During my boyhood years in the remote Ghanaian village of Boadua, there were two categories of men there that no one, including children, respected. The first group consisted of drunkards who abused a locally made hard liquor called akpeteshie, which is produced from the sap of palm trees. Extra-strength vodka would be an appropriate name for that alcohol because of its potency. Those who consumed it were incapacitated for long stretches of time and could barely function. That is why no one took them seriously.

The second group included men who did not drink and thus were always sober. But they struggled financially due to lack of viable opportunities to make a living. That was in fact the case for all men in the village, but most found ways to get by. Those few who lacked ideas used sneaky ways to enter other people’s homes to find meals. They picked a few families and made friends with one or two people in each. Every evening, when families were preparing dinner, these men would hang around as if they had come to visit their friends. Invariably, they were served some food. After eating, they made small talk and then quietly slipped away. They rotated, so often it took several days for one of those familiar faces to make a repeat visit to a home.

A person who ate meals in such fashion in other people’s homes was referred to in the local parlance as ohuanfo, which loosely translates to “parasite.” The ahuanfo (plural form) were particularly despised by children in the village. That was because whatever food was served to them led to smaller portions for everyone else in the household. In an environment characterized by large family sizes and rampant poverty, it is easy to see why those unwelcome visitors were a nuisance.

Some of the information revealed in the coverage of the recent protests in Kenya brought back memories of the disrespected men in my village. Kenya’s President William Ruto recently proposed a bill aimed at raising $2.7 billion in taxes to reduce the national debt, currently estimated at more than $80 billion. The new taxes would have fallen disproportionately on the country’s poor, and the bill triggered mass demonstrations during which protestors stormed parliament and set it on fire. Security forces killed at least 39 people and injured 360 others.

What so angered the protestors was their discovery that the country’s lawmakers lived lavishly, while the average people who struggled to find jobs and food to eat were going to be saddled with heavy taxes on everyday essentials like bread. One legislator is said to have posted videos of himself on TikTok “admiring his gleaming Range Rover, a Mercedes G Wagon and a Lexus.” Several politicians reportedly own private helicopters that they purchased with stolen public funds. They load them with mounds of cash (also stolen from public coffers) and fly around the country dishing out favors to their cronies. The violent demonstrations prompted President Ruto to acknowledge that some officials displayed “obnoxious opulence.” He announced the dismissal of his entire cabinet, saying that after listening to Kenyans and reflecting, he had decided to set up a new “broad-based government.”

President Ruto cannot pretend to have been unaware of the insanity that was on display within the political establishment. Sadly, that is a common feature across the entire continent of Africa. Every country there is a powder keg today. And in every single one of them, it wouldn’t take much to trigger the kind of explosion that the world witnessed in Kenya recently.

Mark Rutte, who served as Dutch prime minister from October 2010 until July 2, 2024, famously rode his bicycle to work as often as he could. German frugality is legendary. Enshrined in Germany’s constitution is a “debt brake” provision that essentially forces the country to live within its means. Scandinavian and most other European countries are similarly fiscally disciplined. The financial irresponsibility of African politicians is not a secret to European leaders. I wonder what the bicycle-riding wealthy men think of the helicopter-flying poor men when they come begging for aid. Could anyone blame Mr. Rutte if he harbored a bit of scorn for the African leaders he regularly met with to discuss debt-relief for the continent?

At various international conferences over the last couple of years, President Ruto has repeatedly asked for the setup of a new global financial architecture. He argues that within this new framework, developing countries should be given equal say in decision-making. The akpeteshie drinkers in my village were only semi-conscious most of the time so they weren’t much aware of the disdain people had for them. But Ruto has been sounding a lot like an ohuanfo who has no shame.

To their credit, the ahuanfo in Boadua did not go around thumping their chests and demanding respect. Perhaps those of us in the village should have had a bit of sympathy for them because they at least had an excuse for their situation. There is no basis for such compassion for the flamboyant African politicians who drive their countries into penury. And I can’t find any justification either for Ruto’s bravura.