A place where everything works

This is an allegory about Africania, a country whose citizens are more spiritually advanced than we are. The people are as aware that they are mere mortals as they are conscious of the fact that they were made in the image of God. Like the citizens of any other country they have to abide by the law and are punished when they break the law.

Cars battle with traffic congestion. In Emmanuel Ngara’s allegory, there are build-ups because all motorists are collaborating in obeying the traffic rules to ensure a smooth flow. (Photo:?CNS)

I first had the experience of the behaviour of the citizens of Africania when I landed at Africania International Airport and was met by my host.

Africania City is about 50km from the airport. I noticed that the maximum speed limit was marked at every point: 60, 80, 100 and 120km/h. There was a certain uniformity about the flow of traffic on the highway that I was curious why this was so.

Then I noticed why: not only my host, but every other driver appeared to be driving at the speed limit indicated for each zone; and yet there was not a single policeman in sight.

Then we came to a major intersection where the traffic lights were not working. At the time we arrived, there was not a single policeman in sight, but there was no traffic jam and the flow of traffic was hardly interrupted.

“How come everybody seems to know when they are supposed to move in the absence of traffic lights and without a policeman to control the traffic?” I asked.

“Human beings are expected to use their intelligence,” my host responded, “but we are aware that machines, clever though they may be, can get completely confused when they malfunction, and so all citizens are trained to use their intelligence and obey certain rules when gadgets malfunction.

“For example, in this case it is the drivers from the quarter to twelve position who cross first, followed by the twelve o’clock position, followed by the quarter past twelve. We are at the half past twelve position, and we should be the last to cross.”

“What do you mean by all these terms — quarter to twelve position?” I asked.

“In simple terms, vehicles move in a clockwise direction from left to right,” my host responded, and he immediately said: “There comes a traffic services officer now. These traffic lights have only just malfunctioned; that’s why there was no officer when we arrived.”

I then learned that the words “police” and “policeman” are not used in Africania. They are said to have a negative connotation. What we call a policeman, for example, is called a Citizens’ Security Services Officer.

The duties of citizens’ security services officers include accompanying children to school, guiding traffic when there is a problem, writing affidavits, and generally helping people who do not know what to do and where to go.

“Citizens’ security services officers are very popular in this country,” my host explained. “They are trained to regard themselves as the people’s friends. If anybody is in any kind of trouble, he or she will look for a citizens’ security services office.”

“Are there any jails?” I enquired.

“Yes, there are, but mostly for petty crimes. Generally the citizens are well behaved — but no country is an island. Some people bring certain types of behaviour from their countries of origin.”

“What about the level of accidents?” I asked as we got out of the car at the hotel.

“We are concerned. Last festive season 20 people died in a population of 20 million. That’s one person per every million in one season. The president immediately ordered an investigation into the behaviour of drivers, the state of our roads and the quality of our road machinery.”

As I got into my hotel room, I could not help thinking that there was something all countries could learn from Africania. I was curious to know how the citizens of this country learned to behave so differently from the rest of humanity.

Join me in my next journey of exploration.