Congo Brazzaville:Women are like cola nuts

Maurice Nguesso, an Mbouchi patriarch, once told me: “women are like cola nuts. You don’t eat them alone, you must share”. It might explain the reason why he has several wives and several children. His younger brother might officially have one wife, but he has several children from different women. This is the depressing behavior that most Congolese across the natural geographic and linguistic divide have copied. While in Brazzaville, I was startled to discover that, a young journalist working for MNTV had also copied the trend and had three wives. And when I tried to find out, I discovered that, he was not the only one. He was just 30 and a native BasCongo who lives in the northern Brazzaville neighbourhood of Ngamakoso. But the Congolese government officials have done more than considering women as mere cola nuts. To most government officials in Brazzaville, Women have become trophies that are exhibited after seizure from a political rival. Northerners, seems to have succeeded in destroying an entire generation from 1968 till date, as claimed by the Congolese diplomat.

Uniquely Congolese

Whatever the above, there is something uniquely Congolese that acts like a magnet. Anyone who has travelled to Congo can’t explain the attraction of a country that has little or nothing to offer besides pleasure and leisure. The country certainly has great potentials but stifled by those currently governing her. However, once you set foot in Congo, you can’t leave or you don’t want to leave. Perhaps it is the way in which their leaders speak, which is a mixture of an educated French man and a Congolese noble, which gives a false vision of the country. The Congolese educated man and politician who is member of the ruling PCT party, speaks in a slow, savvy and subtle refinement, which gives an illusion of seriousness. Perhaps the other magnet or attraction of the country is the unique sensuality and unbridle sexuality of their women. These mixtures and perhaps others can make one not to forget the country easily.