Listening to the Burn Victims: Truths We'd Rather Not Hear

For a number of years now, citizen movements and human rights activists across Africa have been speaking out against poor political and economic governance in their countries-with mixed results, to be sure, but the main thing is to amplify the voices of millions who have no voice. By allowing people who describe themselves as "burnt out" to express their outrage at the injustice they experience-and which they attribute to the leaders of this "space we all share, which is our country"-we are not taking a position in favor of the opinions expressed on issues as serious as the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. Quite the contrary: on the one hand, we are allowing a segment of the citizenry to get their message across and absolve themselves of responsibility for their own hardship; and on the other, we are calling out our political leaders for the mistake of promoting "development" for a minority while allowing the majority to sink into precariousness.