about it. We are. With the evolution of the virus, we may not know what will happen should we get infected now or later. The virus may have unforeseen long-term health effects and may tend to be more fatal. And who told you that it is about you, anyway? You may contain it well and be asymptomatic only to transmit it to a loved one with a somehow weak immune system. Let us prevent the virus whenever we can. It is a social responsibility because sickness, whether our own or for a loved one is very costly.

I did mention that the conditions for 2021 are the same or worse, right? I could have mentioned other things related to Covid-19 but I would rather switch my attention to politicians and governing systems. I can feel someone begin to hate me for this one, but someone has to say these things. When we opted for regime change, we thought of instant changes but from the way things are going, I do not think that 1 million jobs will be created within the 1-year timeline. Not with the authorities bringing people from retirement when there are youths who are capable; and NO! Do not give me that experience hibber jabber. Clearing the rubble? Well. We will see about that but I can see that the rubble is still there from where I am standing. I am standing in Naperi, by the way. To cut a long story short, we may be dealing with different faces and regalia, but I am pretty sure that we are dealing with the same breed of politicians. For some, it may mean that conditions will be better depending on affiliation but for non-partisan humans and others from the opposite camps, things will either be the same or worse. That, dear reader is why you must work harder or smarter in 2021.

I will lay the pen off with the tiyeni virus. I am pretty sure that most of my dear readers know about this tiyeni thing which was all over social media. Those of us who have done this, tiyeni (let us go). If you look at most of those posts, the issues were useless. If 2021 is to be your year, you need to change your tiyeni habits. If you cannot quit tiyeni, altogether, then make sure that that the things you do tiyeni about are worth the going. Tiyeni for 2021 should be about career opportunities, reading positive books, discussing business ideas, health and fitness and all those good things. If your tiyenis will still be about fashion, photo shoots, booze, ku Jazz or band ya ku Scallas, then I am afraid you may have a nice year but not a good year. Anyway, these fun places will be closed so you have no option but to redirect your tiyeni energy to something a little more useful, if you are still on this thing.

So… What was all this yammering about? All I was saying is that while I talked about 2021 being our year, you will need to work for it. To work for it, you need a plan, good health and you need to redirect your energy towards positive things. You are allowed to do a stupid thing or two but it should not be a habit. That is what I was on about. And by the way… Can we stop typing convid or corvid? I think this disease has been around for long enough for us to be messing up the spelling. And maybe this whole thing of misspelling it is the reason the virus is mutating. We had the Chinese Covid-19, and now we have the UK Convid-19. If we continue with this madness then we may get some Ugandan Corvid-19. Just stop it. Ok? You will make it tough for the people who make vaccines.

Komanso kumabweza ngongole. Ah! Ah!

Happy Friday!