Dead Men Don’t Bite

Dead Men Don’t Bite

Dead men don’t bite said Israel hands in R L Stevenson’s Treasure Island. But neither do almost dead men When you reach dotage by the mercy of nature, being dead is the inevitable next step. Some men in dotage still act like they have the strength, mental acuity, stability and presence of men half their age. Illusion, delusion or folly; take your pick.

The late Commodore Salaudeen Akanno once said the right order of things is children play, adults work, and elders do the advising. In Nigeria, the elders want to play, work and advice at the same time. Amazing! This applies to groups too.

Vibrant groups and societies seek out energetic and dynamic younger people to run or oversee their affairs. Well, some groups favor gerontocracy, leadership by those in old age. Hair all grey, legs and body rickety, memory fallible, and a host of age-related illnesses plaguing them. These elders want to hold onto “power” and so till death do them in.

Such elders were once strong and competent and that’s how they got to the top. Retirement is a great option they reject. Now sudden bouts of daytime sleepiness are visible among them. They should be relaxing. More stunning is their way with alcoholic drinks; it baffles. Sleep, eat, drink, pee and poo does not make for the daily routine of leaders. Their advice is not what it used to be. A chat with them may surprise or embarrass you. A few are honest to say their reduced coherence is down to old age. No wonder the group’s fortunes are receding. Old men can’t bite.

Is the elder’s interest in the group’s success or in their own vanity? The future of such a group is obvious; fortune telling is unnecessary.

Yet, the group has thousands of capable young men who could steer the group to greater heights and successes. That is a senseless waste of human resources – skills, energies and opportunities. If dying in failure is a greater honor than discovering new talent tragedy will overtake the group.

When you can no longer bite the end is near.

The ball of deciding the group’s future is in the hands of the younger members only if they knew. The totalitarian Elders have kept the young ones within restrictive modes of operation and the demand of blanket silence for a long time. We all know that cannot last forever. Change will come when the Elders least expect it, with a bang. We hope it will be peaceful.

Be good, not lucky