A cat that cares about tomorrow does not eat a pregnant rat. This simple African proverb carries a weighty lesson about foresight, restraint, and responsibility, especially in leadership.
A pregnant rat represents not just a meal for today, but many meals for tomorrow. A cat driven by immediate hunger will consume it without thought. A wise cat will pause, knowing that destroying the future for present comfort is the height of foolishness.
This wisdom speaks directly to Africa’s political reality. Across the continent, leaders cling to power far beyond their usefulness, consuming the future in order to protect the present. In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has remained in office since 1986. In Cameroon, President Paul Biya has ruled since 1982. Entire generations in these countries have never experienced leadership renewal.
Young people with ideas, energy, and vision are locked out, silenced, or treated as threats rather than assets. The result is stagnation, frustration, and a growing disconnect between leadership and society.
Nigeria reflects the same mindset, not only in politics but also in how power relates to wealth. The country has embraced a culture of primitive accumulation, where material display has become more important than productive value. Wealth is celebrated without context, and excess is applauded without consequences.
Palatial homes rise in a country battling poverty, energy crisis, unemployment, and collapsing infrastructure, yet society is conditioned to clap rather than question.
Recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, publicly opened a residential property reportedly valued at over two billion naira. This occurred in a nation where electricity supply remains unreliable and millions depend on generators for survival.
In another widely reported case, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, unveiled a massive private residence. The property was so grand that many observers compared it to iconic global landmarks. The event drew further attention because it was dedicated by the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
The issue is not the ownership of houses, but what these symbols represent in a struggling economy. These structures add little or no productive value. They do not generate power, create industries, or lift citizens out of poverty.
More troubling is that the sources of such wealth are rarely subjected to rigorous public scrutiny. Tax authorities remain silent. Anti-corruption agencies appear uninterested. There is no deterrence, and where there is no deterrence, excess becomes normalized.
This is how societies eat pregnant rats. Resources that should build institutions, empower youth, and secure the future are converted into monuments of personal comfort. When there are no consequences, restraint disappears. When restraint disappears, tomorrow is consumed.
Nigeria’s political space mirrors this behavior. The same actors continue to recycle themselves in power, resisting new entrants and fresh ideas. Youth are mobilized for elections but excluded from decision-making. Innovation is treated as rebellion.
Greed and insecurity have replaced vision and courage, trapping the country in a loop where the past dominates the future.
A leader who truly cares about tomorrow does not destroy the next generation to remain relevant. Leadership is stewardship, not possession. Visionary leaders invest in people, build institutions, and prepare successors.
Weak leaders accumulate endlessly, cling desperately, and leave behind emptiness. Societies that celebrate unchecked accumulation and silence accountability should not be surprised when progress becomes impossible.
This proverb goes beyond politics. Nations that exploit resources without renewal, institutions that suffocate innovation, and individuals who sacrifice integrity for instant gain are all eating pregnant rats. History shows that civilizations collapse not from lack of opportunity, but from lack of restraint.
Africa, and Nigeria in particular, must decide whether to keep consuming the future or start protecting it. Sustainable progress requires consequences for excess, respect for renewal, and space for new leadership to emerge.
Those who understand this proverb do not merely survive. They endure.
Bola Babarinde, South Africa
