The Republic Congo: At the image of the retrograde culture of the northerners

According to the diplomat, Congolese in general, not only girls or women are not to be blamed for being lazy and perverse in their ways of life.  He continued: “They are at the image of the Mbouchis governing the country, who have evaluated their retrograde traditions and culture into a way of life and which has sadly been adopted by the government and Congolese people”.  While the Congolese diplomat that I met in Washington DC seems to have an implacable hatred for Marien Ngouabi and most northerners, which made me to take some of the points and observations he made with some circumspections, there are nonetheless some aspects or some points that, he raised during our conversation that, seem in my opinion that, he was not exaggerating. This had to do with the aspects of non respect for women which seems preponderant among people from the greater north and in chief, the Mbouchis. Although Congo is a majority Christian country, the paradox is that, the Mbouchis in power have made polygamy official. Perhaps they have done so for reasons earlier mentioned. But intelligent as they sometimes are, especially when it comes to do despicable things, the governing Mbouchi push for polygamy in Congo was wrapped and marketed as promotion and respect for African traditions. They sold it that way because of the strong opposition from the largely Christian greater south and evangelical churches.  

It may also explain why, they never made mentioned in their project that, it was the transposition of a retrograde culture practiced mostly in Oyo and Edou.Whatever reasons may have motivated the current system to encourage polygamy, it must once again be pointed out that, in the greater south, because of the influence of the Protestant brand of Christianity and extreme westernization, polygamy has been almost wiped-out or is marginal. By contrast, polygamy is still wide spread in the greater north, because of under education, the dominant influence of animism and Catholicism. Some Mbouchi cadre who are manning the mantle of power in Brazzaville could employ all subterfuges to justify the misogyny on women in Africa and in Congo in particular, but the truth in my humble opinion is that, most Congolese men, especially northerners of the minority ruling Mbouchi tribe of President Sassou Nguesso seems to have very little consideration for women.